NTT Spotlight: Ina Yulo
This is where we ask members of our community to share more about their career journey so far and their passion for tech. NTT connects you with top mentors so you can land your dream job in tech — no coding required. Get involved at nontechtech.com
Tell us a little about yourself, what’s your name, where did you grow up and where do you live now?
My name is Ina, I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. I left when I was 23 to do my Masters in Marketing Management at the ESADE Business School in Barcelona. After I graduated, I booked a one-way ticket to London and have been living here for the past four years.
What is your main occupation now? Are you studying a degree at a university? Or working in a specific role at a company?
I’m a Senior Content Manager for the FinTech and Financial Services at BrightTALK and am also a Team Lead.
What’s the process that led to the role you are in now?
When I moved to London, I thought that I was going to work in the advertising industry (as that was what I did my Bachelors degree in). I realised that the ad industry in London is insanely tough, especially if you didn’t have any experience in the city before. I started applying to more general marketing roles in all different industries and received a LOT of rejection letters.
I did do an interview with a Social Media agency the week I flew in but ultimately they decided that they would only have a role open for my level in a few months. I started to question if my decision to do a double degree and minor in my undergrad and an additional Masters was the wrong one, as it seemed like candidates who had more work experience were being picked over me.
At what point in your life did you realise you wanted to work in tech? What drove you to do it?
I still remember seeing this Oprah episode back when I was a teenager where they showed you what the Google HQ in California looked like. It was the first time I realised that going to work could be fun.
What are some things you know now about careers and working life that you wish you knew earlier?
That there are so many different career paths to take within each industry. I also wish I knew the importance of a work-life balance early on in my career and that that e-mail can wait til tomorrow!
Describe a typical weekday — what do you do?
I check my e-mails as soon as I wake up because I like being able to prioritise in my head the things I need to do for the day. Once I get to the office, I’ll usually have a series of calls with potential partners or presenters to discuss them speaking on BrightTALK, I’ll get pulled into meetings with clients to talk to them about their content programme and how we can best elevate and optimise it, I may pop out to a meet-up or workshop to moderate a panel or give a talk. I also like to go to yoga classes during my lunch breaks!
What advice can you give people who want to get to where you are now?
Look into your interests, turn them into skills, then turn those into a career. There are lots of different options out there, it’s just about educating yourself, talking to people who are doing jobs that interest you to find out what they’re really about, and then making yourself the best candidate you can be for the role.
What are you most excited about in tech right now?
I love all the different ways you can learn new skills or technologies. I love this app called Memrise, which I first started using to learn Norwegian (which I now speak at a conversational level). My boyfriend has also used it to memorise the capitals of the Philippine provinces and there are tons of other categories on it like coding, history, etc.
If you had a chance to be the first group visiting Mars — would you take it?
I think I’d chicken out and be scared that the spaceship would explode on the way (too many 90s space saga movies).
Who is your favourite person in tech right now?
Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble. She’s made working in tech cool, inclusive, and fun! And the evolution of the Bumble app to include BumbleBFF and BumbleBizz is amazing!
