Level Up with Ethan Evans (retired Amazon VP)
The EZ Coach
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/
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
Mentioned books
Feb 10, 2021 • 7min
Real Resume Review | Software 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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Feb 8, 2021 • 2h 26min
Venture Capital | Funding Your Startup
Ever wonder what goes into launching a startup? How much funding, paperwork, and heartache goes into these startups that make them so successful? When should you start looking at funding for your start up? Do you use angel investors, friends, family? If you have dreamed about working for or starting your own startup, you won’t want to miss these lessons. Watch Ethan Evans, former VP of Twitch Prime at Amazon; talk with Phil Compton, CFO at Locomotion and serial entrepreneur. Phil has raised dozens of venture capital funding rounds ranging from $500k to $40 million. You will hear about the hard lessons learned from both Ethan and Phil; from the tech bubble heydays to the 2000 crash. Come watch and get the scoop on venture financing.
Feb 5, 2021 • 1h 47min
Hard Questions About Leadership Careers
Exploring leadership challenges amidst COVID-19, fostering relationships in remote work setups, embracing therapy for personal growth, addressing cognitive distortions for better mental health, and navigating career decisions and work-life balance.
Feb 3, 2021 • 10min
Real Resume Review | 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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Feb 1, 2021 • 9min
Real Resume Review | ASU Chemical Engineering 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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Jan 29, 2021 • 8min
Real Resume Review | New College Graduate, Finance Degree
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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Jan 27, 2021 • 8min
Real Resume Review | Entry Level, Software Development 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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Jan 25, 2021 • 1h 3min
The Truth About Teaching Yourself
The modern world requires that you learn all through your life to keep up. Most of us grew up being "taught" in schools and universities. Once you are in the work world, this structured support vanishes. In this show Ethan Evans, retired VP from Amazon, discusses life long learning. How to understand the ways you learn best so that you can fit in necessary learning alongside work, family, and fun. Different people learn in different ways. By learning your way, it will go faster and be a pleasure rather than a constant struggle.
Jan 22, 2021 • 14min
Real Resume Review/Pharmacist
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 interviews and job offers. Over the years Ethan has reviewed over 2,500 resumes and can tell you what recruiters are looking for and more importantly, what hiring managers want.
Jan 21, 2021 • 1h 35min
Path to Product Management with Stefan Haney
What makes a great Product Manager and how to become one, with special guest Stefan Haney. Stefan spent over a decade leading product for some of Amazon's most iconic and valuable properties, including the "detail page," the main page where you complete a purchase. Ethan and Stefan talk about the traits of a good product manager, the books they rely on to train product managers, and the skills and education for the position.
