Level Up with Ethan Evans (retired Amazon VP) - podcast cover

Level Up with Ethan Evans (retired Amazon VP)

The EZ Coachwww.ethanevans.com
Level Up is your source for career growth solutions by retired Amazon Vice President, Ethan Evans. In my 15+ years at Amazon, I led global teams of 800+ and invented businesses such as Prime Video, Amazon Appstore, Merch by Amazon, Prime Gaming, and Twitch Commerce. I hold 70+ patents. Have reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted 2,500+ interviews, and made 1,000+ hires. I was an Amazon Bar Raiser and Bar Raiser Core Leader. And I helped advocate for and draft the Amazon Leadership Principle (LP) “Ownership” — the words, “They never say ‘that’s not my job.’” are mine. I've promoted 8 reports from Senior Manager (Amazon L7) to Director (Amazon L8), contributed to 25+ Director promotions, hired 10+ Directors internally and externally, and drove the promotion of 3 engineers to Principal. Of my former reports, 2 are current Amazon VPs (L10) and 5 are C-Suite outside Amazon. I retired from Amazon as a VP in September 2020. Before Amazon, I spent 12 years at 3 startups. Now I am building Level Up: Your source for career growth solutions & community. Subscribe to my newsletter for ongoing career advice and consider becoming a paid member to unlock access to exclusive events, career talks, and our private leadership community for networking: https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/

Episodes

Dissecting Amazon Leadership Principles (LPs), for Amazonians & Non-Amazonians with Ethan Evans & David Anderson

​​​​​ ​​​​Level Up Newsletter & Community paid members and the Scarlet Ink Newsletter paid members were invited to join this live event with Ethan Evans (retired Amazon VP) and David Anderson (former Amazon GM) dissecting Amazon Leadership Principles (LPs) followed by a live audience Q&A. ​David came to work for Ethan in his final role at Amazon (in Amazon Games) kicking off a friendship that has continued to flourish as they both enjoy teaching and writing on career advice in their post-Amazon ...

Jul 18, 20241 hr 18 min

Be a High-Value Connector & Networker with Andrew Yeung (Founder & Investor; ex-Google; ex-Meta)

Level Up Newsletter & Community paid members were invited to join this live event with Andrew Yeung and Jason Yoong discussing "How to Be a High-Value Connector & Networker". --- Show Notes: 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:46 Common Networking Mistakes 01:54 Building Goodwill in Networking 04:03 Effective Cold Outreach Strategies 09:05 Creating and Controlling the Room 24:59 Balancing Corporate and Entrepreneurial Pursuits 29:07 Maximizing Your Efforts 29:30 Navigating Networking 32:20 Interna...

Jul 11, 202453 min

Make the Most from an Executive Coach with Ethan Evans & Sue Bethanis

​​​​​ ​​​​Level Up Newsletter & Community paid members and the Mariposa Leadership Community were invited to join this live event with Ethan Evans and Sue Bethanis discussing "How to Get Support for an Executive Coach, and Make the Most of It" followed by a live audience Q&A. Sue was Ethan's executive coach (last and best) when he was an executive at Amazon/Twitch. ​If you’re already in executive roles (e.g. Director, Sr. Director, VP) and want to optimize performance or move up further, conside...

Jul 04, 20242 hr 35 min

How To Achieve Long Term Goals | Finding Daily Motivation

If motivation was summed up to a single sentence it could be, motivation is the difference between short term goals and long-term goals. Basically, motivated people focus more on their long-term goals. They have found the energy to do a little more, every day, that gets them closer to that goal while also not losing sight of it.

Jan 21, 202246 min

Real Resume Review | Account Management

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different

Jan 19, 202213 min

Usefulness Leads To Happiness

t’s no surprise that when you are doing something useful, you feel good. If that’s the case, why is it so hard to find that life of usefulness and connection? Why can’t we just be happy all the time? Simple question with a simple answer; being useful is a great motivator that leads to happiness.

Jan 14, 20222 hr 41 min

How To Find Motivation

We have all heard the saying, “if you want something, you have to work for it”. Makes sense, but how do you stay motivated, doing something you really don’t want to be doing? How do you get yourself to stop procrastinating when you have a lack of motivation to solve the problem at hand? Instead you want relax, enjoy a vacation while work is telling you to stay focused. Motivation is tricky. You have what you must do, what you tell yourself what you should do and then there is what you want to do...

Nov 10, 20211 hr 2 min

Breaking Rules, Making Exceptions, Good Judgement

We have all been in the situation at work where there is a rule that doesn’t make sense. The problem with rules is that once they are written down, they start to age and not all rules age well. This leads to exceptions to the rules and judgements calls needing to be made. When should an exception to the rule be granted, who should grant that exception, how do you scale exceptions? All these lead to questions about why is the rule in the first place. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime (...

Nov 08, 20211 hr 29 min

How To Conquer Imposter Syndrome

At some point in your career, chances are you have had some feelings of self-doubt in the workplace. For some it could look like a project that feels a bit beyond your expertise and for others it maybe psychological pattern that hinders a workday completely. Feelings of personal incompetence that persist despite accomplishments, education, and experience may make you end up working harder and holding yourself to unrealistic standards. How can we overcome Impostor Syndrome? Watch Ethan Evans, for...

Oct 28, 202136 min

How to ACTUALLY Work Smarter

Most of us work a minimum 40-hour work week. Now with working from home, we tend to put in more eight-hour workdays than we did before Covid-19. We’ve all heard the phrase “Work Smarter Not Harder”, but what does that really mean? What does it look like and how can we work smarter? There are simple things we can do in our workday to work smarter. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime (Prime Gaming) at Amazon; talk about how to work smarter. Ethan will discuss (from Rome) how you can start...

Oct 26, 202148 min

Live Coaching with Kristen: How to Justify a Raise

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the interview process or years into your career, eventually you will have to negotiate your pay. As your career grows you take on more responsibility, however how do you make sure your pay increases along with your career? The main problem is simple: most people never ask for a pay raise, instead they wait for their company to give it to them. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime (Prime Gaming) at Amazon; talk with returning guest Kristin about how to get t...

Jul 30, 20212 hr 31 min

Leading at Massive Scale with co-host Devin Nash and guest General Christopher Hughes

Major General Chris Hughes led 49,000 soldiers at Ft. Knox as well as all army officer recruiting and education. The Army ROTC program has 36,000 college cadets while the high school program has over 300,000 participants. Come learn the key leadership traits that go General Hughes through six combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and allowed him to transform army education. Learn how military service can lead to free education and how you can apply the same principles yourself independently....

Jul 28, 20212 hr 26 min

How (and why) You Should Self Educate

Everyone seems to agree that lifelong learning and skill improvement is critical to success in the modern business world. Technology, business models, and global conditions change rapidly enough that your speed of learning, as individuals and as companies, matters. However, most companies have not figured out how to support individual self-development. The good news and bad news is that self-education is an individual responsibility. So what are some things you can do to self-educate? Watch Etha...

Jul 02, 20211 hr 18 min

How To Use Your Network | Real World Example

There are multiple streams about how to use LinkedIn, how to build a network, why it’s important to have a network and the list goes on. Whether you’re seeking a new job, an entrepreneur looking to bring attention to your idea, or simply looking to connect with other professionals, networks such as LinkedIn are important. But are they? Well it’s time to test if having a network is worth it. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime (Prime Gaming) at Amazon; discuss how a problem he was dealin...

Jun 27, 202159 min

Mentorship Network | The Role of the Mentee

A little background, a couple months ago the idea was formed to start a mentor network. This was based on feedback from the community (previous streams go through each step of the journey). Now we are at the point in the mentor network where it is being opened up to the applicants. How will be the pilot mentees be selected and who will be their mentors. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime (Prime Gaming) at Amazon; discuss what is in-store for the applicants to the mentor network. Ethan ...

Jun 25, 20211 hr 11 min

My Resume as an Example

I share my resume, written as best I can to follow the advice I talk about in other videos, as an example. The resume contains 25+ years of experience in two pages, with an optional partial third page that can be cut if desired. It focuses on showing impact (demonstrating through accomplishments what I have done and thus what I can do for another employer). Over the years I have reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what I have found recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what h...

Jun 17, 202117 min

Real Resume Review | Product Design Engineer

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Jun 14, 202113 min

Real Resume Review | Quality Assurance, Chemical Engineer

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Jun 09, 20219 min

Real Resume Review | Data Analysis Engineer

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Jun 07, 20218 min

Real Resume Review | Full Stack Engineer

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Jun 04, 20219 min

Mentorship Needs | Why You Need A Coach

We are discussing the results of the mentorship survey and the type of mentorship people need to be mentored on. It’s a simple question but with lots of answers, such as Productivity, Time Management, Project Management, Difficult Co-worker, Bad Boss, and When to Leave a Job. While these are just a couple examples of the results that were gathered, overall the takeaway is that people do need help. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime at Amazon; discuss the main pain point people are faci...

Jun 03, 20211 hr 7 min

Real Resume Review | Theatrical Production

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

May 03, 202110 min

Mentorship Design Contest Winners | Proposal Writing Tips

After reaching out to my Twitch, Discord and LinkedIn communities, it became very clear that the number one need is mentorship. Based on this, a mentorship design contest was started to crowdsource the best ideas to design such a network. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime at Amazon; discuss ten great proposals that were submitted for the Mentorship Design Contest. Learn how simple changes can make the difference between an okay proposal and a great one. For the top 3 proposals, Ethan ...

Apr 30, 20212 hr 38 min

Mentorship Design Contest show

Ever wonder what goes into starting a business? What about something easier, how to grow your career. After reaching out to my community, the number one item requested was mentorship. Makes sense as the most common career challenge people face is not knowing exactly what they want to do next in their careers. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime at Amazon; discuss the design of a mentorship program. Ethan will answer questions about your career such as promotions, how to deal with a boss...

Apr 28, 202143 min

Real Resume Review | Recent College Grad

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Apr 26, 202111 min

Dealing With Executives | Working Through Fears

Many people are anxious or even fearful when working with executives, company owners, or other "powerful" people at work. Ethan has dealt with this from both sides, when his own team has been nervous speaking to him and when he has had to speak face to face with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos or Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Watch this coaching session of how to prepare for and execute a great meeting with executives of any type and position. Learn the basic rule of be bright, be quick, be gone, and how to apply ...

Apr 23, 20212 hr 3 min

How To Stay Focused | Achieve Long Term Goals

One of the most talked about topics is weight. With more than one third of adults in the United States obese and another one third of adults overweight, weight is often a sensitive topic for many people. It is not an easy journey to lose weight and it can require a lot of sacrifice, hard work, and dedication. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime at Amazon; discuss his personal weight loss journey and how he lost 80 lbs. and kept it off. Ethan will apply how he conquered his challenge and...

Apr 19, 20211 hr 2 min

Real Resume Review | Computer Science Student

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Apr 16, 20218 min

Racism and Diversity | Are they MY Problem?

Racism and Diversity are topics we all need to address, especially in the workplace. Passively agreeing with topics such as Black Lives Matter is not being part of the solution or driving change. Whether its women or men, minorities, drinking alcohol, certain sports or activities, or staying late for work functions. How do we tackle these life and workplace scenarios to include all of our friends and colleagues without excluding any particular group? Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime ...

Apr 15, 20212 hr 33 min

Real Resume Review, Before & After | Engineering Project Manager

What does the perfect resume look like? What works and what doesn’t? Here’s a tip, there is no one size fits all approach. Resumes are supposed to tell your accomplishments: what you did, how you did it and what was the result. But everyone has different skills, different job history, and different problems they solved. As a former VP of Amazon (Newly Retired), watch Ethan Evans talk about what makes a great resume. Learn simple changes that you can implement now that could get you more intervie...

Apr 12, 20217 min