Hi Reader,

The day I decided to leave Amazon was a gigantic turning point in my career.

After nearly 8 years at Amazon, having 10+ managers, leading world-class teams in 3 different businesses, working in 2 countries, my career growth stalled.

My leadership was no longer supportive of my career, hiring was frozen, and internal transfers were locked across the company. The mass layoffs that started in November 2022 created a cloud of uncertainty.

Despite my track record of delivering world-class products like Amazon Echo, AppleCare+ Warranty as a Subscription, the new Inside Amazon Search, contributing to billions in revenue among many other business outcomes for nearly a decade....

Despite multiple, top-tier performance ratings, a promotion, a dive-and save cash + RSU bonus in 2021, strong relationships with multiple Directors, VPs, and even an SVP who I met and sat with regularly...

I no longer felt safe.

I was living in a foreign country. My family was entirely dependent on me. Losing my job meant deportation as I was not a fit for roles in Luxembourg that weren't Amazon.

And that psychological burden became heavy.

It was time (again) to break out my difficult career decision-making framework. The one I have built and refined on my own, and now use with my clients.

As part of my own deep reflection, I realised something important: I had already gained so much of what was possible from working at a company like Amazon. While there was definitely more to gain, it wasn’t worth the risk.

The decision became clear—it was time to move on.

I was now faced with a variety of new challenges to overcome. Interviewing for my first, post-Amazon Product job, deciding where to live after leaving Luxembourg, and a mix of more known and unknown problems.

But those are stories for another time.

What kind of difficult career decisions have you faced?

What helped you make a decision?

If you want to work through one together using my S.E.L.E.C.T. framework, book a call and let’s get started.

Wishing you success,
James