Working at Amazon and Microsoft
Been meaning to post this for a while now - a summary of my working career at Amazon as Website manager and Microsoft as CGM Product Manager. This article is a follow on (with a bit o overlap) of the Tokyo 1999 - 2001 article.
The first photo is taken from the canteen at the Pacific Medical Center (PacMed) - the HQ of Amazon.com.
Joined Amazon in 2001 as Website Manager. Was a huge leap in my career - position and monetary wise. Was on the management team together with the directors of finance, IT, supply chain, media, entertainment, books and HR.
Working at Amazon really helped me discover myself and helped me grow. I discovered that I was a people person and good at motivating my staff. While being a people person however, I also needed to think about the company and welfare of other staff meaning that I also had to help or manage out poor performers.
Even the best managers make hiring mistakes and I made a few in the past too. Some people can seem great in interviews but do poorly on the battle field. Amazon has a high hiring bar and expects all new comers to be able to hit the ground running. There are even people designated as "bar raisers" in Amazon who are called in on interview loops.
The challenges of managing a huge team are things like working with subordinates who all have different personalities and backgrounds who interact differently with each other - and then making sure they are motivated and deliver projects on time and to spec.
One of the toughest part of managing a team of about 30 is allocating pay increases from a small budget. We had a performance evaluation twice a year and the pay increases are generally based on the goals achived in the evaluations.
My office at the time filled with Star Wars goodies - left most of it in Seattle.
While I joined Amazon with previous web experience, working at Amazon was a completely different ball game. Working in a small company before, it was about HTML files saved on your local computer which were then FTP'ed to a single server. I remember being completely confused at the beginning by the development and roll out process at Amazon.
At Amazon, all developers had a development environment on their unix machines which were checked in to a single repository. QA is done on a few development servers by QA teams. The files then go though a build process and then pushed out to the hundreds of servers - and this was just for the UI which my team managed.
Then there is the catalog build which involved a process called reconciliation which makes the same product from different vendors the same. The catalog has millions of ASIN's (Amazon Standard Identification Number - the acronym used for products) and took hours to build.
Then there are separate teams to work with including P13n (Personalization), i11n (Internationalization), Search and Browse, Weblab, Userbility and so on. Listed below are some of the stuff I got up to - plucked from profile page which is why it is written in CV lingo. Remember - if you don't tell people your abilities, people are not going to guess. Letting people know of your abilities is crucial in a successful career. If you have a blog, make sure you have a profile page as it will open many doors for you as it has done for me ^o^
Responsibilities in this role included:
- Responsible for the production team of about 30 heads (cant give exact number). The team comprised of Web Development, Quality Assurance, Design, Browse Development, Content Build and Deployment, Cross Site Editorial, Imaging, Program Management and Catalog Operations.
- I was responsible for providing the optimum organizational structure, workloads, direction, hiring, firing, performance evaluation, and determined compensation / career advancement.
- Lead development teams remotely across the globe to coordinate and deploy website features.
- Responsible as a member of the senior management team in Japan to make critical decisions regarding company direction. Also was a member on interview loops for key members of staff including directors.
- As a member of the senior management team, I would participate in top grading, promotion and organizational decisions.
- Travel to each of our locales to meet with the other country website managers to discuss, plan and decide resource allocation, technological constraints / advancements that influence the following quarter's website initiatives.
- Worked with and have good working knowledge of all departments across all locales in Amazon including Vendor Management, Buying, Merchandising, Finance, Legal, Retail, Marketing, Web Services, Public Relations, Human Resources, Supply Chain / Operations, IT.
- Responsible for onboard orientation for new key hires and constant education of website features, technology and processes for the business owners.
- Present technology updates and QA sessions at the company all-hands each quarter.
- Worked closely with Customer Service to understand the nature and cause of customer contact - allowing my team to keep their assigned contacts to a minimum.
- Maintained excellent Service Level Agreements.
- Maintained high morale and optimal working conditions for my team members.
Achievements in this role included:
- Delivered the following major incremental features to the site.
- Incremental product lines include: Video Games, Software, Gift, Marketplace, Consumer Electronics and Home&Kitchen.
- Features include: My Store, Vodafone, Listmania, Wishlist, Cash On Delivery.
- Incremental product lines include: Video Games, Software, Gift, Marketplace, Consumer Electronics and Home&Kitchen.
- Implementation of Search Engine Optimization changes to all the Amazon retail sites resulting in incremental revenues of millions of US dollars.
- Introduced procedures such as the Quarterly Planning Process which enabled the business to prioritize the most important feature rollout and projects - allowing my team to execute and deliver with minimal resources whilst minimizing the need to work overtime.
- Executed new and innovative website features which have resulted in incremental revenues of millions of Japanese yen.
- Implemented a vast array of user interface and usability changes to not only improve our customer's online shopping experience but also to increase conversion.
- Delivered Amazon.co.jp's first syndicated store for Virgin Mega Japan.
- Through the introduction of technology, improvement processes and top grading, I kept headcount flat throughout the 3 years as website manager whilst continuing to deliver 100% of the projects and initiatives that were required for Amazon.co.jp to meet each quarter's financial targets.
- Gained excellent working knowledge of Amazons proprietary database, catalog, content / software deployment systems and data processes.
- Also gained excellent working knowledge of our online usability tests - this refers to the tests that we implement when launching incremental features online to a certain percent of users to establish how colors, element / widget positioning, number of clicks involved etc affect customer behavior and conversion.
- Gained excellent working knowledge and concepts of email marketing, content management and online promotional management systems.
While working at Amazon, we stayed at a mansion near Shimo Kitazaka - could get to work in about 30 mins which is considered good for Tokyo. Was one of those Mac haters at the time. Had many Mac users among my staff but couldn't understand what they did on a Mac besides mail and Internets.
Every now and then, we could go through a program called Customer Connect which gives us the opportunity to become closer to the customer. Some of the program involves answering customer calls.
This is a photo of one of the FC's (Fulfillment Centers). Books and products are manually picked from the shelves in a process called "Picking." At the time, most of the FC was rows and rows of shelves but just before I left Amazon it was a ton of conveyor belts and robots - looked like something from the Terminator.
The Japanese Amazon offices are at the Shibuya Cross Tower. Our team was located on one of the higher floors with nice views all round. I enjoyed getting into the office early to take pics of me Star Wars goodies by the window ^^;
One of my personal projects at Amazon which failed gracefully. Wanted to make a device which enabled developers in Seattle to control a mobile phone located in Japan remotely. Got some Lego which came with motors that could be controlled via a computer. The idea was that a developer in Seattle would control this device and see the output through a web cam ^^;
Much of my work at Amazon involved traveling several times a year to the other Amazon offices located in the UK, France, Germany and HQ in Seattle meaning many weeks of hotel life. This is the mini laptop that I used for many years.
Every quarter, the Website Manager from each locale would gather together at either the UK, DE, FR or US office to have the quarterly plannings. Before we had the meetings, we would gather wish lists from the business owners in our locale.
A "business owner" is a term used to refer to folks like supply chain, marketing, PR and so on. They give me their website feature request together with a business case. When I have all requests in, the business owners together with the local finance team and I get together and try to establish which projects are needed to contribute to the financial goals of the company. The projects which yield low gains are usually "killed."
Projects are not all about direct financial gains however. For example, a project may help reduce the amount of customer queries there are. A reduction in a single query = reduced costs.
At the Quarterly Planning Process, all the website managers would discuss the projects required from our business owners and see if there are overlaps with requests from other locales - if there are then we can share resources.
Many of the projects require resources from teams in Seattle so we then need to submit requests to them as they have their own planning processes too.
Dont know what happened - could have been overworking or just something very bad that I ate. Was taken to a hospital after collapsing at home one day. Was living off a drip for a few days which was an interesting experience as I didn't eat at all and didn't feel hungry.
Was thinking that humans in the future would have some sot of socket in their neck where they could just plug in a nutrition pack - saves time on eating ^^;
Forgot the name of the illness that I had but it was kind of some strange stomach flu.
And then there were meetings which involved all the top folks at Amazon like the annual kick off meetings.
Together with the other Website Managers, my boss Anne krook, Program Manager Patrick O'kelley (who now works for the Xbox I think) and the top design person Ellen Butchard.
Back then all the monitors were CRT's - anybody still use them at work?
One of the first things I wanted to do on my first trip to Seattle - go sky diving. Have always wanted to sky dive and was excited about jumping. The plane made its way up and I was still excited. And then the door opened.
It was a tandem jump but I had to lean out of the plane first. Upon approaching the door and looking down, my body just stopped ^^;
Before I knew It I was falling from the plane and remember looking at the horizon on a gorgeous day with blue skies. The scariest part is after the chute opens as all your senses return to you and you realize that you are still a few thousand feet in the air dangling from just a few strands of string.
Loved it though and cant wait to go again. But expensive for a jump in Tokyo - a place in Saitama does them for 30,000 yen a jump.
With ninja coder team members walking down from PacMed to the International District for lunch.
And then in July 2004, we packed *everything* up and moved to Seattle. I was asked if I wanted to work in Seattle and while I have always loved Japan, my wife and I knew that we had to move to the US - we didn't know why but did know that it was a piece of the jigsaw puzzle of life that we needed to collect.
Arrival in Seattle. We were given air and sea cargo - air cargo for the important stuff like Gundams.
This is where Amazon put us up - one of the tall buildings in the middle the photo is Harbor Steps - our home for the next 5 months.
And this is what our apartment looked like on the inside. Could not get over the huge amount of space we had compared to what we got used to living in while in Japan.
This was our sea view. Gorgeous sunsets over the emerald city.
And this was our city view.
Working remotely at Amazon was a pain. We used to carry around something which resembled a calculator. When logging into the Amazon network, we would be given a challenge which one needs to key into the calculator thing. The calculator would then produce a response which had to be keyed in to the terminal window - all had to be done within a few seconds!
These days Amazon uses one of these devices - wont go into detail but its a lot less painful to log into the network. BTW - this is not mine - a former colleague from Amazon came over to stay and I just took a peek ^^;
Working at Amazon was indeed fun - more fun in the US office though. There was a Segway for some of the employees to play around with. Still want one but its illegal to use then on the roads in Japan. One can buy a Segway in Japan but the law still says that you can only use it on private grounds.
Any lucky reader have a Segway?
And we would occasionally play dodgeball too which was most fun.
View of PacMed by night.
And this was my desk in Seattle. The HP laptop was my work machine but I ended using it for private stuff too - browsing and what have you ^^;
The Blackberry was the only device approved to poll Amazon internal mail at the time.
An example of the lovely brekkie available at the Amazon canteen. Love American breakfasts.
While in Seattle, I managed a project which involved working closely with the Alexa team. Alexa is an Amazon owned search engine. Involved flying over to Sanfran to get face time with the team. A9 is another Amazon owned search engine and would hook up with folks there too.
This photo was taken with the Alexa team at the Alexa data centers.
Flew over to Las Vegas, grabbed a car and drove over to Monument Valley - one of the most amazing sights we've ever seen.
One has the option of leaving their car at the gates and walking in or taking the car into the grounds - take the car as the grounds are huge. You can stop and get out anywhere anytime.
Just gorgeous. If you are traveling to Las Vegas, do take time out to travel to Monument Valley.
And then the place that leaves you in awe - the Grand Canyon. The marvel of this natural wonder cannot be described by words, photo or videos alone - one must be there and experience it to truly appreciate how wonderful the place is.
Vancouver is just a few hours drive up from Seattle. Spent a few days there to experience Canada. The food is lovely and the girls over there are rather pretty desu ^^;
And then after 5 months, we packed up to move back to Japan. Working in the US was a great experience for the both of us. We met a load of folk and the time here further broadened our minds.
But it wasn't until I left Japan that I discovered how much I love the land of the rising sun. I remember watching the Japanese channel all the time in Seattle and watched Lost in Translation over and over again.
So what does my wife think about all this moving round from the UK to Japan to Seattle and back to Japan? Well its a question that many ask her and she always answers the same - it doesn't matter where we live as long as we are together. We've been together for 13 years now.
My wife has lived in more countries than I now. China, Japan, UK and the US.
This snap taken just before we left Seattle. We probably would have made more of the time if we knew that we were only going to be there for half a year. Time flew by and before we knew it everything just fell into place.
Amazon had just acquired a Chinese website called Joyo.com and I was to manage Website and Software development.
Senior VP Diego Piacentini who reported directly to the CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos really looked after me well. Am grateful for what he done to help my career at Amazon.
A quick trip to Canon Beach in Oregon for a couple of days before we leave.
And then its back in the land of the rising sun. Was November 2004. We enjoyed our time in the US but was over the moon to be back. Amazon put us up in corporate housing again for a few weeks at Oakwood in Azabu Jyuban.
We found a place in Tamagawa before our stuff arrived back in Japan.
This is what it looked like on the outside - a terrace house. We chose a terrace house this time round because of the terrible noise that we've experienced in the past from neighbors above and below - we get both floors this time.
But! As with many places for rent in Japan, the walls were made of paper and you could hear everything through the walls.
Moving into the second floor. Ended up staying here for a few weeks before deciding to buy a house.
With the newly acquired Joyo.com, most of the directors were actually based in Japan. The IT manager of Japan managed IT in China, Supply Chain director managed the SC in China and so on.
Some team members at the Joyo offices.
Loved visiting the China offices because they had this! Not sure if the Pin Yin is correct but Poluo Pau Bing - a kind of pineapple pancake.
At the Joyo.com Fulfillment Center.
Inside the Joyo.com FC. Cant see any secret stuff so I hope Amazon HR does not contact me and ask me to remove it ^^;
If this photo disappears over the next few days then you know that I got the contact.
Just before I left Amazon, we spent a lot of time with the house buying process which you can read in the Tokyo Property Purchase article.
This is what my office looked like at the time.
And this is what it still looks like on the second floor. Pretty pleased that the house was paid for with affiliate earnings ^o^/
And then I made my way over to Microsoft where I served as a CGM (Consumer Generated Manager) Product Manager. My first post was at the Shinjuku offices in Times Square. The MSN/Web team occupied a single floor which was becoming packed. New comers (like myself) had to sit in between desks until we moved offices ^^;
And then we moved to Akasaka - the building in the middle which overlooked a girls school...
...and thats not the reason why I ended up with a desk by the window ^^;
My work involved the feature planning, service evaluation, development, implementation and execution of various online services. Products that I mainly worked on were Spaces and Favorites.
There are a few things that I can probably publicly talk about Microsoft without getting in trouble.
For a start, it was interesting to see how folks at MS were more outgoing than folks at Amazon. Amazonians rarely go out to networking events to mingle but folks at Microsoft done it all the time.
MS folks seemed more web savvy in terms of understanding the trends what was going on in the web - most of the folk at Amazon Japan were hired from a retail background and not necessarily a web background.
MS generally treat their employees very well - once you get a job at Microsoft, you can probably stay there for life. I didn't hear of Microsoft laying people off. But there is a bad side to this - poor performers are sent to work with other groups and end up affecting the productivity of that group.
The other bad thing about this is that many people get in the comfort zone easily and try not to do anything that will rock the boat. There were only a handful of people who wanted to do something radical and put forward great ideas.
Microsoft is a great software company but tries to use processes for developing software to develop web applications which are a different thing.
Microsoft is unfortunately a follower and not an innovator. They would usually wait until a competitor is doing something before taking action.
Great examples are Firefox - if FF didn't come along, everybody would still be using IE6.
If Googles online services didn't come along, Windows Live probably would not have happened.
No Playstation, No Xbox etc etc.
There was an internal process where you had to submit information about what the competitor is doing before the project was approved - meaning that it was not possible to submit something that was not already being done by others.
The worst thing about Microsoft was their infatuation with Google. They even had a job position called "Beat Google" which you can read about at GizzBuzz. It wasn't about innovation - it was all about waiting for the competition to do something and then copy them - and then try to beat them at it.
Microsoft employees are *much* better paid than Amazonians. My observations were that a product manager at Amazon may have earned about 5,000,000 yen but a person of same responsibility at Microsoft earns 10,000,000 yen - double desu!
Amazon and Microsoft were similar in the way that HQ is located in Seattle and that many of the Japanese projects are just localization features of stuff from the US - happens at Google too (so I hear).
This photo taken at an end of year party. Despite the "follower and not innovator" thing which could really be a downer at times, the folks at MS really knew how to have a load of fun.
MS did have quite a bit O money to spend on entertaining the staff. They flew about 30,000 of us from all over the world to the US for an event where they rented the whole of Universal Studios for a day just for us ^^;
Ah, was also managing some of the Windows Live gadgets too. Here I present at Remix 2006.
Got to wear the armor at work often too.
Some poloroids from an event at Nippon Budokan (all of it) where Steve Balmer came on and started to shout "I LOVE THIS COMPANY!" repeatedly...again...and...again...Something like what you see below in the "Developers" version. If you join Microsoft be knowist that you may end up clapping and chanting along with him.
More photos to show you that MS folks really know how to have fun - never done anything like this at Amazon. The security team dresses up in Sentai gear and become the Security Rangers.
It was sad that they had a penguin (linux) come on which they all beat up ^^;
And then when people leave Microsoft to pursue other interests, everybody in the offices gathers around them to hear their final words.
Working in a corporate company is great experience. Most companies have internal politics and the ones in a corporate entity are the most challenging to deal with - one will learn a lot from the experience.
A corporate company will (depending on your self initiative) help you grow a great deal within a short amount of time. If you are going to join a large company, you and the employees already have something in common - you all work for the same company. Despite this, I see many people just going about their own business and end up only working with people in their own department.
Take the initiative to mingle with folks in all areas of the company.
An important thing about working in a corporate company (or any company for that matter) is to understand what opportunities there are within the company to help you grow. For example, you have bee working in web development department for a while and now want new challenges - maybe in the supply chain? Are there positions available?
Also, never let yourself get to comfortable and fall into the Comfort Zone as it can be difficult to get out. Always have a grasp of your achievements and how much you want to grow within a company. If you feel there is no more room to grow then it may be a prompt in life that there are no more pieces of your life jigsaw puzzle to be collected where you are - time to move on.
There's probably (definitely) a lot I missed or intentionally left out stuff that I should not really talk about but do ask in the comments if there is something you want to know.
Disclaimer desu: The accounts in this article are my own observations and do not necessarily represent what actually goes on today at Amazon or Microsoft.
If you are interested in reading about life in Japan, seeing photos taken daily around Tokyo, like Japanese subculture (anime, manga, figures, Dollfies) then you may want to start delving into the Japan or Figure categories for a start or have a gander at all photo articles.
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Blogger, Figure collector, Baby Photographer?
http://www.howagirlfigures.com
you looked really good with long hair danny, shoulda kept it that way ^_~ I have always wanted to go to monument valley and the grand canyon but time and money haven't let me yet but one day i'm planning to make the trip just came back from vegas myself but we went to death valley instead http://www.howagirlfigures.com/2009/02/24/death-valley-not-really-dead/
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
Nice photos!
Had to cut it short as having long hair made it fall out quicker than you could say "Picard."
Blogger, Figure collector, Baby Photographer?
http://www.howagirlfigures.com
sucks, but then i guess going bald would suck tons more
Pseudo-Graphic Designer, 触手 wrangler, H-Man
http://lightningsabre.blogspot.com/
Oh geez... I better get a haircut soon then 0.o
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
"make it so"
http://www.marvinryan.com
else baldly go where no man has gone before. ^^
NEET part-time - Technical Support Officer - Network security engineer
http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/
*badum tsss*
Graphic Arts Student
I've been thinking about getting one myself, and if what Danny says is true then it's something I definitely should look into.
My mom's family has a small history of male baldness. >.<
Student
http://anime.tedfox.com/
went bald for the good o army, didn't like it one single bit
*pats hair my preciousssss
Student
aw cutting your hairs the worst, as a long mulleted person myself lol i can understand the pain of losing it. i had to cut mine for work = (.
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
http://puppy52art.com/
*drool* the pineapple pancake looks so goot!
流浪人
You and food! ^o^
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
http://puppy52art.com/
yes :P me and food! LOL
Guess
That pineapple pancake kinda looks ike cassava cake.
Blogger
http://quicoto.com
lol noone voted Microshit :P
former Emperor of Britannia
http://reflectiarx.wordpress.com/
Remarkable! So much has happened as it brings back memories of how i started or rather ended up staying in this site which was reading the history of the site and it's creator.
Moving from one company to another is indeed hard once you get the "comfort zone". But like what you stated, as long as you have a grasp of your achievements then you would surely know what you should do next.
Awesome article! *thumbs up*
流浪人
image ID#24821
I used to move office furniture in the tall, black building on the right-of-center side of the picture... ^^;
university student
hey danny....when you were working at amazon did you like get free stuff?
university student
or atleast discounts?
初音ミク命
Very nice read.
I've never been to Monument Valley or the Grand Canyon but I have gone to Zion national park which also has a lot of really nice areas.
It's interesting watching your office start off with all Star Wars stuff and then it changes over to a small anime collection that starts getting larger until the point at which you're at now.
Webdev, internet contents, music
http://www.pepinismo.net/
In the future™ I'd rather save time in mostly anything but eating.
And that Amazon brekie looks great but I can't leave home without having breakfast. 2nd breakfast at the office? Of course!
Scientist, unemployed.
http://fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com
Yeah, I think some of the cafe folks at Amazon must be halflings.
Pseudo-Graphic Designer, 触手 wrangler, H-Man
http://lightningsabre.blogspot.com/
Wai wai! Bankuuba desu!! I know that corner ^_^
Very detailed descriptions of both places. It's great to read about it all. Especially about MS wanting to have a report about what the competition has done when presenting a new idea... weird! Also interesting to hear about hospital experiences as I've never been to one before. I'm never too keen about seeing the doctor or going to a hospital even after I passed out one night. Just didn't like it.
So many Star Wars vehicles... big ones too. So when can I pick them up in Seattle? I'm heading south of the border on Friday ^^
Customer Service
http://www.shewsbury.com
Great story.. I enjoy reading this... Danny you are a lucky man.... by that I mean your valuable experience and expertise working with those 2 giant tech companies. I personally envy you but at the same time you give me some inspiration and motivation to reach the "next level" and keep on improving my self for the future. Working in the financial industry during this economic recession is always harder than it supposed to be.
http://www.stefkov.com/
Great article Danny. At this moment in time in my life I can only hope to have such an exciting life as you've had.
http://www.marvinryan.com
was touched with the part of your wife saying "it doesn't matter where we live as long as we are together". btw I notice how your hair goes from long to short to long then short again. ^^
http://www.marvinryan.com
Don't think I ever told you this, but I had the impression that you worked in Google before you went to work for Microsoft. must have picked the idea up from your old articles on SEO. ^^;
Graphic Arts Student
Ya know I've lived in Las Vegas for 8 years now and I've never been to Monument Valley.
Hmmm... me thinks it's time I took a short road trip.
PR Person
http://twitter.com/TommyKTse
It's interesting to hear you talk about your experiences working at Amazon and Microsoft because they are both clients at the PR agency I work at. Also, it's nice to hear how things are in the Japan offices for Amazon and Microsoft.
http://thekatscorner.blogspot.com
Oh, I think I spotted your wedding picture hehe. Danny with long hair!
I worked as a Microsoft L2 tech support before, and it wasn't an easy job. I hated the times when something happens and no one can explain why, and the KB articles don't help at all haha. But I like the freebies we were given, mostly toys and stuff with the MSN butterfly logo on it haha. I have a plush toy of that, among others.
Err, I still have a CRT monitor at work. Gah. My eyes.
Student
http://shockerz.wordpress.com/
Danny seem like you have achieve a lot in life and gain tons of experience from your work. I wish I can do the same as you. It sound fun to be able to travel around the work and work with different people in different countries.
I'm curious.. Why the long hair?
code weaver
http://thejimdandy.com
You can do the same. There are many multinationals companies out there. Just make sure you work for a company (or companies) where you can learn and grow from. Never be afraid to take chances in life
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
Quite an adventure you have there, but its still got alot of chapters left to go. Evident that such a long journey builds alot of skills, character, relationships, and memories. Good to see your cherish the experience.
One of my "issues" is that I tend to get to know people too well. My boss will become my friend, and my coworkers will become a new social circle. It can sometimes get difficult separating the work and social environment, but I guess that happens everywhere. At the same time it yields some unexpected benefits which I won't get into...
I had long hair long ago, but long asian hair is too hard to manage. It's all over the place.
FatBastard is Asian? From your constant dry sense of humour, I had always thought you were a Brit.
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
You're right, I was just kidding. ^^
Student
http://anime.scripts.mit.edu/miteiru/
lol and he's skinny :P
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
That was all photoshop. @.@
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
I'm pretty sure I'd be the same - not being able to move on, not because I love my job, but because I like the people I work with.
Blogger, consultant
http://www.netharuka.com
Scary. I visit Seattle quite often and have a brother who lives there (he works at Microsoft). I've probably been to every spot you've photographed in Seattle besides the ones of your apartment there. My wife and I visit Canon Beach about four times a year. ^^ You visited in the summer...it's actually somewhat better in the off season.
Your corporate experience seems to be a much more glamorous version of my own. I worked in a major manufacturing company, which makes the culture radically different than the business casual culture you had at Microsoft and Amazon. Still, your experiences bring back a lot of memory. I certainly haven't forgotten the challenges of performance appraisals, corporate politics and trying to work through standard processes (bureaucracy).
While I sort of miss it, I prefer independence (even though it came with a huge pay cut!)
Again thanks for sharing.
P.S. The Vancouver girls are desu. ^^
Injured
The Grand Canyon was awesome got to go there 2x in the '70s and Carlsbad Caverns 2x thats one every one needs to do. The MSN Butterfly on the StormTrooper chest piece made me laugh. Great accomplishments all of those. Hate moving but when neighborhoods go bad guess I have too. Oh so far I think Danny Choo is the only person I could stand to watch slide shows of his trips and vacations. Like every one else I think I run when I see a projector setup in someones house I went to ROFL.
NEET part-time - Technical Support Officer - Network security engineer
http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/
i've been waiting for this article for a LOOONG time
An awesome read into another part of your life there. It seems that the world of IT out there is huge and i too hope that i may experience something like you have had, and to grow through it. It's exciting to read what can be (and/or what is) for a lot of us here reading at dc.com who are involved in this industry.
I would say that im a very introverted person when it comes to face2face conversations with people i don't know, but then again, i guess that comes with more experience. Being a student has its limits. Especially in the IT industry where we're famous for lacking comm skills.
Thanks for another informative and inspirational post Danny
Student
http://anime.tedfox.com/
woah that was quite a read...
been waiting a while for this post ^^
Technical Coordinator
http://www.shiningequinox.com
That was a great read. Thanks for sharing that Danny.
Student
This article was very informative, for me anyway. Just wondering how you went about getting a position at Microsoft. Seeing you in all those pics really tells me that your having the time of you life ^^ lol never would of guessed that you played dodgeball with your co-workers, fun fun :)
Dance Trooper: DCX-001 O.D.E. (Order of the Dancing Empire)
http://dannychoo.com.my
This article covered much of Danny's great working experiences & leadership, learn
I used that Fujitsu tablet Lifebook many moon ago too, love how portable it is.
"Air cargo for the important stuff like Gundams." ^^;
Dodgeball wont be fun if you can't dodge & it hit straight up into the face ^^;
Monument Valley & Grand Canyon is on my visit list if I able secure someone to sponsor me to attend International CES convention in Las Vegas annually.
Building overlooking a girls school~~~ NICE spot! Should have your camera on tripod ready to snipe ^^
Double the amount of pay & many parties in MS, does it only apply to Japan/ regional basic???~~~~~
I believe I had made a wise decision to shift my company core operation into event management as it provide me new knowledges & challenges although my client are paying peanuts for my value services & demand a King Kong.
On the other hand, I'd been offered to be in the sales line in an IT company which guarantee double increment of what my profit currently is, but I'd decline & KIV for the time being.
I'd been running retail & distribution businesses for years, although there are always challenges to meet day's end, the routine is repetitive & I get bored overtime as a young business adventurist. Hence I always keep my option open & seek out every opportunity to advance my know-how & personal interests.
Domo arigato gozaimasu for this impressive write up, now we understand you better ^_^
JR. College Student
http://npc.talkingincircles.net/
Very interesting!
All I can say is... I can't see myself working for a cooperation. Forget that.
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
I presume you mean corporation? xP
Sorry for being the grammar/spelling nazi, but your misspelling made me laugh. You would be a really, really disagreeable person if you couldn't see yourself cooperating with *anybody*. ^^;
Full-time student へへ
http://www.kenleewrites.com
those were some great times you had there!
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
Great work experience you got Danny!!
ColdFusion Developer
http://www.moemoerabu.net
Been waiting about this kind of article as working in a corporate company is something I want to at least experience in my career as a web developer. I'm sure I would learn a great deal if I was in one compared to being in the small company that I am in right now. Who knows, perhaps in the near future that may be the case. Too bad that I don't know many corporate bodies that deal with ColdFusion development.
大学生
I believe the "I love this company" was similar to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc&feature=related
Haha.
broadcasting slave
I agree with what you said about Comfort Zone... I'm surrounded by this kind of people at work. Tempted to become one, too. Luckily management saw this and is doing something about thise problem... we'll see.
Nekophilia
Wow this is one long long article ^^
And ummm, stomach flu? What? lol
Recently took a personality test on what job to pursue/which course to take in the future.. Can these tests really be trusted? Cause they usually prove one's dream as a wrong career for himself...
Art Student/Freelancer
http://jenarwen.deviant.art.com
I'm not sure if they can be trusted. I had to take a few for a career preparation class and I keep getting random unrelated careers like zoo keeper, or tiler =_=. I think it's better to pursue whatever your interested in or passionate about, or an interesting looking opportunity that comes by. Seriously you'll probably be a lot happier that way rather than just following what a test tells you. The test won't be able to tell everything about you.
Nekophilia
Quite true.... ^^
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
Hmm not necessarily. Best not to put too much faith in them, of course, but when I took mine it always said I should be a teacher.
Which is true. I rather like teaching. I just like filming more, enough to balance out my fear of job insecurity. :P
studying comp studies, planning to look for part time job
http://bruneian-otaku.blogspot.com
I like that blue sky and the sunset photo of your Danny but in Brunei always gray gloomy sky hard to see the blue sky
Poet (not)
Great story. I've always wondered how it's like working for those companies.
BTW, how could the Security Rangers beat up a poor, defenseless penguin?
Student
http://www.lesterho.com
After finishing my major courses here, I'm gonna work in a company that is related to my field. Gonna talk about it in future just like what you did now.
Illustrator & Designer
http://www.knight-edge.com/
Thanks Danny, for taking the time to write this detailed account of your (or part of) corporate life at Amazon and Microsoft. Very informative and educational as usual. I'm particularly interested in hearing or reading more how you felt in your first month at Amazon as you described above, the total difference from basic html and ftp to unix and what sounds like much much more complicated system. Like did it feel like being dropped in the deep end? Did Amazon provide any internal training for you? Did you have to do any personal study after work so you have the proper knowledge base to be a manager? Or did you just wing it??
I started my working life at a pretty small construction / estimating company and grew with them for almost 6 years. Then I went back to uni to do a post-grad master in multimedia design and did a total career change. Worked freelance for almost a year until I felt really insecure financially and got into an rather huge international advertising firm as a digital designer. Really felt the corporate-ness of the company but they treated everyone very well with free drinks, fruit and a open bar in the company's rooftop meeting floor! But I was really out of my depth and our team did 3x the work we should have been doing, so I didn't last that long there.
Now I'm a graphic and web designer at a very large IT distribution company owned by an even bigger Taiwan company. Everyday I get a variety of work dealing with clients like Microsoft, Intel, HP, Lenovo, Epson, Asus, LG, ViewSonic, etc. etc. I've been here almost 2 years and I'm finding that I'm somewhat in that comfort zone. So I'm trying to get in the groove to do more self-development and I always persue my true love, drawing whenever I feel inspired.
You're always an inspiration Danny, so I hope one day, I can be successful and happy at what I do and make a living from it as well!
Gundam Pilot (in training)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Thebarrett
nice one! i really enjoyed reading this ^_^
wow nice place for work.
would they accept me ????? LOL
IT Manager
http://thumbnail-of-life.blogspot.com/
you have an amazing life, danny. whenever I try to write down my responsibilities and achievements in the CV, I always having trouble of describing it. I think I need to improve my writing style.
student- university servant
use words like directed which sounds very nice lol or just go ahead and hit shift f7 for the thesaurus
is the weather in seattle that bad? i just cant picture "light therapy" because i have always lived in southern ca
btw- did you live on starbucks while there?
Student
Great article!
And Lost in Translation is a very good movie, I should watch it again sometimes:)
http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/
I wouldn't mind travelling around and working like that.
BTW, was the answer to that interview question ever posted...? ^^;
Student
http://fruitjuicy.wordpress.com/
I've been almost everywhere you have been (born in Vancouver, visited Seattle/Grand Canyon/Las Vegas/China, live in LA, college in Bay Area . . .) Still haven't visited Japan or Europe though. Aiming to go there + Egypt within the next 5 years. Wish me luck!
Also this article makes me worry about getting a job when I graduate next year, wish the economy wasn't so shitty and unpredictable. Maybe I should do Peace Corps or JET - kill two birds with one stone.
Mechanical Engineering student
http://sabekujikaneda.multiply.com/
What a long article! It was kinda tiring to read but I learned a lot. Looks like I have to stop being shy and start socializing. If I don't then I might find myself stuck in the same job for the rest of my life and not improving anymore.
I wish my future job let me go to many places. I always wanted to travel the world, finding a job that pays well and fulfills that dream is like killing two birds with one stone.
*confidential*
WoW! didn't know that you were MSN Stormtrooper before becoming our most revered Tokyo Stormtrooper...your career still amazes me, you're kinda a role model for me
Webdesigner
http://angganegara.com
Very good and inspiring article. I wish i have the chance to do all that stuff. It's challenging and fun at the same time
research student
http://osakacchi.blogspot.com/
that looks so awesome. i wish to have a career like yours in the future ^_^
thank you for sharing it, nice insight photos~
Developing the Distracted Cat
Great article, especially loved the photos from the top floors^^
Missionary
http://suigeneris-me.blogspot.com/
i once heard of a study done (i wish i could remember the actual title! sorry) but it involved a gathering of at least 30 -40 top exec's and CEO's in america. what they did was they gave them all a comprehensive personality test. when it was over, they assigned them all into groups of about five or four. they gave them example-tasks to accomplish within set periods of time. the first arrangement of groups failed horribly. nothing got done, AT ALL! then the organizers switched up the teams and gave them the same assignments, which all the teams completed both quickly and harmoniously! the secret: Groups #1 = SAME personality types; too much fighting for command or not enough! Groups #2 = ALL differing personality types! Just remember my little story when you begin hiring tons of people for Mirai!!!
(btw, the usefulness of MACs has always evaded me as well! ^_^v)
CG artist, Sunrise Emotion
http://halcyonrealms.com
Always a pleasure and inspiration to read about your working experience, thanks for the great article.
Just out of coincidence, I once met Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) at one of the Ueno Museums a few years back, and asked him for an autograph. He was very obliging. :]
ソフトウエアエンジニア (Software Engineer)
http://timkoh.info
I found the article very informative and it has made me think more about doing something about being stuck in my own comfort zone and about how I should be working on networking, chasing up opportunities and at my workplace or better yet, making my own opportunities while most importantly getting the work I've been given done to the best of my abilities.
Danny, do you find it difficult to get a balance between doing work and chasing up opportunities? I have found that where I work, I am encouraged to network, and take advantage of opportunites which can benefit the business, but at the same time, I find that some people at work are opposed to this and have the opinion that people that do that are not putting 100% into their work and that their performance suffers due to them doing "extracurricular" things.
Have you been in a situation like this before?
By the way, I didn't think about adding a CV to my profile page on my blog. It is defintely something that I will look into.
大学生
http://justaskeikaku.net23.net
lol there are actually pictures of computers that aren't macs and pictures of food without figmas! haven't seen something like that in a long time XD
Everything
http://www.happysoda.com
Great article. Being trapped in a comfort zone is difficult to recognize, but yes always take time to think about what else you can do.
Programmer
I rather prefer of working at Microsoft, despite what i think of this company or their products, it's interesting to work in places that people want to have fun with what they do and get along with their work. I'm always trying to do this in the jobs that i've listed in my professional life, because you can improve a lot your carreer and also learn how to deal with people.
Sad to know (or confirm) that MS is no looking forward at innovation and evolution, always following that competitors do, trying to breaking down their business
Photography Student
http://hugodeathy.deviantart.com/
Very nice article Danny, I first thought it would take a while to read but it ended up so fast. Always a pleasure to read about your previous work.
And I need to cut my hair sometime next week. Like you I know how it feels to keep losing hair. x.x
University Student
Great article, had a good time reading it. One thing I noticed is that you used to have long hair back then, which I have now haha. So I guess one gets used to moving around from place to place even if its for a few months eh? I think you should write a book Danny =3
http://ubie.moose-live.be
I wouldn't want to work at either of them, i'm more of a designer than a programmer. Although I study programming to. I study Digital design and media and I am in my first year now. Before I studied multimediatechnics in high school (well it's not High school but i don't know how to call it in English ^^) and I dream that after I graduate I can work and live in Japan as a designer/developer.
大学生
http://okashi.cloudy-skies.net/
OMG that picture of Vancouver is of Robson & Burrard!! Wow... that bus doesn't even run on that street anymore o.o
You must've gone a reallyyy long time ago XD Come back and visit us!!
projectionist, artist
Fascinating article! Your travels are definitely inspiring. You wife is just lovely, "as long as we're together". That make me go aw. I'm getting tired of my job, I work at a movie theater as a projectionist. It was fun at first learning how the inside of the booth worked, but now it's not so fun there have been a lot of changes and I feel like I'm not getting anything out of it. Of course it was never meant to be my career, just something to generate funds while I work on my creative pursuits(writing and drawing).
Sometimes I get discouraged because I feel trapped, but I keep working at it and reading about your journey helps keep me motivated! Arigato.
Student
I hate MS because they made Halo 2 only for Vista xD.
Soooooo...work at Amazon or in another company it could be great!
However very nice pics! ^^
大学生
Really great article I really enjoyed reading it!
Public service employee
http://stary84.blog.de/
Oh wow,
amazing article to read ^,^
Very Very much Thanks for posting.
Web App Designer, Student
http://www.basugasubakuhatsu.com/blog/
Cool. This helps a lot because I'm starting at MS in a similar role to yours (Program Manager vs. Product Manager). As a "switcher" I'm not quite sure what to expect, but this article helps. MS is such a big company that there's surely lots of stuff to love and hate about it. So hopefully my experience will be good (it'll probably be what I make of it).
PS My interview experience with Amazon was pretty bad but maybe it's because I was at an engineering career fair and it was mostly other engineers doing the interviewing. I've heard some horror stories so I didn't continue through with them. I wonder what the differences are between Amazon JP vs USA and MS JP vs USA...
Student, Performer
http://kesenaitsumi89.wordpress.com/
Wow. A really big wow to be seen this post...
It really does give off a big inspiration to my life now. Some doesn't know that their life could be so interesting and challenging if they don't see somebody do somethings like that.
This Post has really opened up my eyes for the world for the first time, that unlimited possibility lies ahead of your life.
Great thanks danny.
Art Student/Freelancer
http://jenarwen.deviant.art.com
Wow really interesting article.
Vancouver!!! I see a trolley bus! Not many of those run anymore.
I'm surprised you didn't get any of the "interesting" posters from Vegas. But maybe you spent most of your time in the Canyon?
That guy from Microsoft scares me O_O
Metrosexual Narcissist
http://www.michaelflux.com
Great article as always. Really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for taking the time to write it Danny.
Technical Account Manager
http://howdoyoufigure.wordpress.com
I'm obligated to vote for Microsoft because that is where I'm at right now. :)
Honestly though, I love working for Microsoft. The benefits are great, culture is awesome, and the fact that I don't have to dress up for work every day is a huge plus (not to mention cost saving). All of that, and I'm not even based in Redmond or write code!
Thank you for the timely advice Danny, I'll be sure to remind myself never to get complacent, no matter how comfortable my work is.
I don't really hate my job to the point I need to get out ASAP, my colleagues are great people to hang out with, and there's none of that politics nonsense. It's a pleasant company to be in (as long as you don't slack off too ridiculously), but moneywise, it's not that comfortable where I can say "I can work here forever and not worry about money", and that's probably the only thing keeping me from going complacent and falling into the dreaded "Comfort Zone", and that may be a blessing in disguise.
Student
http://gooddayforlemontea.blogspot.com/
I plan to become an interpreter and translator in the future (english <-> japanese, am fluent in russian too) and it seems like Amazon and Microsoft would need a lot of such people for the meetings they hold with companies, business owners, branches in other countries, etc. I wonder what the salary would be tho.
your colleagues at Amazon are so cute
I really love Japanese women, they have such lovely faces :)
hey longer hair, i guess that we all had this period too ^^
the bento box looked yummy next to the laptop
poor us European with the sandwish for lunch at work :(
thanks for sharing your past with us
~Undine~
http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com
Ah, an RSA SecurID. Configured quite a bit of those today actually, showing colleagues how to do it. Need to write a new, more comprehensive procedure for it though.
Nice article indeed. I'm hopefully finally seeing some growth in my career the next weeks which would be great and a reward for the hard work I put in the past two years at my new employer and customer.
You say you're a people person Danny, which is no doubt a big bonus when leading people. How do you lead teams/people if you aren't a people person?
lifelong slacker
nice article! enjoyed your insight in working for two prominent companies. always wondered about your illustrious past work.
MOSSAD Employee
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3309810461_f1f7e494f8_o.jpg
Hey...I know where that is...Treasure Island...between Oakland and San Francisco, exit on the Bay Bridge...
MOSSAD Employee
No...no...wait...
That's that place near Crissy Field...you are right next door to ILM. Did the Dancing Stormtrooper pay his respects?
MOSSAD Employee
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3310639834_c696131273_o.jpg
Funny how I wasn't that impressed with the Grand Canyon.
When you get a chance...visit Yosemite.
Seeing Half Dome for the 1st time...now that was something.
Student
http://anime.scripts.mit.edu/miteiru/
After seeing peculiar rocks all my life, GC is also (-___-;;) to me. Same with Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore.
So you should just come to Utah Danny! We have .... uhh the biggest man made hole on earth! And peculiarly shaped rocks left and right. And lots and lots of Mormons.
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
LOL. Yay for peculiar rocks!
Me, I'm desensitized to waterfalls. I still like them, especially the small ones (they're relaxing), but living near Niagara Falls means it doesn't shock me nor inspire me.
Associate Network Administrator
You're an inspiration to us all. Congratulations on all your success!
MOSSAD Employee
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3650/3310642998_5e14c09f16_o.jpg
菠蘿薄餅...just in case you are wondering how it is written in Chinese.
failing student
http://ukyuki.blogspot.com/
i would love to work at amazon i buy soo much stuff from there i would love to see where it comes from! lol
Universitary Student
great article danny, really interesting, thx once again fo sharing your experience :)
TBD
*still needs a job.
Student
Bo lo baau!
I love it so much.
Great article, thanks for sharing your history with us!
三年せいとオタク
Wow very inspirational Danny. It was great to read about your past expirience with Microsoft and Amazon. I never knew you had long hair XD Looked pretty col to me. You should write an autobiography :D
http://gakuranman.com
すごい面白い記事でした！ いやーー、これを読んで感動したんです。ダニーさんって本当にいろんなことやっていましたね。僕はこれからだけど、このような興味深い経験ができたらいいなって思っています！
Bounty Hunter
http://myanimelist.net/profile/andrewgk
"...and thats not the reason why I ended up with a desk by the window ^^;"
riiight xD
Been living in states and Canada for some time, prefer Poland...
mostly cuz of ppl...
no offence but gov system and education lvl both do great at creating masses of brainless followers...
Self employed
One thing's for sure, you've lived life as full as you can!
Student
http://www.facebook.com/people/Steven-Hamilton/1335661535
All the information and thoughts you give on things make reading your entries fantastic. Not to mention the pictures are as great as ever.
As many others said, thanks for sharing!
Student & Game Designer
http://www.artificialzeromedia.com/
extremely good article of course
nice apartment in seattle =D
I hope you visited a famous grave there =o
ALso I like the style of your apartments in general, really clean and simple but yet stylish
Half Engineer, Half Student, All Robot
http://discombobulatedyouth.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannychoo/3310637020/sizes/o/
Wow. 'nuff said.
Engineer by weekdays, Hikki by weekends
http://ejump.wordpress.com/
wow, nice experience.
I'm currently working in a US based company too, the one who makes drives. And the difference between this company in US and Malaysia is huge even for a same company. But my journey in this company is not always fun. I guess its because of my work field and constantly being under pressure that s killing me slowly inside.
Danny's job experience articles always motivates me, but i think im almost reaching my limit and may need to look for other path. sigh~
College Freshmen
Wow that hair is crazy. I personally find the idea of a bunch of sentai rangers beating on a penguin funny. But it's kind of sad that M$ has gotten to the point where they can merely imitate instead of innovate and still be successful. Maybe they're trying things with Windows 7.
3D Video Game Artist
http://gamedevtalk.wordpress.com
Wow.. great life story! I had a good time reading it and looking at your pics, keep up the great work!
Physical Therapist
http://www.flyingpussyfoot.com
Interesting Story!
You changed your haircut quite a few time during your days at Amazon and Microsoft eh? ^^
Student
http://anime.scripts.mit.edu/miteiru/
Oh wow, you sure traveled far. xD Seattle is such a great place to live.. I have a family pic on what looks like the same walkway with the pretty view of the city. It's great that you enjoyed the deserts here haha! Ok well not quite Utah deserts but hey same diff right? ^^ I think I'd trade the desert for Japan any day right now. :P
I'd be thankful if I got the chance to work at either Amazon or Microsoft. Was talking to a future classmate at MIT and he told me that he got an internship at Apple. :O! Very genius kid he is.
It's great to hear how you felt about Microsoft lol it's so true now that I think about it. Nice Segway btw! My friend actually has one of those and rides it to school every morning. xD He actually parks it next to all of our millions of cars since everyone here goes by car except for him.
Photographer Wanna-be
I've no doubt MS would pay better, but Google would be the tops in work life IMO. But since Amazon is the other choice, it's certainly has to be more interesting than MS. MS is always behind the curve and put out shoddy products that anger everyone. Amazon it is, unless Google needs my uber camera skillz.
pervert
its nice to have a wife thats so understanding and willing to move across the world with you
security/3d graphic artist
http://www.kennethleishman.com/
always enjoy the long reads!!
guess by your definitions that i need to move on and find a better job since my current one i'm in the "safe mode" but i don't feel fufuiled by it, even though the place is nice and the boss is great.. just wish they had somebody over me that knows more than me.. i'm just fumbiling in the dark with new stuff, the boss says he's happy with my work, but i feel that i can be much much better. coworker has the same feeling..
moving isn't a problem since i've moved more places than i care to imagine already, pluss i like to travel. need to get off my lazy A#@ and step up to my life.
Thanks for the encouragment Danny, always a role model!
OK. Questions.
1) Why did you leave Amazon.com?
2) Is Amazon.com's salary so well to buy such a big house in Japan?
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
...*cough* Heheh. I don't know about initially, but if you read carefully you'll notice that he paid it off with affiliate earnings. Y'know, earnings from this very site. ^^;
Scientist, unemployed.
http://fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com
As always, Danny, a good read.
Whenever I read these, I feel both good and sad. Good, because I can see people are achieving and that doing what you want can work. Sad, because it makes me feel like I've wasted my entire life. I'll be 33 this year, and even with two college degrees, I am an unemployed punk. Sometimes I wonder if I should have just gone to the local community college, gotten certified to be an X-Ray tech and gone over to the hospital. What makes me even sadder is that I feel I've let down everyone around me. I was the first of my generation to go to college and complete (My stepsister also did, but she went for her Masters, so it took her an extra 2.5 years.) and yet I am the only one without a job. (I'm also the only one who hasn't been or isn't married with children yet. I just fear that I will be a 40 year old slob, living at home, soon.
Stupid economy.
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
List 10 things that you recently done to get yourself out of your situation and lets discuss them.
Scientist, unemployed.
http://fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com
Okay. Note, that some of these were done in the past few weeks or so.
1) Updated profile on major jobsites (Monster, Careerbuilder, Dice, Yahoo HotJobs, etc) to make them more "fresh".
2) Asked a few friends to look in where they work for openings
3) Talking to HR people about why I wasn't hired for jobs (Boeing have a very nice letter they send you, but the State of Michigan won't tell you squat without hoop-jumping)
4) Lowered minimum pay
5) Changed relocation status from "Yes, with assistance" to just "Yes"
6) Re-applied to all the local retail/fast-food places (Any money coming in is better than none.)
7) Contacted local community colleges about costs of classes for continued learning (Language, certifications, etc)
8) Looking into related fields (biomedical, safety, etc.)
9) Called local companies in field (Chemical corporations, science consulting firms.) [Or will. Was told to call back Monday for two of them]
10) Tried to contact old employers. (One is cutting staff, the other could only hire me if I had actual drafting certification. Third is out of business)
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
Continue to reach out and proactively be searching for new opportunities. Things may not happen over night but will if you keep trying.
How much of your activities involves meeting new people? Meeting new folks more often than not opens up new opportunities.
I personally would recommend beefing up your online profile at your live journal. List all your past experiences and your current abilities.
The important thing is to not give up and continue trying.
Scientist, unemployed.
http://fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com
Well, meeting new people is a bit harder as I don't really live in a large community. But I'm working on it.
I had not thought of putting my info up on my LJ, as I don't usually send people to it. Hmmm.
Thanks for the prod, Danny. I think part of my problem these past few days is due to the crud I've gotten. Spent most of today asleep.
High Tech Exec
This is, in my opinion, one the the best you've done. Really enjoyed seeing the company through your eyes. Interesting how much has remained the same. Customer Connect - for FCs and CS. Bar raisers. RSA security fobs, Etc.
I am also former Microsoft - current Amazon (Seattle).
Tips on transfering to Shibuya? Please. (^.^)
Thanks!
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
Ping me through mt facebook and linked in and I will tell you ;-)
Business Analyst
I live in Vancouver ^_^
???Confused???
An impressive resume and amazing achievements...I don't think I can even achieve a fraction of that...
Otaku Security Guard
I don't really like working for big faceless corporations, of course that may be because I've only been a bottom level worker in the trenches of customer service. Customer service usually gets the best idea of how bad a company is by the amount of evil things you're forced to do to the customers unfortunately, so we also have to feel like we're the bad guys.
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
Took me a long, loooong while to read through the whole article and the comments. I need to start taking notes as I read or something. xP
For one thing, your Amazon job sounds so much more important now that I read it in full detail. Danny was senior management! All that money flowing around... ^^;
I truly laughed at the girls' school near your window. Coincidence? Maybe. Increased work performance? ...*coughcough*
"It doesn't matter as long as we live together." --> Was it marvin? Someone up there commented on that being touching. I have to agree. Had an "awwww" moment right there. xP There are times when that sounds cheesy, and times when it's truly touching.
It's nice to hear some good stuff about Microsoft. I've never heard of anyone complaining about being employed by them, but people who hate and demonize the corporation are far too common. There's a tendency to assume things about the company as a whole. It reminds of a Gizmodo interview, where Bill Gates likened Google as the new Microsoft - they're growing rapidly and enjoying a period where they can do no wrong, but eventually they may find their status as a giant to be detrimental.
The MSN butterfly on your armor was amusing - and your armor was so much *cleaner* back then! I'm afraid I must tell you that I'm one of the ones you failed to reach with Spaces and Favourteis though. I still don't like them.
Ah, and finally - about halfway through the article I sudden had an epihany and went back to check all the pictures. In almost all the pictures you're wearing a black top, and in most of them you're dressed entirely in black. Guess that Trend Day outfit wasn't new for you, huh? :P
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
yep - nobody used spaces of faves ^^;
Student
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dramacd/
Microsoft looks like a nice to place to work at. I don't have any dislike of corporations or Windows.
Bassist / Madman
http://www.myspace.com/thatbandyouhate
Nice article. Pictures make me home sick, I lived in Seattle for 9 years and Arizona for 8 years.
Student
Yes, Vancouver girls are very pretty. Too bad I can never work up enough courage to talk to them =( But, regardless, It's really nice here, and I love living here (You definately should come again!).
And I absolutely LOVE the view from the Akasaka office. However, how was the rest of the room? Small and cramped, large enough to be comfortable?
大学生徒
http://ichinichijuu.blogspot.com/
Danny, one thing I've noticed over the almost 3 years I've been reading your blog (wow, time flies), you always either look like the happiest person in the picture, or super-deep in thought. ^^ It is so rare that someone in your position shares so much about his own personal successes in such an outgoing and "full disclosure mode" kind of way. And I have to say I always walk away inspired and with a smile on my face when you write articles in the vein of this one. I honestly felt like crap yesterday and then I read this and felt a lot better about myself. You're a very inspirational person, and your positivity is contagious. I'm also proud to be part of this (mostly) outstanding community of people that communicate here. The world really needs more people like yourself.
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
Thank you for the kind words ^^
.NET/Web Developer
http://scrumptious.animeblogger.net
These kind of articles are what I look forward to the most. Even more than the week in tokyo posts. ^^ There's just something about knowing the life of a person that really piques my interests. That's one of the reasons why I keep coming back here because like Karasu-kun said...there's not a lot of people that shares their successes or journey in life in "full disclosure mode".
I agree with you that one shouldn't really stay in their comfort zone as their development ceases at that point. Right now I am already nearing that zone and it has already been months that I thought of moving. The only thing stopping me from doing so is I don't know where to go yet. As much as I like to just go I can't just leave w/o having looked for places to go to even if its just a possibility.
One thing I notice is that you don't put up a lot of pics showing your wife. heheh! Wish you'd put up more posts like this. ^^
Oh, and I still can't believe you bought a house from affiliate earnings alone. You must be making a lot from affiliate earnings then. o_O Gasp, can't imagine what you make now. WOW
the wholesale business of flower
http://nakagawaichiro.com
It was able to be read that it wanted the impression from this article in the comment.
I am getting the chance to think starting with Danny.
Because this article was indeed interesting, my opinion was written.
To my blog. Please look by all means. However, it is Japanese.
http://nakagawaichiro.com/2009/02/27/amazon-and-microsoft-and-dannychoo/
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
いちろうさん、
記事にして頂いて本当にありがとうございました！
the wholesale business of flower
http://nakagawaichiro.com
10歳ぐらいしか離れていないのに、いろんな経験をしているダニーさんがとても面白いです。
また、こうしてブログで教えてくれる事も。
僕もdannychoo.comのような大ヒットブログになるのが目標です！
これからも楽しみにしてまーすv(･∀･)vﾔｴｰ
Student
http://yellowguy89.blogspot.com/
interesting to see more history of danny choo.
http://www.fakku.net/
Wow this was really interesting Danny, I'd like to see more posts like this. It always seems that you have a lot of excellent real world advice for those of us just starting to plunge into the job market.
Self employed
Speaking about Amazon, Danny, will you still be putting up something on how you make money with Amazon affiliates? Couldn't find anything on it on your blog monetization collection... Thanks!
CEO MIrai Inc
http://www.dannychoo.com/profile/eng/
Have done in the past but will start a new series.
Self employed
Thank you very much Danny, I'm looking forward to it!
I'll also try to dig around the old posts too...
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
How did you end up working for Amazon and Microsoft?? I would love to work for a corporate company as you (I had sent my CV to both companies and to Google as well but no luckie...)
Oh well they missed it. When you were in the US, did you had your Stormtrooper suit with you?? or that was just for use in Japan? Since when you were at Microsoft, you had the msn logo...^^
Artist
http://jeremylovecraft.deviantart.com/
You amaze me Danny, You really apply your own philosophy to yourself, how you do it? You're always moving on, seems that you never take anything for granted. I mean, you moved from a "safe" job to run your own company in a such a competitive ground, when most of the people would choose the "safe job".
You talked in other post, about "the zone", you know when you really "get in to it". We loose perception of time, and just focus on our task. What can you say aout this? There's any tip to get in the zone in an effective way? I play music loud, and it works, but now I'm thinking in cut the internet connection while I'm on it xD
Consultant
http://www.justin.tv/denshaotoko
Such a great article, an excellent read. I hope one day to be able to pursue my dreams head on, instead of stifling myself and hiding away from the world in my dark little corner. =/
Interaction design, Iphone game/app designer
I am in China but I wish I was in Japan
Wannabe Web Developer
http://www.sakuafk.com
Another inspiring article and thanks for sharing. It's nice to see Amazon and Microsoft from a closer look.
I have to agree with your comment regarding about not to get too comfortable on your own comfort zone. Did you usually set a time frame on how long you were planning to stay in one company ? I feel like moving to different companies is better for my own growth compare to staying with the same company especially the small ones where promotions are scarce (unless I am given new responsibilities.
Student
http://blueplains.wordpress.com/
Hey Danny Its me Roy,had to create a new account cuz the signing in didn't go to smooth,guess I forgot my password or something since I haven't been with cyber space for months :p anyway I'm back from my departure so check my site for details*the first post* awesome article by the way,really moving :)
High School Senior on the verge of entering the crappy world we created...woot?
http://www.myspace.com/infernomoose/
danny, your posts are always pretty inspirational. They always leave me wishing I tried so much harder in high school, insteasd of being the lazy bum I let myself become. Thanks for the insight into what it is you didf!!!!
<singing> development development development DEVELOPMENT... </singing>
MI Manager, Blogger and Newswriter
http://cutkillavince.com/
Very interesting post, thx Danny ^^
lazy student
http://www.tomtomblog.nl
Thank you for the super-interesting read! I always learn alot from your articles thanks in part to your unpretentious way of writing, well done (^0^)/
Good timing as well: I just visited a job fair this weekend that got me thinking about my own future. Your experiences will surely come in handy (^-^)
yakuza
Very nice post Danny. I've been at Amazon for over 6 years now and that's one of the most honest accounts of Amazon worklife I've ever heard or read! You have a great knack for reflection and prose.
I liked your comfort zone lesson (and many of your readers did as well, i see), as well your lessons on letting other know what you've done, how you felt about job transitions (perhaps you might expound more in the future on why you made your changes?), and personalities you worked with.
Speaking of which, I'm trying to remember how I met you. Did Lisa S introduce us?
Finally, most interesting to me was reading the responses to your post. I'm getting a better sense of why all these other folks follow you as well.
Anyway, thanks for sharing!
Student
now i know a little more about the corporate life xD
Mechanical Engineer/Traveling Kamen Rider/Dollfie Dream Hunter
http://tcwenterprise.com/wordpress/
Great article, I like how you were able to seek out/manage/utilize the opportunities in front of you; not everyone can do that. I feel inspired just by reading it.
I see what you mean by the comfort zone, it's the exact situation I am in right now. I only noticed it last October when Lehman Brother went BK and I had to reflect upon myself. I have been working as Mechanical Design Engineer for over 10 years now, and yes, I am feeling may be too comfortable now. And starting the web blog is part of that first step to break free from my shackle.
Devhead
http://japan-manga.jp/user/3/submitted
agreed. long hair is better.
Glad you are moving on to better things.
Overwork is no joke in Japan. Co-worker died at my company at 34.
Had to leave that company from burnout myself.
>Microsoft is unfortunately a follower and not an innovator.
This is less a microsoft problem than a big company problem.
It is really hard to keep innovation going internally after you reach a certain size.
You have to start buying innovation in the form of smaller companies. Then you lose a lot of people when you buy them.
waisting money on studying..
http://www.thefascinations.co.cc
I love this post!! You are the inspiration Danny! well, i also love the rising sun place and have my passion there. I've came to Japan and it's really nice. Peoples there have a good intention and that's why Japan is always the number one :P
Photographer Wanna-be
FMP - you need to read Napoleon Hill's book "Think and Grow Rich." Joseph Murphy books are good too. LOL now, but I can trace a direct line from reading these books to being asked to show my artwork in galleries, and, being invited to join a photo studio start-up earning bucks as an photo-artist. My days at the office will one day soon be replaced by days of artistic bliss. It's been my goal forever, I've never given up on it. Now it's almost here.
You should never give up on your dreams either, just know you do have to to bust your ass every day to get there. EVERY day my friend. No self pity or complacency allowed, ok.
Never give up, no matter what, period.
Thanks and good luck.
Great stuff Danny.
Hikikomori in the making
http://supermariabros.deviantart.com/
I see a lovely couple right here http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannychoo/3309811119/sizes/o/ ^^;...
I've never watched Lost in Translation, should have a look at it later...
And if I were to choose between Amazon and MS, I guess I'll go with MS... Looks like tons 'o' fun^^;...
programmer
http://www.dvdboxset.biz
Hey nice article Danny, interesting insight to the corporate world!
Xbox.com LATAM Site Manager
Hi Danny! This article of yours is simply great man! Pure gold. I´ve been working as Site Manager for Xbox.com LATAM for almost two years now and perfectly understand your sayings. I can´t believe we even do the same things when someone leaves the company! (everyone stands up and listens to him/her before he/she goes)
There´s a certain paragraph that made me felt as if you were writing all this for me:
"Also, never let yourself get to comfortable and fall into the Comfort Zone as it can be difficult to get out. Always have a grasp of your achievements and how much you want to grow within a company. If you feel there is no more room to grow then it may be a prompt in life that there are no more pieces of your life jigsaw puzzle to be collected where you are - time to move on."
I really feel proud of getting this editor position for all Latin America, but can´t help but wonder where may I go from here (no other Xbox positions available where I am). I feel it´s time to move on, but can´t find any other destination, and all this global crisis doesn´t help one bit.
Student
what an inspiration!
Web programmer
http://www.micky2be.com
Monument Valley pics are splendid
Loafer
http://blog.ancientcave.com
So I was in downtown Vancouver today and thought, "Hey, let's take a snapshot from the same corner that Danny Choo did when he visited here four years ago."
Here's the result: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/musicman2059/20090529-stanleypark/S6000975.jpg
Lazy Gamer at home
http://www.espadakiller.wordpress.com
I would like to work in Google.. :D :D
Student
http://www.hxpix.com
this post is very awesome and gives you important details about real job in the industry.
i loved reading it^^
god bless you!
Programmer, DJ, 仮面浪人ｗ
http://findingtheblue.blogspot.com
It's interesting what you said about Microsoft. I can see that being true, but also I don't think it's my place to comment. I hope Microsoft try their best to become innovators because I think they have the money and manpower to do very well at it.
Spec Ops Otaku
Everything Camaro said; I know my experience won't be 100% exactly like yours Danny, but I'm going to follow in the general direction.