Amazon CEO: People in their 20s tend to make this mistake—I was 'lucky' to avoid it
But the 57-year-old executive didn't start his career with aspirations of being a high-powered CEO. In a May 15 podcast appearance on "How Leaders Lead with David Novak," Jassy said he too often sees young people who think they should be entering the professional world knowing what they want to do with the rest of their lives.
"I have a 21-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter, and one of the things I see with them and their peers is they all feel like they have to know what they want to do with their life at that age," he said. "And I really don't believe that's true."
Before Jassy landed at Amazon in 1997 at age 29, he tried his hand at sportscasting, sports production, product management and entrepreneurship, he said. On top of that, he spent time working at a retail golf store, coaching his high school soccer team and investment banking.
Even though many of those jobs didn't work out as he might've hoped, the experiences helped him understand the type of career that he wanted — and didn't want — to have, he said.
"I think early on it's just as important to learn what you don't want to do as what you want to do because it actually helps you figure out what you want to do," said Jassy. "I do feel like one of the lucky parts for me was that I tried lots of things and was able to sort for myself what appealed to me and what didn't."Jassy credited his eventual success to his willingness to find out what he was good at and what he liked, rather than doggedly following a strong vision of what he wanted to do: "I think your attitude is an embarrassing amount of your success or lack thereof."
Being reliable, trustworthy, hard-working and a good learner are more important than being good at every single thing you try, Jassy added. "I feel like those are things that you can control. It's actually amazing to me how often people don't. I worked hard at those things over time," he said.
The Amazon CEO isn't alone in preaching dependability: Being a reliable and hard worker is the No. 1 way to build a strong reputation in the workplace, author and former Google executive Maha Abouelenein told CNBC Make It on Oct. 9.
Having a consistent level of effort and doing your best to anticipate the needs of those around you will get you recognized, no matter where your career takes you, said Abouelenein.
"Reputation is like a currency," she said. "It's the only thing you own, and I want you to invest in it ... Without your [personal brand], you can't do anything."
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