My Amazon Warrior Story: In life, in the military and in a civilian career, Navy Veteran makes new connections count

2021-12-01T10:42:24-05:00

Even though I followed in the Navy service footsteps of my father and two brothers, in high school back in Arkansas I first tried to join the Air Force. Working at a resort that had a grass airstrip on the property, I had developed a fascination with airplanes.

When it was time to enlist, my brother, home on Navy recruiting duty, drove me to the Air Force recruiter’s office. But the recruiter wasn’t there — whether out to lunch, gone fishin’ or off with friends. As I waited, my brother returned to his Navy recruiting duties. When his colleagues learned they had a live target sitting at an unmanned Air Force office, they zipped over to meet me. The rest, as they say, is history.

It wasn’t the last time I would learn the importance of making new connections count. My experience that day foretold the career path I’d forge in the Navy, where I spent 19 of my 28 years in recruiting. That knowledge prepared me for what I do now at Amazon, where as senior talent acquisition manager, I lead a team of 30 managers and recruiters seeking diverse talent for a variety of operational roles.

A sailor’s life in an avionics career

In the Navy, I nurtured my passion for aviation while living the “sailor’s life”: As an avionics technician, I worked on the S-3 Viking, a jet aircraft; served on three different Navy squadrons and on two different aircraft carriers; and traveled coast to coast and around the world.

In 1998, events conspired to again divert me from my intended career goal, which was to become an electronics aviation instructor. At the time, the Navy had failed to hit its recruiting goals, and so anyone from E5 and above was “encouraged” to volunteer to become a recruiter.

I dreaded the prospect. Yet after taking the recruitment training, I found I liked the job. I enjoyed the challenge of finding people with familial connections to the military or with the shared goals of service. I blossomed from a cautious introvert into a confident public speaker.

That new connection changed my trajectory, but had led me into a new, highly rewarding phase of my Navy career. When I decided with my family to retire after nearly three decades of service, I felt at ease knowing I had accomplished everything I had set out to do.

A fast-paced start and rapid advance at Amazon

That’s not to say transitioning to an Amazon career was easy. Coping with the uncertainty of “what’s next” is hard. I spoke with everyone I knew who had made the transition, peppering them with questions. I sounded out pros and cons with my wife, Josie, my best friend and closest confidant, and with my daughter. I started networking, maxing out my “InMail” allocations on LinkedIn.

Through that process, I applied for an Amazon staffing manager position, which I obtained in 2017. (Josie prepared me for the interview during a three-hour car ride, having me recite answers to questions about how my experiences reflected Amazon’s 16 leadership principles, https://rly.pt/3d8Gspd)

Once hired, I moved quickly to fully staff two brand-new Amazon Fulfillment Centers in Jacksonville, Florida. Relying on my Navy recruiting skills and a whole lot of support from my team, within 120 days we hired and onboarded thousands of employees and brought on thousands more of associates soon after.

In 2018, I became regional staffing manager overseeing staffing for all Amazon buildings throughout Florida, territory that expanded the next year to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In 2020, I moved into program and project management and in 2021, to my current position. I’m proud that we’re growing teams, territory and careers.

A commitment to hire service members and Veterans

I’m one of more than 40,000 thousand U.S.-based Amazon employees representing the military, which includes retired service members who are taking on new careers as well as recently transitioned service members, Veterans from recent service eras and military spouses.

In my role, we hire talent from in and out of the military for positions in operations information technology, global security operations and loss prevention. Amazon also develops military talent through training programs in cloud computing, robotics and many other fields. Amazon has a dedicated talent acquisition team, and is committed to hiring 100,000 more Veterans and military spouses by 2024.

Advice to get hired by

Even though officially on our talent acquisition team, I participate in our American Corporate Partners program, which pairs me with military mentees who I counsel in the transition to civilian employment. In my work within Amazon’s Military Mentoring program, I also offer career advice to a handful of active duty service members or Veterans each week. When able, I attend career fairs with a focus on active duty, Veterans and military spouses.

In sharing with the military community what I think works best in seeking a position at Amazon, here’s my targeted advice:

1. Network, network, network. Begin networking at least a year before your exit date. Narrow your job search down to just a few areas, and focus on the top two or three jobs you’re most passionate about. Networking is a process, and so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get an immediate response after you first connect to someone.

2. Refine your resume. Prepare a resume of no more than two or three pages maximum, providing the most information on positions held within the last 10 years. Within those positions, highlight the top three to five accomplishments for which you’re most proud, and quantify the accomplishments with percentages, monetary values or other data. Think of your resume as your preparation for the eventual interview. Your resume should show you acting, changing the status quo, creating improvements and promoting your colleagues.

3. Narrow your job search. Learn how your desired job functions at Amazon. For instance, a military recruiter can work on the civilian side in recruiting, staffing or human resources. At Amazon, those functions are very different. Talk to someone who can explain the nuances of those lines of business, and see where you best fit. Next, find out where your desired position falls within the Amazon job category (https://rly.pt/3IasqBL). Then, filter as needed, being sure to sort by “most recent” job, which brings up still-open positions. Don’t get discouraged if a job is filled; new positions are always opening up.

4. Prepare for the interview. List all your major accomplishments over the last 10 to 15 years, and then apply the Amazon Leadership Principles. I recommend completing a situation, task, action and result (STAR) scenario for each accomplishment and attaching the applicable leadership principle or principles (e.g., bias for action, customer obsession) to each one. For my internal interviews, I refer to an eight-page document that lists my scenarios and principles. Prepare data-heavy bullet points, and conduct mock interviews with a friend or family member. Remember that Amazon interviews are about educating your audience and using data to make your case for why you’re the best person for the job.

Are you a Warrior in Transition? See if a career at Amazon works for you.

Learn more:

Read about Amazon’s pledge to hire 100,000 Veterans and military spouses by 2024: https://rly.pt/2XjsAnL

Check out Amazon’s hiring and skills development programs for transitioning service members and Veterans and military spouses: https://rly.pt/3daOOMU

Get more information about roles at Amazon through the Amazon Military Webinar Series: https://rly.pt/3rnfBOB

Apply for more than 38,000 open Amazon positions based in the United States at https: https://rly.pt/3D6CV5m and search by job category at https://rly.pt/3IasqBL

Explore Amazon’s Warriors@Amazon military affinity group and other employee-run affinity groups: https://rly.pt/3rlERVo

Discover more about Amazon: https://www.aboutamazon.com

Find out about the American Corporate Partners program: https://www.acp-usa.org

Leadership Principles

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Response by PFC David Foster made Dec 1 at 2021 4:00 PM

2021-12-01T16:00:54-05:00

Thanks for sharing.

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Dec 1 at 2021 4:32 PM

2021-12-01T16:32:12-05:00

Loved reading your story. Thanks for taking time to share it so thoughtfully!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Dec 3 at 2021 7:16 AM

2021-12-03T07:16:08-05:00

Sounds very interesting MCPO Adam Carleton

Response by SSG Rafael R. Rodriguez Sr. made Dec 17 at 2021 1:10 PM

2021-12-17T13:10:23-05:00

Thank you for sharing Brother!