Amazon lands in Washington with a massive job fair for its new headquarters | Economy

The sound landing of Amazon at the gates of the capital of the United States, which promises to bring to the region in the next 12 years no less than 25,000 jobs with an average remuneration of $ 150,000 annually, began to be noticed this Tuesday, when thousands of search engines They filled an informative event designed to publicize the profiles and criteria that the tech giant will handle to award those places, 400 of which it seeks to fill before the end of this year.

The queue of assistants armed with resumes circled the vast block where the tent that hosted the event was built, in the heart of Crystal City, the decadent office and housing complex of Arlington, Virginia, separated from Washington DC by the river Potomac, that the company of Jeff Bezos chose between 238 candidate cities, almost a year ago, to place his second headquarters (the first one is in Seattle).

Inside the tent, different booths represented some of the multiple business areas of the colossus hoarder: from the e-book to the smart speaker, through entertainment or physical stores. There were offers for all tastes and qualifications: from warehouse waiters or drivers for $ 15 an hour, to millionaire software developer posts. At some tables, envied company employees advised applicants to be on how to prepare a job interview or how to improve the presentation of their curricula.

That's what Austin Regan, 24, came to, for whom the appointment with Amazon came "at the perfect time." "I've been studying to be a software developer and I'm just graduating tomorrow," said this Arlington neighbor. “It would be my first job, and I can't think of a better place. Who doesn't want to be where innovation and technology are? ”

"Build yourself a good story." The phrase of Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, patron raised almost to guru among the congregates, presided over one of the inner walls of the great tent. The clothing code was closer to Silicon Valley (on the other side of the country) than to the corridors of the Capitol (across the river): only a clueless man wore a tie.

"We decided to come here for access to the talent that the city offers, and this is a sign that we were on track," Ardine Williams, vice president of development for Amazon, told EL PAÍS. “We were surprised by the positive response. In the United States we have 300,000 full-time employees, and there are 30,000 more to cover. In addition to the requirements of each specific position, we want candidates that fit the company's culture, which are summarized in our 14 principles for leadership. My favorite is the fifth one, which says rende learn and be curious ”.

The event, the first of its kind organized by the company, was held simultaneously in six cities in the United States. In addition to Arlington, in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and Nashville.

New employees joining Amazon in Arlington will do so at the end of September in a recently renovated building, and by the end of the year the company expects to have another building in the area. The main headquarters of this second headquarters of the company, located a few streets near the Pentagon, will begin to be built at the beginning of next year.

The arrival of Amazon at the gates of the capital, announced a year ago, was celebrated by many local businessmen and politicians. But many others expressed concern about the negative impact it could have on the price of housing, and on the daily lives of working-class residents, the arrival of thousands of families of high purchasing power.

In fact, after that kind of contest between two hundred cities to host the second headquarters, which became a prodigious (and controversial) marketing move, Amazon announced that it would divide the headquarters between Arlington and Long Island City, in the city from New York. But the resistance of local politicians, suspicious of investment and the tax advantages they asked for and fearful of the harmful effects in the neighborhood, led the company to renounce its initial plans and focus only on Arlington.