November 23: Three questions to ask when hiring

Here are the three questions Amazon employees consider before making a hiring decision.

Source: AMZN 1998 Letter to Shareholders
Published: April 1999

Three questions to ask when hiring

In Amazon’s 1998 letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos wrote that setting the bar high in hiring was the most important element of Amazon’s success: “It would be impossible to produce results in an environment as dynamic as the Internet without extraordinary people.”

As of 1999, during Amazon’s hiring meetings, employees considered three questions before making a decision:

1. Will you admire this person?

2. Will this person raise the average level of effectiveness of the group they’re entering?

3. Along what dimension might this person be a superstar?

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