September 15: Hiring at Amazon

In his letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos highlighted a hiring practice at Amazon that helps maintain an exceptional workforce.

Source: 1998 Letter to Shareholders
Published: April 1999

Hiring at Amazon

In 1998 Amazon’s sales grew from $148 million in 1997 to $610 million – a 313% increase. The number of employees grew 250% from 600 to over 2,100.

In his letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos highlighted a hiring practice at Amazon that helps maintain an exceptional workforce.

During each hiring meeting, managers are asked to consider three questions about every candidate:

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?