"The discipline, focus and leadership skills that are instilled within you in the military helped me get to where I am at Amazon now.”

Jocelyn B. coordinated aircraft and crews for critical missions in the Air Force. After transitioning from the military to a civilian career, she came to Amazon and worked her way up to her current role, doing what she loves as an Instructional Designer.

SEATTLE, WA – As an Air Force veteran, Amazonian Jocelyn B. credits her military experience for her success in the civilian business world.

At Amazon, Jocelyn is responsible for collaborating with operations teams, subject matter experts and others on the Knowledge Management team to support device launches and department initiatives. She advocates for effective customer-centered solutions and training programs in her role as an Instructional Designer.

“My military experience helped me get to where I am at Amazon now,” she says.

The Military Recruiting Team (MRT) at Amazon asked Jocelyn to share her advice with veterans transitioning from the military to the workforce after her own journey from the Air Force to a civilian career.

Here’s more from her success story and what she wants all transitioning veterans to know:

MRT: What did you do in your military career?

JB: I am a USAF veteran and spent four years living overseas. In the Air Force, I coordinated with multiple support agencies around the world to increase communication and efficiency in mission planning and execution. In one incident, I coordinated the aircrew, security and funds for a last-minute departing aircraft contributing to the rescue of several American and international hostages in Algeria.

MRT: So how did you find your way to Amazon?

JB: I joined Amazon while on terminal leave two weeks after I got back to the states. I started out as a regular phone associate taking calls at the call center in Tri-Cities, Washington.

MRT: When you applied back then, what was your experience like as a veteran? Do you think things have changed at Amazon for onboarding veterans?

JB: When I applied, I marked on my application that I was a veteran. Being so fresh out of the service, it would have been a really great opportunity to have someone from the military recruiting team reach out to me. [Editor’s note: The military recruiting team was established in 2016, after Jocelyn joined the company.] It was a tough transition getting back into civilian life, getting a job so quickly while on leave and not being fully separated from the military. My location didn’t have anything related to a military recruiting team, affinity group, or support system. There wasn’t any way for me to identify or reach out to other folks at the site who were in the service prior to Amazon that I could relate to. Now, I think Warriors (an affinity group for all veterans at Amazon) and Ambassadors (an opportunity for Warriors to mentor student veterans near their Amazon workplace) is something that has the potential to make a really powerful and great influence on transitioning veterans.

MRT: How did your military experience assist with your career progression through Amazon?

JB: The discipline, focus and leadership skills that are instilled within you in the military allowed me to quickly move from Customer Service Associate to a trainer, then to an instructional design intern. I then landed a position in Seattle as an Executive Assistant, which closely related to what I did when I was in the USAF. Ultimately, I was offered and accepted a position as an Instructional Designer on the team I interned with because I have a passion for being able to make changes in the Learning & Development space.

MRT: Any other reflections you’d like to share from your transition experience?

JB: I am so happy to be at Amazon now, representing the USAF and supporting other veterans within the company!