A man who was among the first 100 employees at Amazon has shared his experience of being interviewed by Jeff Bezos.
Today, working at Amazon is a fairly common job opportunity, given the company’s global presence and multitude of facilities. However, have you ever wondered what working there was like during the 1990s?
Amazon was established in 1994, beginning its journey in Bezos’ one-floor office located near Seattle.
Back then, Bezos was focused on launching the company online, initially as an online bookstore.
To achieve this, Bezos sought to hire employees, particularly those with expertise in coding.
That’s when Joshua Burgin decided to respond to a job advertisement he found in the University of Washington newspaper, using his own fax machine.
The advertisement sought individuals with advanced degrees and experience in ‘C/C++/Unix’ and in designing and maintaining large, complex systems.
For Joshua, this move was a risk, as the company was only in its second year at that point, and it meant relocating and accepting a salary reduction.
He wrote on Medium that he began his career at a ‘traditional enterprise software company’ and ‘even had some options as the company had just gone public’, but he was certain he wanted to write code on the West Coast in the long run.
When a friend noticed Amazon’s ad, Joshua applied and soon embarked on his journey as one of the earliest employees of the now-global company.
He recounted that at the time, he had ‘hair back then’ and chose to wear a ‘full suit to the interview because you did that on the East Coast’.
He also made the faux pas of writing code on an ‘actual keyboard live in one interview’ not realizing that interviewees were expected to use a whiteboard.
Despite this minor mistake, it didn’t deter the company from inviting him for a second interview, this time with Bezos himself.
Joshua shared: “I interviewed with the Jeff Bezos in Amazon’s single floor office (yes, we all fit on one floor! No, I don’t think he remembers me).”
He was ‘shocked’ to have the opportunity to interview with a CEO, but despite the nerves, he felt he performed well.
Unlike many, he managed to stay composed, even with Bezos’ intense interview style.
Ultimately, he secured the job and was informed after Thanksgiving. Despite his initial skepticism about the viability of selling books online, he stayed with the company for over three years.
After leaving in 2000, Joshua pursued other ventures for 14 years before returning to Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2014, where he continues to work today.
Perhaps Joshua wasn’t daunted by Bezos because, at that time, Bezos had a different appearance.
A 1996 interview with The Computer Chronicles left social media users amazed at how ‘normal’ he looked back then, compared to his current, more distinctive appearance often likened to a ‘James Bond villain’.