Erin Lewber

Building strategy. Developing talent. Driving growth.That’s the work - inside Amazon and inside the careers of the women I support.At Amazon Business, I lead Account Management for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, supporting Fortune 100–1000 customers. I manage a multi-layer team (leaders and ICs) and built global strategic account management strategy to close gaps in customer adoption and retention - creating a model now used worldwide.The work sits at the intersection of sales, consulting, and customer success:- solve complex customer problems- drive adoption and retention- build durable growth engines- develop high-performing teamsI’m consistently rated in the top tier of people managers at Amazon, based on daily team feedback.Outside of Amazon, I’m the founder of Erin Lewber Coaching - a boutique coaching firm supporting women in two key seasons:1) Career pivots + job search executionResume strategy, LinkedIn, interview prep, and momentum - supported by my coaching team.2) Executive advisory + strategic thinking partnershipFor women navigating complex career and leadership decisions - where getting it right matters. This is judgment-driven work, not templates or assessments. We lay the full situation on the table, pressure-test options, and move forward with clarity and confidence.If you’re navigating a pivot, promotion, or a decision that deserves real discernment, you’re in the right place.Focus areas: Sales leadership • Growth strategy • Strategic account management • Executive advisory • Leadership communication • Career pivots • Interview strategy • Women’s leadership

Head of Strategic Adoption, Sr. B2B Sales Leader

I lead a team of 12 to drive adoption of Amazon Business within AB's Fortune 1000 customer base.  

In this role, I've developed, launched, and scaled the Strategic Adoption role across Amazon Business.

"Why are you leaving your current role?" 
 
Ever wondered how to answer this? 
 
Here's how: 
 
Tell your interviewer what you're running 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 (instead of running 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮). 
 
Everyone leaves a job because something isn't good enough. If things were good enough, you'd stay 😀 
 
So instead of coming up with a list of things that weren't working as your reason for leaving (low pay, bad hours, toxic culture, etc) 
 
Pivot your answer slightly 
 
And focus on what you're looking to 𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 by moving to the new role/company 
 
Read their About page. 
Do a little Google research. 
Know what draws you to the company. 
 
And share that instead. 
 
𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲? 
 
𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺: 
I'm looking for a better culture that isn't toxic and where every day doesn't feel so exhausting. 
 
[while reasonable to not want a work environment like this, your interviewer doesn't know your situation and this message focuses on your current job - not the value you bring to one you're interviewing for] 
 
𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱: 
At this point in my career, I'm selectively looking for a role that will allow me opportunity to develop new skills while also doing work that's purposeful within a supportive team environment. Based on what I learned about Company ABC and your commitment to [something you learned while researching the company], I believe I could successfully apply skills like [skill 1, skill 2, skill 3] that I've built during my career and would find a lot of satisfaction knowing I was contributing to [thing you'd contribute to if you got this job] 
 
Run toward. Not From.

Head of Account Management, Amazon Business | Executive Advisory + Career Coaching for Women | Pivots, Promotions, High-Stakes Decisions

How you're currently approaching your job search:

1. Work on resume
2. Apply to 30 different roles
3. Start 3 different certification programs
4. Join LinkedIn, like posts, worry you should be posting too
5. Apply to 50 more roles
6. Make a post about how you're applying and it isn't working
7. Revise resume 3 more times
8. Change LinkedIn profile
9. Apply to 30 more jobs
10. Hire a professional resume writer
11. Still no interviews
12. Realize you've applied to 100+ jobs...this isn't working!
13. Find new types of roles to apply to
14, 15, 16... [and the list continues]

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁:

1. Pick a focus role (upskill if needed)
2. Build your resume *then* your LinkedIn for said focus role
3. Search and NETWORK for said focus role
4. Interview

If you're writing a cover letter that looks like an 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 (lots of words, paragraphs)... 
 
No one is reading it 
 
5 Tips for a cover letter that someone will actually read: 
 
𝟭. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 
Heavy half page. No one wants an actual letter (promise) 
 
Get to the point 
 
Say it in as few words as possible so the reader can get to the important stuff easily 
 
𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 & 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗱 
Your reader is probably reviewing a ton of applications. 
 
Call the eye to your main/most important points, key technologies, or important results using bullet points and bold. 
 
𝟯. 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 
This isn't the time to tell your reader *all the things*, you just need the most important ones. 
 
Research your role and share 3-5 bullet points that show you match the role's requirements 
 
𝟰. 𝗢𝗞 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 
It's absolutely OK to share highlights from your resume in your cover letter. 
 
Kind of like how stores hang a lot of signs when they want you to know about a sale. They don't keep the important stuff a secret. Neither should you. 
 
𝟱. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 
In the world of cover letters and resumes, clean, simple, and easy to read is all you need. Less is more. 
 
𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵? 
https://lnkd.in/ejQcg-Ps
 
𝘗.𝘚. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 "𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵"

Open article: Free Template by erinlewber.com

Ever see that 200+ people applied to a job via LinkedIn?

And then decide not to apply?

Don't do that. Here's why:

If that "apply" button pushes you to an external site, then LinkedIn's "200 applicants" is really just a count of clicks.

That's right.

Try it. 

Find a job

Click apply

Go back to LinkedIn

Wait 60 seconds-ish

Refresh

Watch the number tick up by 1

Moral of the story?

Don't pull yourself out of the race because of a goofy number that probably isn't even accurate

P.S. If it's an 'easy apply', there's little friction to applying. What does that mean? Of those 200+ people applying, about 40-50% aren't even a fit right out of the gate. Just people 'shooting their shot'.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗞: 
"Can you tell me about the company culture?" 
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 👇 
 
"Tell me about the last time your team celebrated something. What was it? How did you celebrate?" 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? 
 
You're asking a specific, situational question instead of a general/theoretical one. 
 
This requires your interviewer to answer with a specific (real) situation instead of a conceptual one. 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁? 
 
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲: 
 
→ Oh, it's great! 
→ We're a really great team 
→ Everyone gets along. We're like a family! 
 
𝗜𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
 
→ Do they celebrate stuff? 
→ How do they celebrate? 
→Does this align to how you like to celebrate? 
 
(Example: If you learn the team hits the bar every time something great happens...that may or may not be your thing) 
 
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗽: It is important to know the person's role in the team/hiring process when you ask things like this. 
 
If your interviewer is a manager from a partner team, asking them about their team's culture will likely be irrelevant to you. Ask a question like this of your future manager or future teammate. 
 
P.S. You can turn just about any question into a situational one like this - it doesn't have to just be this culture example :)

If you could change one thing about the interview process, what would it be?

𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁:

I'd like the organization to review their role, determine who the candidate needs to speak with (and why)... and then eliminate ANY interviewers or interview steps that aren't critical to making a hiring decision.

I see too many 5+ round interviews where a early to mid career candidate is speaking with the VP of something-or-another and two additional panels of 3+ people before they get hired.

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?

Micromanagement and inefficiency. Highlighted.

K...your turn

P.S. productive, not complain-ey...k?

If someone tells you that your resume isn't "ATS Compatible"....𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗧𝗦:

An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is a glorified filing cabinet for recruiters.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀:

- organizes job postings
- organizes candidate profiles
- holds candidate resumes
- allows a recruiter to search the database and manage the various stages of the hiring process

A company's job posting page is the front end (user facing side) of that ATS.

When you apply and attach your resume, you're building your candidate record and attaching your resume to to your record in the ATS.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝘆 "𝗔𝗧𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲" 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰:

𝟭. 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘
As long as you're submitting a supported file type (PDF, Word Document), your resume is going to go into the ATS. Probably safe to say you can't doodle a resume and submit it as a .JPG file, but I'm pretty sure you're not doing that anyway. So, you're good here.

𝟮. 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚
If you've formatted your resume with lots of columns and tables, it might not parse (that's mostly fancy talk for 'fill in the blanks for you on your application'). Typically, you'll be required to fill in the blanks to complete an application. So either your resume will do it for you...or you will do it. But either way, your info gets entered. So, you're good here, too.

𝟯. 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦.
People selling "ATS Compatible" resumes are all about the keyword gimmicks. They'll tell you the ATS is going to scan your resume for keywords. Truthfully, an ATS *can* do that, but as long as you're writing a resume that talks about things relevant to the job you want...you're probably going to hit on those keywords anyway. So, there really isn't some sort of magic that can happen here. Just talk about stuff relevant to the job and give examples of how you were good at those things. This isn't Harry Potter level stuff.

𝟰. 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗘
That's right. There's the file type, the format, and the content and none of those things are going to cause the ATS to reject you or flag your resume as 'not compatible'.

These systems are built to take information from random people and make a recruiter's life easy...they aren't meant to be Fort Knox with a secret code to be cracked.

Which means..............people telling you that ATS Compatibility is your problem....are kinda sorta totally absolutely knowingly selling you a heaping pile of garbage advice.

And I think that's a rude thing to do to jobseekers 🧡

Power phrases to add to your interview responses

(in no particular order)

"While preparing to speak with you today, I...."
"One thing I've come to realize is...."
"Something I've discovered about _______, is...."
"I learned that..."

What makes them power phrases?

They each show you've thought about a situation, event, or experience; you can pull a bunch of stuff together to create a single "aha!"

These types of realizations?

They lift and shift from job to job

And smart companies?

Of course they want someone who can do the job

But more importantly?

Smart companies hire people who can think, reflect, and learn.

Try these phrases on in your next interview.

Let me know how it goes.

Driven by curiosity, delighted by irreverence and dispirited by rigidity, I’m not the HR Lady of yore.

I'm a fractional talent strategist, full-cycle recruiter and freelance writer, offering foundational talent acquisition support to start-ups as they scale and supplemental support to small businesses as they surge. Deeply committed to optimizing the candidate experience, I bring form, function and finesse to recruiting operations as an embedded partner, on-demand.

Leveraging diverse experience across a variety of industries, I lead searches of all stripes, including:

◦ Clinical roles in Behavioral Health & Mental Health
◦ Functional roles in Construction Management & Real Estate Development
◦ Go-to-Market roles in Marketing, Sales, Implementation & Customer Success
◦ Operational roles in Human Resources, Finance, Accounting & Administrative Support
◦ Non-Technical roles in Software Development, Project Management & Product Support

In addition to retained search, recruitment process outsourcing and recruiting enablement, I create content to support employer branding and recruitment marketing initiatives, as well as short-form writing on topics related to people operations, including talent attraction, candidate experience, onboarding & orientation, employee engagement, performance management and professional development. 

I'm available for speaking engagements and offer speechwriting services on each of these topics as well. 

As a remote work advocate and solopreneurship enthusiast with a wicked case of wanderlust, I Iove showing my family the world - and seeing it though their eyes - via immersive international travel and experiential education. 

Learn more about our journey to location independent family life in the book, "Digital Nomad Moms: Women Who Carved Out Successful Remote Careers to Travel the World With Their Children," available now on Amazon.

Erin Riska

At 14, I was a babysitter.

At 16, I was a cashier at McDonald’s.

At 18, I was a receptionist in my college dorm.

At 20, I was an intern at an NGO in Washington, DC.

At 22, I was an Administrative Assistant at a public policy think tank in DC.

At 24, I was an Editorial Assistant at a public policy think tank in DC.

At 26, I was traveling the world solo, teaching English as Foreign Language.

At 28, I was a leading experiential education programs for high-potential youth from all over the world. 

At 30, I was managing leadership development and civic engagement programs for high school students in Colorado. AND a newlywed.

At 32, I was developing onboarding, orientation and training programs for a professional services firm in the oil & gas industry.

At 34, I was leading all Human Resources programs for that same firm. AND a mom. 

At 36, I was still leading Human Resources for that same firm.

At 38, I was leading Human Resources and Recruiting for a commercial real estate developer. AND a mom to two.

At 40, I was developing performance management and professional development programs for a B2B tech company.

At 42, I was leading talent acquisition for a commercial real estate developer and construction company.

At 44, I was two years into building my 1st business - Search & Rescue - as a fractional talent acquisition partner, freelance writer, and a location independent digital nomad, traveling the world with my husband and two kids.

At 46, I was two years into building my 2nd business - RoamBase - organizing place-based, experiential learning adventures for worldschooling families.

At 47, I own and operate two businesses with five distinct income streams while traveling the world with my family and homeschooling my two sons.

For the record, I’ve been laid-off FOUR times in the course of my career

Once, because of the pandemic.

Once, as the result of a re-org. 

Twice, because the organization I worked for ceased operations altogether.

Every role I’ve held in the course of my career was made possible by the one that came before it, and in turn, each one prepared me for the next.

Life is Long.

Keep going.

⛑ Fractional Talent Acquisition Partner & Freelance Recruiter ◦ Digital Nomad Writing About Location Independent Family Life ◦ Contentment Creator ◦ Not a Coach

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