Curiosity, data, and the importance of fostering genuine connections: Takeaways from the Amazon Mentorship Program

During winter quarter of my senior year at the University of Washington, I decided to participate in the Amazon Mentors Program, which connects students in the University of Washington’s College of Arts & Sciences with professionals at companies like Amazon and Microsoft. This meant that every week, a  group of students and I would head over to the Amazon campus for a meeting to discuss professional development topics like networking, informational interviews, and the significance of feedback. I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about the company fostered creativity and innovation, and how employees measured success in their work.

I’m so grateful that my mentors Nicole Baum Hutchinson, the executive assistant to the vice president of community shopping at Amazon, and Jackie Peloquin, a business development manager at Amazon, who were so open to letting our small group provide feedback and what we wanted to discuss. Here are my takeaways from our time together.

• Tell a story about who you are, and why you do what you do: My work has clear themes of storytelling, education, and using writing to empower people, and I try to find opportunities to tell these stories whenever I’m introducing myself.
• If you’re looking at a company, schedule an informational interview with someone who works there: You may have to inquire broadly within your network to find someone, but it’s a helpful way to get the most accurate information about company culture, and current projects. For example, talking to Nicole and Jackie taught me about how much Amazon values their leadership principles, which reflects the company’s prioritization of being customer obsessed, failing fast, and being curious. They emphasized the importance of having stories that demonstrate each of these principles, and being able to highlight your contribution in a group project.
• Come to informational interviews with specific questions and 3 main goals: This shows the other person that you have a clear goal for the meeting. Make sure to do your research about the projects they’ve worked on, and end the meeting by asking if they have suggestions for other people that align with your interests.
• Research competitors, news coverage, and executives: Hone in on the challenges and problems that the company cares about by reading their mission statement as well as news outlets, company blogs, and social media for major updates. This is especially important if you’ll be interviewing with the company soon!
• Learn how to use data to influence stakeholders or advocate for decisions: Whether it’s qualitative data from customers about their desire to always find an item at the best price or quantitative data about which granola bars sell the fastest at Amazon Go, it’s important to lead with data when making decisions.
• Grad school is a great place to make connections: In particular, Allie Caldwell, a senior manager on Amazon Go, said that getting her MBA was a great way to foster relationships with people in business who work at companies and industries across the nation. It also facilitated her career pivot from working in finance. However, she acknowledged the importance of reflecting on when grad school would make the most sense in your career trajectory.
• Always follow up with a thank you email: Keep your email to 4 sentences or less and highlight 1-2 key things that you learned. You can even follow-up and ask if there are opportunities for you to stay in touch via LinkedIn.

Lastly, it’s important to keep an open mind. Although I’m starting the next part of my career at Microsoft, I’ve seen every conversation and interaction as an opportunity to learn. Moving forward, I hope to keep fostering meaningful connections with others and sharing that, which is something I hope to do no matter what field I enter.

Thanks for reading my story! Here are a few other pieces I’ve written:

• Student Voices: The stories missing from our history books and textbooks
• I need more than pride flags and rainbow pins to feel represented
• Diversity and Inclusion: My experience at a tech company
• I’m an interest changer — and I’m proud of it
• Journalism and storytelling at Microsoft