From Dog Years to a New Pace

Today I want to write about transition and adaptation. The last six months have been a time of change for me, and not all of it was easy.

It started in the last quarter of 2025. It is not a secret now that Amazon/AWS was letting people go. The way it was done was different from country to country, but the result was always the same. From one day to another, someone you knew, a colleague or even someone you could call a friend, was not online anymore. Meetings got quiet, and you could simply say the mojo was gone. There was a lot of uncertainty, nobody knew who would be next, and that created extra mental stress in a job where you need to be sharp almost every day.

As usual, things started in the US, so anyone watching could guess what would come next in the EU. I was no exception, and I looked at my own risk. I worked virtually, away from my RTH, or return to hub as some like to call it. Almost everyone in the EU team lived close to the office, so I was a clear outlier. I also had strong ties with some people, but I was not close to most. If I was the one choosing, I thought, I would be a logical option.

In Amazon Loss Prevention, Finance and AWS, I learned to plan for risks before they happen. This time, the risk was my own job. So I made a plan for myself. I didn’t wait for things to happen. I started this site, became more active on LinkedIn and updated my profile. I tried to build something that made me stand out, polished some skills I had forgotten, and kept up with what was happening internally.

When the first quarter of 2026 came, I was as prepared as I could be. Then a recruiter reached out about a position, and on top of that, it was in my own city. I prepared, did the interviews and got the job. Luck, experience, or both. They say fortune favours the bold.

What I was not fully prepared for was the transition itself. Joining another company means different needs and different timings, and I think this is what a lot of ex-Amazonians struggle with the most.

For the last decade I worked with tight deadlines and reports that were needed yesterday, not tomorrow. It was intense and not for everyone, and like in any company, the manager you get makes a big difference. Some people joke that a year at Amazon is like a dog year. But if you stay, you get used to it.

So when you join a new organization, the first instinct is to bring your old habits with you. If I am honest, sometimes it is more about recreating the environment you know than asking what your new team actually needs. Every business has its own timings, and they are there for a reason. Some of your habits will be welcome, but it working at Amazon does not mean it will work in your new job. When colleagues tell you to take your time and learn the business first, it is good advice. Building the plane while flying it is not always the best way, and it won’t always take you to success.

Still, there is a lot a former Amazonian can bring. Handling pressure, being curious, diving deep, raising the bar. And helping, for example by younger or less experienced colleagues deal with senior leadership, because most of us were exposed to that at some point and learned by doing, and by running lessons learned when things did not go as planned. Amazon has amazing managers, mentors and leaders. If you listened to them, you can take what they taught you to your new organization.

So, as things move forward, here is what I want to say:

1) No job is guaranteed, so keep your skills and your network alive.

2) It’s OK to miss the high-speed pace, but don’t push it on a new team.

3) Be kind, share your experience, keep the high bar and mentor when you can.

4) Be water. Give yourself time to breathe, look around you, watch and learn.

If you are reading this, hope this helped.