Chatting With an L4 Amazon Area Manager!

[@its-dynaisha]

Hi Grant! I am currently an L4 AM working to get my L5! I've been with the company for 1.5 years now. I enjoy watching your videos!

[@Grant0669]

Hello! I hope that you are making good progress on achieving the L5 promo. Thank you for watching my videos!

[@MamaC98]

Coming in as an external L4, I couldn’t do it, so I quit within 6 months at an FC. I was FHN. There was very little pay for such demanding work. Some of the associates, especially the veteran associates, were entitled. That work was hard and mentally tasking.

[@RoniForeva]

As an L4 manage at Baltimore, MD starting April, 2021 this is super helpful

[@Grant0669]

That’s great to hear!

[@RoniForeva]

@Queen Bee ahhh I'm kinda nervous but excited. I know it's going to be a tough job but I am excited to motivate and leas my team of associates, and just learn from Amazon. Where are you moving from? Add me on Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-boakye-51592762/

[@AnthonyChilisGMMP]

Couldn’t negotiate offer as an L4. Took 6 months to start. Still a month away but we are opening a brand new site, super pumped, 15 minutes from my house

[@Grant0669]

That is going to be so nice working close to home. I hope all goes well!

[@chantillylace1369]

It’s the constant sipping of the tea for meee 😂

[@Grant0669]

Hahahaha

[@issacabraham1505]

Your friendship is so cute guys :)) Thanks for all the info Grant! Keep up the good work!

[@Grant0669]

Thank you and I appreciate you watching!

[@FTWTACOSWTF]

Grant can you do a video describing the differences between L4 and L5? What certain responsibilities do you have that an L4 doesn't?

[@Grant0669]

I sure can!

[@bryanyapoort4273]

I start on July 5 2021 and I got my offer on November. I’ll be an Area Ops manager. The offer is not negotiable and the moving package is GREAT since I’m just 90 miles away.

[@Grant0669]

That is great news, congratulations and I am totally stoked for you!

[@kassandraheart6930]

Hey Grant My husband just got hired 2 months ago for L4 management and he says they don’t take meal breaks. That essentially their meetings are considered part of their lunch break. Can you explain how lunch break works because doesn’t seem there’s an official lunch break

[@noisydeejay7822]

Actually gotta interview in next week for campus next area manager 2021. I cant wait :)

[@Grant0669]

That’s exciting good luck!

[@dawasherpa8040]

Hello Grant great content, can you also please do a career path video for L4 manager to Ops Mangers, Program Manger, Product Manger, Site Leader?

[@Grant0669]

That is a great idea

[@tyquiseedgerson5564]

Hey Grant (and followers)! Thank you so much for making your channel, I've been following you since the beginning and you really made me more interested in the AM position with Amazon. I have an interview on Friday and is EXTREMELY NERVOUS. Can you (or anyone) possibly answer any of these questions to possibly calm my nerves and curiosity? 1. I feel somewhat prepared for the interview. I have an excel sheet with sample questions and principles. What's your best advice for going into the interview? 2. I see a lot in the comments about people accepting the position and having start dates a couple months out. Do they usually give that to you or is that something that you request? 3. Since most likely I will be relocated, what's your best advice with starting over in a new city (especially after graduation)?

[@Grant0669]

Hey Tyquise - thank you for watching and keeping up with my channel, that’s really cool to hear. My best advice for the interview is to make sure you have a good understanding of the leadership principles, and to have a bank of situations for your personal and professional history that are dynamic enough to use to answer a variety of questions. For the start dates that has to do with supply and immediate demand - it is not uncommon for companies to hire in advance like this, especially for locations that tend to be more popular. For you last question I actually just posted a video all about that

[@tyquiseedgerson5564]

@@Grant0669 Thank you so much! Just got the call for my verbal offer! Definitely wouldn’t have gotten this far without your channel!

[@Grant0669]

@@tyquiseedgerson5564 That is really great news Tyquise, congratulations! Thank you for the kind words and for watching my videos

[@jenny-yn3lu]

I have a vacation 2 weeks before I start. Would they need me for anything like drug test or physical done?

[@Grant0669]

You should be fine, but I would reach out to your recruiter if you want them to provide you with peace of mind

[@ou9988]

Hey Grant! I recently got a job offer for my area manager position. I haven’t really told anyone outside my immediate family mostly because I’m waiting to get my placement and start date first. Anyways with Amazon being such a large and dominating company, there’s sometimes a lot of backlash. Even just in recent days I’ve seen a few of my friends post about boycotting Amazon. Have you ever face any criticism and if so how do you address it?

[@Grant0669]

Great question - I personally have never faced any backlash. Any time I have spoken about it with someone, it is much more curiosity-driven. I think the one thing that causes the biggest reaction in people is when I tell them how long the hours are, or how much extra work they have us doing through peak.

[@mbnpaster]

Hello Grant, thank you for your insightful videos. What tools do you use on daily basis ( excel, PowerPoint, WMS...) for meetings or for analysis?

[@Grant0669]

Hello and thank you for watching! I do use the basics like Excel, OneNote, etc. Amazon has multiple other systems that are home-grown which you would learn how to use once you begin. Not too much PowerPoint though!

[@zmanlane]

What’s the best facility to start in for promotions and happy workers? Like delivery ops etc etc

[@Grant0669]

That's a really great question and I am not sure there is a concrete answer. Fulfillment centers are pretty massive, so in terms of exposure to a higher volume of people you would get that at those. I haven't worked at any other style of center so I can't speak on those!

[@stevenlin9260]

Hi, just want to know whether delivery ops is comparably easy?

[@Grant0669]

@@stevenlin9260 I do not have experience in delivery ops so I can't speak on that!

[@AnthonyChilisGMMP]

How long does it take for an area manager level 4, to get promoted level 5? 6? I know obviously the better you perform, the better you’ll be when it comes down to promotions. But what’re you seeing as far as time wise promotions?

[@Grant0669]

It is all very subjective down to the individual performance of the person - there is no set path for this. I'm sure it varies depending on the site and where you are in the supply chain. I do not want to set false expectations for anyone so this is a question I would ask a recruiter or coworker (if you work at Amazon already).

[@derekatienza3601]

Hey Grant! Love these videos. Just got the job in North Las Vegas and start in April! What are the different possible shifts that I could get?

[@Grant0669]

Hi Derek! Thank you and congratulations on the job. The shifts vary by the type of site you are at, but in general at mine you could work Sun-Wed, or Wed-Sat on days or nights. Or, you could be on the shift I am on which is Thurs-Sat nights

[@giandomenicociccone1190]

We wanna know where u guys take your shirts\t-shirts!

[@Grant0669]

What do you mean?

[@giandomenicociccone1190]

@@Grant0669 Well, first of all, thanks for the video, they are great and helped me prepare for my interviews. Regarding my specific questions, just wanted to mention that your t-shirts are cool - in Italian, "to take" is a synonym of "to buy", maybe the misunderstanding comes from here.

[@Grant0669]

@@giandomenicociccone1190 oh okay that is very good to know! A lot of the shirts I wear in my videos are from Abercrombie

[@valeriefletcher6072]

Love these videos! Do most new area managers work nights?

[@Grant0669]

It really just varies depending on the need of the facility! I don’t think there is a trend where new AMs work nights

[@smcg2490]

Like Grant said, it is luck of the draw. Do be aware that if you work night there is a decent bonus to make up for it. In the uk it’s an additional 6k.

[@SimeonsChannel]

The tea sipping😂

[@Grant0669]

Hahahaha

[@ou9988]

I’m still waiting for my offer email but I just received an offer from another company. Do you think it would be too pushy or not look good for me to send an email requesting an update?

[@Grant0669]

I think it is totally fine if you politely ask for an update

[@bryanyapoort4273]

Definitely you should remind them but because the holidays the offers got behind.

[@issacabraham1505]

Hello everyone, I'll be joining as an Area Manager at Reno, Nevada, from June 2021. Please reach out to me if you're from there or relocating there.

[@yvonne0932]

Hello :) How do you know your location so early in advance? I have an offer with start date of July 2021 but I won’t know the location until 60 days before my start date so I’m not sure if I should accept it.

[@liangxuanwang6392]

Hello. I have been working for almost a year at Amazon and still do not get converted to regular blue badge. Do you know what happened at my site or should I talk to someone? thank you

[@Grant0669]

Best of luck!

[@Grant0669]

I would talk to HR at your site and get insight from them!

[@liangxuanwang6392]

Grant Anderson it took a very long time converting to blue badge at my site . Seems like Hr does not want to convert associates

[@yanickf4697]

Thank you for you videos

[@Grant0669]

Thanks for watching!

[@destaney5790]

I just got my training schedule. Is the training schedule similar to the shift you will actually work?

[@Grant0669]

Typically it is!

[@ChineseSe7en]

Would you be interested in moving up to operations manager? Do you have any info on operations manager?

[@Grant0669]

I would love to be an operations manager - I personally do not have much information on operations manager. I'll leave "Amazon Operations Manager Experience" videos up to someone else, or who knows, maybe one day I will be one and can continue my series with that :)

[@unrealhighlights3853]

What hours did he work he didn’t say it

[@Grant0669]

His hours are 630PM-5AM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It’s important to note that we have a pre-shift meeting at 530PM, so it’s really 530AM-5AM for him

[@unrealhighlights3853]

@@Grant0669 hi grant why does he have to work 4 days a week and you only have to work 3 days a week the same hours

[@Grant0669]

Michael Paladino my hours each night are longer - I work 530PM-7AM, whereas he is 530AM-5PM. Since my shifts are 12+ hours, we work three nights instead of 4

[@theinans15]

Hey Grant! As an IE, what are your next steps with Amazon?

[@Grant0669]

Great question! I would like to either go in to operations management or program management. I am doing my best to network with people in the company to learn about their career path and role so I can have more insight on this, but right now I am leaning toward operations manager

[@dixonlopez86]

Grant, how many AM per fulfillment center?

[@Grant0669]

I would say anywhere from 50-150

[@KFix-rg5ro]

Would you still recommend working as an Area Manager?

[@Grant0669]

I do still recommend it. It's a very demanding non-traditional role so I definitely suggest doing research prior to applying to ensure as best you can that you would be a good fit.

[@dawasherpa8040]

Hello Everyone I ll be starting as an Area Manager at MSP1 Shapokee, Minnesota starting May 2021. Please reach out to me as we can connect if you are working or will be working in that location. Thank you.

[@Grant0669]

Hi Dawa - I hope you have been having a positive experience these last 11 months!

[@travisperkins3375]

How long does it typically takes to go from L4 to L6 ?

[@Grant0669]

This is a great question - it totally varies depending on the person and their quality of work. There is not real time frame that I can put on it. I have heard of people being promoted with a few months, to a year or more. I wish I could give you a set answer but I really don't think there is one! All-in-all, probably a couple years at least to grow from 4-6