Significant Career Lesson From a Learning Technology Support Engineer at Amazon Robotics
Matthew, a Learning Technology Support Engineer at Amazon Robotics, emphasizes the importance of not taking work critiques personally, explaining that with projects impacting potentially "thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands" of people, feedback is often aimed at improving the project's overall impact rather than being a personal attack. The lesson is that by being "very picky about what you take personally," one can navigate challenging days more effectively and contribute to a better final product.
Emotional Intelligence, Feedback, Project Impact, Professionalism, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Matthew Bamonte
Learning Technology Support Engineer
Amazon Robotics
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Bloomsburg University | Major: Instructional Technology
Computer Science
Technology
Cyber Security and IT
Honors Student, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Separate personal feelings from project critiques: Feedback is often about improving the project's impact on a large audience, not a personal attack.
2. Pride in your work is natural, but be open to feedback: Recognize that projects impact many people, and critiques are often aimed at enhancing the outcome.
3. Don't take critiques personally to navigate challenges: Maintaining a professional distance from feedback helps in getting through tough days and improving the work.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
Be very picky about what you take personally. When you're working on something and put a lot of hours into it, there's a certain amount of pride that gets put along with it.
"I worked really, really hard on this," and if people don't like it, that's not going to feel good. But at the end of the day, at least in my experience, not everything needs to be taken personally.
If people have critiques about what you've worked on, fine. This is a project that will impact multiple people, potentially thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands.
There's a lot at stake that gets put into the work that you do. Most of the things you'll run into, if people don't like it or have critiques or ways to improve it, don't take it personally.
Obviously, if people are calling you out specifically for something other than that, then that's different. But don't take things too personally and you'll often get through tough days easier.