Have you ever felt uneasy about switching teams or employers? Or experienced the shock of your manager leaving the team or your closest colleague announcing their last week in the company?
I’ve been working at Amazon for the past 3 years and 8 months, and just this week, I started with a new team—my fifth team in my Amazon journey. Sometimes I’ve initiated these changes, and other times, circumstances required them.
In this article, I’ll share what has worked for me in adapting to new teams, where I still struggle, and how these changes have impacted my personal life. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or reply via email—we can all learn from each other. Spoiler alert:
Adapting to different projects, teams and employer isn’t just a professional challenge; it can have a ripple effect on your personal life too.
What Worked for Me?
1. Networking:
Meeting new people is a given when changing teams, and for me, it’s one of the most exciting aspects. Not gonna lie, I used to feel nervous about talking to strangers, but over time, with lots of practice, I’ve gained confidence. Now, I find it easy to strike up conversations.
In less than 4 years, I’ve built strong professional networks, including mentors who’ve been invaluable. Some of these connections have moved to other companies. I guess it would be easier to do future transitions : ).
Every new team is an adventure, and the people make it unforgettable.
2. Exploring Different Problem Spaces:
Over the past 3.5 years, I have worked with different teams solving various real-world problems. I believe this experience has expanded my thought process, and I have also learned how challenging it is to run the entire world. It may seem exaggerated, but I can share some examples.
For AWS services, latency is always an important factor for all their APIs. However, on the retail side (Amazon.com), there are many cases where latency is not as crucial, but making system features easier to use presents significant challenges.
Adapting your mindset is key; every team needs a distinct solution.
3. Knowledge Transfer Across Teams:
Each team I’ve joined has its own unique (of course) tech stack as well as standards, and processes.
For instance, standup meetings vary significantly. In some teams, they’re led by a dedicated person; in others, the on-call engineer or manager takes charge. Sometimes, it’s even self-directed by the team in alphabetical order of their names.
Seeing and living in different environments has given me a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t. If I ever find myself in a managerial role (wish me luck), I believe this experience will help me implement the most effective processes. At the very least, I can propose alternatives when existing processes need improvement.
Understanding comes from living through the differences—knowing what works and what doesn’t.
4. Asking Questions:
Switching teams means learning a lot—new domains, tech stacks, current and future projects, services, and processes. To get up to speed quickly, asking questions is critical.
At the start of my career, I hesitated to ask questions because I thought they might seem "dumb." Even though Amazon encourages this, I struggled to open up. Over time, I noticed even senior leaders—directors included—asking basic questions.
That realization changed my mindset. If they could ask simple questions at their level, why couldn’t I? I also realized it’s better to "embarrass myself" early in my career rather than later. Now, I ask a lot of questions and have seen the benefits firsthand.
Questions aren’t just tools—they’re shortcuts to understanding.
What’s Still a Struggle for Me?
1. Feeling the Pressure to Deliver Immediately:
One of my biggest challenges is rushing to deliver results instead of giving myself enough time to learn. Even after reading documentation and watching onboarding videos, I sometimes feel like I haven’t contributed enough in the initial weeks.
I know every team requires its own ramp-up time for software engineers. Still, I hold myself to a high standard. In my mind, I know that every new Amazon hire is pushing changes in their first month. This (maybe self-imposed?) pressure is something I’m working to manage.
2. Suggesting Ideas Openly:
The second challenge I face is sharing my ideas, especially when they challenge existing processes. I worry that questioning a team’s standards might come across as criticism, like saying, “Why are you doing it this way?”
So, I tend to wait until I understand everyone’s personality before suggesting changes. As of now, I’m not sure if this is the best approach, but I’m eager to hear your thoughts.
Conclusion:
Navigating team changes can be challenging, but it’s also an opportunity to grow personally and professionally. By networking, exploring new problem spaces, absorbing knowledge, and asking questions, I’ve managed to adapt and thrive in different teams. However, challenges like delivering results quickly and openly suggesting ideas are areas where I’m still growing.
If you’ve faced similar experiences, I’d love to hear how you’ve handled them—let’s learn from each other!
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