Amazon

I worked for Amazon for about eight and a half years and learned a lot about the company (and myself) during that time.

Amazon's strengths include its smart workforce, its focused Leadership Principles, and its broad resources. It really is an opportunity to work hard, have fun, and make history.

Amazon offers excellent career growth options. For example, you can move on to a new group or role within Amazon every 18 months or so. This is great for trying new things and making new friends.

Amazon's Leadership Principles are an important part of its corporate culture. Some of them, like "Customer Obsession," are a part of everything that Amazon does and are inviolable. Others fit well together, like:

• Ownership
• Right a Lot
• Earns Trust
• Invent and Simplify
• Learn and be Curious

And some create a mild tension, like "Think Big" versus "Frugality" and "Dive Deep" versus "Bias for Action."

Finally, never hesitate to use "Disagree and Commit," especially if everyone is jumping on a decision without considering other options and perspectives.

Beyond Leadership Principles, one of the things I like about Amazon is that it does real things, like getting products from thousands of suppliers to your door at a very competitive price, or providing the back-end IT services for other companies that you rely on, or manufacturing devices that millions of people use every day, or producing award-winning video and audio content. This is pretty important stuff -- and you can be a part of it!

This is not a negative, but a reason you might decide not to work for Amazon.

Track down and read Amazon's Leadership Principles. Can you think of lots of examples from your own personal or work experience that illustrate these Principles? Are they your principles too?

If they are, you're likely to be a good fit. If not, you probably won't be happy at Amazon.

Appreciate that Big generally starts Small.