Career uncertainty isn’t exclusive to early professionals still charting their path—it can persist into middle age, according to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
In a recent blog post on Amazon’s corporate site, Jassy shared five tips for long-term career growth, offering insights grounded in personal experience and a non-linear rise to the top.
Jassy, who became Amazon’s CEO in 2021, has held a wide array of roles throughout his professional journey: from paralegal to soccer coach to product manager and investment banker. His diverse background, he said, is proof that success doesn’t require a straight line.
“Don’t be afraid to try a lot of different things, and don’t let people tell you that whatever you’ve done—even if you’ve done it for a while—is what you must do,” Jassy said in the post. “You have the opportunity to write your own story.”
His message is especially relevant in today’s dynamic workplace, where flexibility and adaptability are fast becoming more valuable for fast-rising leaders than rigid, long-term plans. And that openness to change, he noted, isn’t reserved for early adulthood; it often persists well into one’s 40s, 50s, and even 60s. Far from being a red flag, Jassy views career uncertainty as a normal and necessary part of professional growth. Plus, the future is inherently unpredictable and shaped by a series of pivots, risks, lessons learned from failures, and unexpected opportunities.
Nike’s CEO, Elliott Hill, is emblematic of the unexpected nature of career trajectories. Hill retired from the sports apparel giant in 2020 after a long tenure that saw him rise from an intern to president of Nike’s consumer and marketplace. Just four years after his departure, Nike tapped him to return—this time, to step into the corner office.
In the blog post, Jassy also stressed the importance of leaning into one’s passions, saying that fulfillment, not just ambition, should guide career decisions. He reiterated his belief in the value of constantly learning and evolving, arguing that curiosity and self-improvement are what truly set successful people apart.
“There are people who at a certain point of their life consider it threatening that they don’t know it all, or they get to a certain seniority, and they think it’s embarrassing if they have to keep learning,” Jassy said. “But the reality is, the second you stop learning is the second you’re starting to unwind.”
He also advocated for the embrace of failure. The most important lessons often come from missteps, provided one has the self-awareness to learn from them. “If you are inventing and trying things and pushing hard enough, you’re not going to get everything right,” he said.
Beyond resilience and curiosity, Jassy underscored the enduring importance of attitude, a strong work ethic, and collaboration. “An embarrassing amount of what makes people successful is attitude,” he said. “Do you work hard? Do you do what you said you were going to do? Can people trust you?”
He continued: “This seems so obvious, but a lot of people don’t do those things.”
Amazon did not respond to a Fortune request for comment.