Want A Job At AWS? Learn These Leadership Principles
Customer first, practice constant improvement
A few months back I had the opportunity to attend the first event put on by AMS. AMS (AWS Managed Services) is a department within AWS that focuses on helping enterprises adopt AWS at scale and operate more efficiently and securely.
The great thing about working at a place like AMS, is that you get to see so many different use cases across multiple industries so you can rapidly scale your knowledge and skills using AWS. After speaking to a few of the recruiters and current employees there, it was very clear that at this particular event they were actively looking to hire someone after the event concluded (they had some challenges and tests for the participants to try out on the second day that were used for evaluation of candidates).
Fortunately I very much enjoy my current job, so I’m not looking to jump over there just yet. However, I was able to gather exactly what they are looking for in a hire, and some of the best ways to go about it.
Remember that everyone applying for jobs at a place like AWS is going to have a decent set of skills. Your skills are what allow you to get your foot in the door. But one thing that really makes a candidate stand out above others is if they have a solid grasp on Amazon’s leadership principles, and actively take a few of them to heart and put them into practice.
I’ll briefly go over them below, but there are quite a few of them when compared to other cloud providers like Azure and GCP. As an aside, if you would rather work at one of those providers then it is a good idea to learn their principles instead. Any company will want to hire someone who makes an effort to participate in and contribute to a better culture.
So, don’t try to thoroughly memorize everything here, but rather get an idea of what the main concepts are (customer first, work hard, continually innovate) and take away a few to put into your own practice.
By trying to adopt and practice Amazon’s leadership principles, you will show that you want to and are capable of immersing yourself into the culture over at AWS.
- Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
2. Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long term value for short term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job”.
3. Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new indeas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here”. As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
4. Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgement and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.
5. Learn and Be Curious
Leaders are never d one learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.
6. Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take their role in coaching others seriously. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like career choice.
7. Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards, many people think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
8. Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to server customers.
9. Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.
10. Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expenses.
11. Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarassing. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.
12. Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ. No task is beneath them.
13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion, and once a decision is made, they commit wholly.
14. Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.
15. Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer
Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what’s next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees’ personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.
16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
We started in a garage, but we’re not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.
After further inspecting these principles, one could say they apply to life in general and not just at Amazon. For me personally, I relate the most to #7 and #13.
In summary:
- When applying for a job at AWS, your skills will get a foot in the door. But knowing the leadership principles will make you stand out well above other candidates.
- Put the customer first, actively work to make yourself and your team better, and focus on being creative and innovating.
- Instead of memorizing all 16 word for word, pick out a few that are applicable to you and really try to live them in your personal and professional life.
Hopefully this story was helpful to you, and I wish you the best of luck on your continued journey through cloud computing.
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