Krista Pawloski’s Post

💡How did delivering Amazon packages help me complete my job search? Last summer, I was a few months into my job search when I had a challenging conversation with a truth-telling friend. Thank you, Patton Gleason!! He challenged me to do something more than update my LinkedIn every day and set up networking coffee meetings. He said, "Go create some positive energy by doing some kind of work, part-time or otherwise." I heard what he said and felt the prompting to make it happen but initially didn't take action. 🛑 I ignored his advice for months. I had a haunting feeling, however, that I should follow his counsel. I considered multiple options and decided to take a full-time job (four 10-hour shifts) delivering Amazon packages. Why this role? I shared during my interview with the delivery company that "I love driving. I love Jersey. I love a big checklist and I get things done." The interviewer’s response was, "That is the best response I have ever heard shared regarding why someone wants this job." I started at the end of November and delivered packages through December during the busiest month of the year with the least amount of daylight. In many ways, this decision went against all logic. I heard the following from people: ➡ searching for a job is a full-time job ➡ use that time to complete more online courses ➡ focus on engaging your network more during the day ➡ you will have little to no energy to look for a job ➡ find something that is more related to the type of work you are pursuing I could have... But here is what I gained from the work experience of delivering Amazon packages: 💡 Sense of daily purpose with a clear mission to complete 💡 Physical activity to get the blood flowing while being outdoors 💡 Problem-solving experiences with countless issues to figure out from the start of my shift (how to most effectively load the van) and throughout the day (issues with the app/GPS, ways to increase efficiency) 💡 Opportunity to connect with a whole different kind of team than from previous work in technology companies and non-profit, faith-based organizations 💡 Forced focus for my job search because tasks fill the allotted time. I found myself completing the same amount of job search tasks in 1-2 hours after work that seemed to take 5-6 hours before the delivery job 💡 Demonstrated sacrifice for my family showing that I was willing to do whatever it takes I will share more about these insights about these experiences in future posts but I wanted to share this initial list. 🎉 The good news is that in the midst of the intense holiday Amazon delivery season I found a new job! I couldn’t be more happy with this new opportunity with Stryker as a Salesforce Software Engineer but I believe that I would not have found this role if I hadn’t decided to deliver Amazon packages. 💭 I’m curious. What caught your attention from this post or how have you seen any of these patterns play out in your life or in the life of others?

Massive Amazon Hack & Tip List - Day 46/365📝 -- Bottom Line: Lighting money on fire with low-value tasks is a no good, very bad idea. How is your time on your Amazon business truly being spent? Do you know? Are you doing tasks on a day-to-day basis that are less then your "hourly wage" ? (To get a rough idea of an hourly wage, take your business profits from the last year and divide by a 40 hour work week). Anything that's less then that hourly wage (within reason) should be cut out or given away to someone else. Without getting to into the weeds - It's a good practice to actually keep a written log of everything you do in a week. You'll be surprised at all the things you do that are low value tasks that can be outsourced. One of my favorite books on this subject is Mike Michalowicz's "Clockwork." Check it out. If you're looking for an app that helps with this kind of stuff, check out Toggl. https://buff.ly/3G00NKK What kind of tasks are you doing in your Amazon business that are below your hourly wage? If you're doing them, you're lighting money on fire. Here's some low-value tasks you might be doing already: 1. Inventory management 2. Packing boxes, labeling items, shipping 3. Customer service 4. Returns and refunds 5. Listing creation 6. Photo editing 7. Bookkeeping and financial record-keeping 8. Supplier communication 9. Data entry 10. Amazon Posts/Brand Tailored Promotions/Experiments/Manage Your Customer Engagement And since we're here... 10 high value tasks: 1. Product sourcing & research 2. Brand identity/mission 3. Business structure 4. SOP creation & team organization 5. Hiring 6. New market expansion 7. Variation creation 8. Securing loans, funding, etc. 9. Creative direction 10. Product innovation Did I miss any? Do you disagree with this list? ♻️ Repost with a friend who needs this :) -- #amazonfba #amazonfbaseller #amazonseller

I was getting overwhelmed quite easily as a kid - and there are days I still do. My dad gave me an advice that to this day I practice : break the goal in many little steps. That advice is as valid in life as it is on Amazon. Goals can be big and intimidating to achieve : 1. I want a bigger salary 2. I want more knowledge of X 3. Better control of Y But you have to ask yourself: - What can you do - What steps you need to follow - How are you measuring the success - How long will each step take And take pride and joy in completing each stage of your steps because just achieving the goal and crossing it off the list - won't be as fulfilling otherwise.

In the film Godfather 3, Al Pacino growls, a line that has become famous by itself: “Just when I think I’m out, they find a way to pull me back in.” This past November, I took a holiday temporary job in an Amazon warehouse. When it was time for the temps to convert to full time, I opted out and gracefully exited the stage. I was hired for a 6:20 PM to 12:50 AM schedule. Had I gone full time schedule would have been 1:20 AM to 11:50 AM. I did overnights in the late 90s and early 2000s. I knew that my lack of presence in the house was already upsetting Drew, and I know the nocturnal schedule would only make things worse. So I took the bullet for family. Back to unemployment. But, like Michael Corleone, I have found that sometimes when something grabs a hold of you, you don’t get free for long. In my case, the lack of work structure was driving me bonkers. So I began checking the Amazon job posting site. I learned when new jobs went up, and I began to lurk. Three weeks ago, I resumed employment operations with Amazon. I went from working in a distribution station (which processes incoming packages from fulfillment and sort to go out to customers) to destinations to a Fulfillment Center, where customer orders arrive, and are prepared to go out. I have an 11 AM to 8 PM schedule, four days a week. One of the first things you realize is that there is a hierarchy system at Amazon, based on badge color. In November, I was hired in and made a white badge because I was a temp. Three weeks ago, I was given a blue badge. If you’re familiar with Amazon culture, you understand the weight of that blue badge. Obviously, this is not ideal. To borrow a line from Carrie Fisher, this is the “best awful.“ I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off, a window to recuperate and look for a career caliber job. The work at the fulfillment center is as physically taxing is at the distribution station. But I’m finding that muscle memory is fast on the rebound. Being a blue badge, I know why I’m there and I know what that unlocks. Once I get enrolled in benefits, I’m going to dive into the free AWS training and get my résumé fortified area. Obviously, having Amazon on my resume is a good thing. But having those AWS cloud skills will give me a leg up in industry. More importantly, Drew and Tim aren't floating me anymore. I may not be rolling the money in, but I'm no longer a leech and liability. I'm no longer freeloading. I'm back to carrying my weight.

I owe my $200k+ salary at Amazon to pay transparency. When I got the offer, I reached out to three friends at Amazon. They shared their salaries with me. They taught me how compensation at Amazon worked. And they helped me negotiate. I negotiated for 6 weeks. Frankly, it was scary. I didn’t have a job. No backup offer either. Every day, I wanted to give in and accept the offer on the table. But I pushed past the fear and continued negotiating. And finally, the offer tipped over $200k. We cannot stop underselling ourselves without pay transparency. That’s why in THE FEARLESS HIRE, we openly talk about what we make. The Slack channel is buzzing with exact numbers, counter-offer strategies and word-by-word feedback on negotiation strategies for individual offers so you can learn to fearlessly advocate for yourself. Inside THE FEARLESS HIRE, talking about what we make is not a taboo. Because nothing bad happens when we make more money! If you are ready to command the career and compensation you deserve, join me inside THE FEARLESS HIRE today. Sign Up Link Is In The Comments!

Important FAQs for current Government employees interested to join Amazon (scroll to the bottom). Answers to questions such as: 1. I'm in the military. Am I considered a government employee? 2. I'm a contractor and I'm paid by a private company; however, I work with a government agency. Am I a government employee? 3. How do I determine if I'm restricted from seeking employment or having employment discussions with Amazon or its subsidiaries? 4. Do the government restrictions on seeking employment apply to submitting an application and/or sending my resume/CV to Amazon? 5. How do I know if I work for an intelligence agency? 6. How do I know if I am a 'senior' or 'very senior' government employee? https://lnkd.in/dmNUj-Dd

I owe my $200k+ salary at Amazon to pay transparency. When I got the offer, I reached out to three friends at Amazon. They shared their salaries with me. They taught me how compensation at Amazon worked. And they helped me negotiate. I negotiated for 6 weeks. Frankly, it was scary. I didn’t have a job. No backup offer either. Every day, I wanted to give in and accept the offer on the table. But I pushed past the fear and continued negotiating. And finally, the offer tipped over $200k. We cannot stop underselling ourselves without pay transparency. That’s why in THE FEARLESS HIRE, we openly talk about what we make. The Slack channel is buzzing with exact numbers, counter-offer strategies and word-by-word feedback on negotiation strategies for individual offers so you can learn to fearlessly advocate for yourself. Inside THE FEARLESS HIRE, talking about what we make is not a taboo. Because nothing bad happens when we make more money! If you are ready to command the career and compensation you deserve, join me inside THE FEARLESS HIRE today. Sign Up Link Is In The Comments!

I've seen a few people in my feed calling out Andy Jassy for not mentioning or giving any credit to the employees of Amazon for their recent financial success (in their public filings). While that's accurate, I don't know that's it's fair to criticize Jassy for this, at least in comparison to the rest of his tenure as the CEO there. In particular, there's no data to support the idea that Jassy cares about the employees at all; remember, this is the same person who hired people as remote employees during the pandemic, and then brutally shifted the company's remote work policy in direct opposition to both the data and employee feedback, and effectively fired anyone who would or could not comply (which in some cases, meant upending their lives and families to relocate for the company). Jassy is a relentless cost-cutter, who (to his credit) is relentless focused on _his_ customers, the shareholders of Amazon. I'm 100% certain that Jassy would eliminate 99% of the employees of Amazon tomorrow, without any second thoughts, if he thought it would raise the net profits by even 5%. I'm certain Jassy views the human employees of Amazon as just an unfortunate business expense, and only marginally contributory to his personal efforts to optimize the company's profit margins. There are some really good/smart people who work hard to keep Amazon successful, and overall they have done a pretty good job as a company, and this post isn't intended to take anything away from that. I'm just noting that Jassy demonstrating that he doesn't care about, or even acknowledge, the work of the rest of the employees there is 100% in line with who he appears to be as a person and CEO, in my experience.

How to Apply for a Job at Amazon in 2024 Amazon is one of the largest and most well-known companies in the world, offering a wide range of job opportunities across various industries. If you are interested in working for Amazon in 2024, this blog post will guide you through the application process and provide you with some useful tips to increase your chances of success.