Matthew Easton

When faced with negative customer feedback, prioritize understanding the root cause. Engage the customer with targeted questions to uncover the details behind their dissatisfaction, including who was involved, what specifically occurred, and the resulting impact on their experience, whether it be time or money. Once you have a clear grasp of the situation, collaborate with the customer to identify their desired resolution. Assess whether their request aligns with your capabilities and, if so, develop a plan to deliver a positive outcome that exceeds their expectations. By clearly defining the end goal and working backwards, you can map out a strategic approach to not only resolve the issue at hand but strengthen their loyalty to your brand.

To effectively prepare for a direct sales interview, conduct thorough research on the company, their offerings, target customers, and the problems they solve. Develop a clear value proposition highlighting how you would drive results and foster a culture of continuous improvement. During the interview, stay calm, focused, and articulate your thoughts clearly. Maintain a balanced perspective, recognizing that while the interview is an opportunity to showcase your skills, the outcome is ultimately beyond your control. Embrace the interview as a learning experience and a chance to highlight your potential, regardless of the result. Remember that preparation, confidence, and effective stress management will help you perform at your best.

Informational interviews with people already working with the cloud provide an excellent way to understand which skills are most relevant. Seek out people in cloud-related roles like cloud architects, administrators, and DevOps engineers. Look both inside and outside your company to find professionals who use cloud platforms daily. Their real-world experiences will offer practical insights on building impactful skills. Outline questions that draw out specifics around day-to-day responsibilities, services and tools used, valuable certifications, lessons learned, and recommendations for skills development. Request a 30 minute call. Most professionals are happy to pay it forward and guide others working to advance their skills.

I think first you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Building cloud computing skills can be sped up by learning from those with real-world mastery. Follow renowned experts via diverse mediums - blogs, meetups, online courses and certifications. Glean from their experience solving concrete problems. Read extensively, ask questions, discuss the concepts. A mentor relationship offers invaluable hands-on guidance. Contribute to open source projects for direct growth through new challenges. Let those walking the path light it for others still advancing. Leverage generously shared wisdom.