I’m not a natural at it but these approaches have helped me. — Just over a year ago, I transferred from managing warehouses to a corporate role. Prior to that, I ran a small business and before that, academia. All very different worlds, but with many underlying similarities; most revolve around politics and human relationships. Reading the word “politics” could surface many internal…

Great in theory — decent in practice. — Just over a year ago, I transferred into a work-from-home (WFH) role at Amazon. I’ve spent my entire career there in warehouses, working in, or directly supporting, the operation. I was excited about the WFH opportunity. It was novel and I was looking forward to learning a new skillset. Moving…

The Bullet Journal Method I use — I have a poor memory. Long-term, short-term, just in general. I learned this about myself in graduate school. I would be so focused on my research that I would forget to do basic things, like clean the house or mow the lawn. I was also very poorly organized, keeping a…

This is how you speed up your advancement in any company — I just passed my sixth year with Amazon. That puts me close to the top 10% of tenure across the company. During that time, I’ve moved jobs almost every year. Each new role often came with a promotion as well. However, this isn’t because I’m awesome or super talented. I…

Elevator Speech strategy and tactics — The Elevator Speech is the most important part of any interview. Yes, you need to prepare for other areas, but this is where you should spend much of your time when you begin to prepare for an interview. It’s your first impression. Those are hard to adjust after the fact. …

4 areas you should focus on if you have an unexpected job interview in two weeks or less — Interviews are extremely stressful. This is true even if you are prepared for it. But, in that same vein, there’s an even more stressful situation…an interview you aren’t prepared for. I always advise to start preparing for an interview six months before you actually interview. Much of the time is…

More personal development, fulfillment, and money await — Those of us who grew up in the ‘80s’ and 90s were raised to believe the longer we stayed with a company, the more valuable we would be to that company. It shows dedication and loyalty to an organization and that we were bought into their mission. …

Observe your motivations for an action to prevent bad habits — Throughout my life, I’ve been curious about the motivations of others, what goes on in their minds, and why. So, naturally, I majored in Psychology in college. It made perfect sense, and the knowledge seemed universally applicable. After graduating, I moved directly into a graduate program. I specialized in Industrial/Organizational…

How to become a great leader without going to a business school or taking expensive leadership courses — Working at a large organization has offered me several opportunities to learn from those I work with. In any workplace, everyone has something to teach. I don’t necessarily mean about the company or another topic related to the work; I’m referring to their non-work interests and skills. You could learn…