On Monday, April 5th, we hosted our fifth Town Hall which featured our guest speaker, Nick Curry, Head of Military Initiatives, Technical Apprenticeships, and Diversity Internships at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Nick provided an overview of Amazon’s diversity programs and internship opportunities, including the structure of the program, the qualifications required, and the types of positions (functional area and skillset) that are available. He spoke about the interview process and Amazon’s focus on 14 leadership principles.
“We want people who have an insatiable appetite to learn and to develop themselves,” he said. “In an interview, a simple question could be: tell me the last time you learned something. It helps us understand what motivates you and how we can see those skills translating into an Amazon role.”
Nick said that one of the benefits of working at Amazon is that you can work anywhere within the organization and get exposed to a wide range of projects. Amazon interns and apprentices support core functions in consumer devices, operations, or in AWS, but they also can work at an Amazon subsidiary or sister company, like IMDB, Audible, Amazon Pharmacy, or Whole Foods.
What does Nick like most about working at Amazon? He cited two things.
“First, from day one, one no matter what your job is, you’re handed immense ownership immediately: you’ll be doing a lot of work that you normally you wouldn’t be doing on your own at another company.”
“Second,’ he continued, “I can guarantee that you’ll work on something or be around something that didn’t exist at all when you started, that will be invented in the short time that you’re here. If you want to come invent and live in the future, you will do that at Amazon.”