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So I've had 2 hiring managers and several recruiters from Amazon reach out to me about applying for some open positions with the company (android). I completed the coding assessment and now they want me to go through a round of 5 hour interviews next week. Is there a good chance I'll be hired if engineering managers are reaching out to me? I'm really not sure how badly I want to work for them and I don't want to be laid off months after being hired on. Anyone know what Amazon hiring is like?
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Totally agree with the other comments here. It sounds like they might be feeling resistant due to past experiences with poor leadership. I’d approach this by continuing to build trust with them and maybe by stepping back a bit and asking for their input more often, then offering support in a way that shows you respect them and the work they do. Small wins might shift their perspective.
Probably be a slow process, it can be hard to earn trust with a team that has been burnt a lot in the past. I wouldn’t try to force it. Do your job and let them do theirs. Keep having communication. Understanding your style doesn’t fit every situation is huge on its own honestly.
Agree with the feedback. They are cranky from dealing with poor leadership and you are now tasked with building trust which will take time.
Unless there are issues that must be addressed, be a sponge for the first 3-6 months. Before making any "improvements," solicit their feedback and think critically about the impact. Try to get your hands wrapped around the work they do. Even some well meaning changes, can have unintended consequences.
Good luck!
It goes without saying, but make a visible effort to understand what they deal with on a day-to-day basis before providing any suggestions. I think the biggest source of this kind of resentment comes from feeling like management has no clue what it's talking about and is just arbitrarily pulling levers to the detriment of the team. If you put the time in to learn about their processes, you can hopefully alleviate some of that and give them a reason to buy in to your proposals.
And don’t forget this, they may have been left on their own too long and/or had bad leadership. To them, a new leader feels like a bungee manager every time it happens. People come in and want to make moves right away when they don’t have a clue about the work. That’s the quickest way to turn off a new team.
In my experience, all I do is sit back, answer questions if they have any and come in slowly get their updates, let them know I’m there to support them and if anything needs to be done by me, I just want to know about it earlier than too late.
This won’t be the first time this happens to you in a leadership role. It’s best to figure out your process and get it down really well now.
Everyone deserves to feel valued whether you are at work or simply around a family member, if you continue to feel devalued I suggest a job search or simply talking to a higher authority.
Don't think of it as resistance. Embrace it in every way you can.
This isn't about you or your style, it's about their experience at the company.
Imagine yourself in their position...
You don't trust that this new leader is sticking around or knows what they are talking about. You probably feel under-appreciated because whilst leaders have rotated the team has continued to operate. You may feel passed over for the leadership role. You definitely feel frustrated that you know what you're doing and no one has asked you about how to make improvements or rewarded you for making them anyway.
For the next 1-2 months: get them resources when they ask for them. Reduce friction in their world however you can. Shine a spotlight on the work they are doing with your own manager. Ask questions and learn. Show up every day with consistency. Write down your points of feedback/improvement so you can be specific and action-oriented.
Over time, here are more proactive things you can do (do not do these all at once):
- Address the changes directly and commit to building trust by just showing up
- Listen, listen, listen. Ask questions, write down their ideas, ask in 1:1s, "Is there anything I can help unblock? Is there an idea you have but haven't been able to implement?"
- Unpack baggage. Ask in a 1:1, "What's the worst thing a leader can do/has done, and how did it affect you?" and "What's the best thing?"
- Look for ways to genuinely show appreciation. Ask each of them, "How do you like to be recognized for great work?". Follow through in their style when they've kicked a goal
- Make feedback 2-way from the start. Start by asking for feedback and ask, "What the most effective way to share feedback?"