A Year of Progress: SnapTravel Celebrates #InternationalWomensDay
At SnapTravel, we have the privilege to be surrounded by people who are the best in their field. From our world-class engineering org, to our incredible hotel supply team, we can come to work every day and know that we’re learning from super sharp people.
In the early days, our team was built via the networks of our founders. Since then, we’ve scaled our team to better represent the workforce and our user-base. We’ve gone from 0 women at SnapTravel at this time last year, to having women make up over 33% of our team! At a high level, it’s incredible to see that when you set your mind to making your company a great place to work for everyone, the labour market will respond. On the day-to-day, it means that I’m surrounded by some really inspiring women.
This IWD, I’ve asked them to share what it’s like to work here. In this case, “here” can mean on our Engineering team, as a new immigrant to Canada, in a startup coming from the enterprise world, or joining as a leader with experience in Hospitality.
Ally (Head of Operations)
Q: How would you approach entering a new industry?
A: New industries are exciting but can be daunting. So much to learn and explore but so many acronyms getting in the way. I’ve switched industries a few times now and have learned that the following can make it easier:
- Learn about it top-down and bottoms-up: get multiple perspectives on the industry and what people think is important to succeed. Ask senior managers and industry vets for general themes but don’t forget about learning the nuances from the analysts as well.
- Focus on your role: what are you here to do? Chances are you know how to do it based on something from your past. Trust yourself to share your opinion, knowing that your ‘outsider’ perspective adds value.
- Allow yourself the time to adapt: don’t stress about what you don’t know or the rate at which you’re retaining info. Instead, remind yourself that it’s good to learn. If you approach it with a growth mindset, you’ll actually start to pick up new content faster and with a better understanding.
Q: What resources would you recommend young women look at for expanding their skillset for business operations?
A: I’m a big believer in making the most of your current role by stretching yourself to learn as much as you can. Put your hand up for new projects, ask to shadow people who have skills you want, go for coffee with the people you look up to. Be super vocal so that people can help you succeed.
Outside the office, there’s one tip that’s served me well over the past few years. Once a week I try to read something really confusing. My favourites are Economist, New Yorker or Atlantic articles. In reading these (I try to pick interesting topics!), I’m building critical thinking skills that come into play every day on the job. At the very least, you’ll develop strong opinions on everything!
Deborah (Backend Software Engineer)
Q: You recently made the move from India — how did you evaluate career opportunities and risks?
A: I had just climbed a few rungs up the corporate ladder when I decided to jump right off it. A few factors shaped my decision to leave a large organization in favour of a startup:
- Learning — Stability often breeds complacency. Having worked in the same organization for 4 years, I found myself a little too well adapted to the culture and processes there which didn’t make for a lot of everyday learning. Joining a startup has thrown me into new challenges to learn and grow.
- Travel — I love meeting new people, learning about them and their culture, and sharing new experiences with them. Moving to Toronto from Bangalore, India has given me the perfect opportunity to do just that, and I love every bit of it!
Q: Have you faced any challenges in making the transition from a large engineering team to small startup?
- More skin in the game: In a small startup, your actions have a much bigger impact on the organization as a whole. This ownership can sometimes mean that a small mistake is very visible. Working with this mindset has taken a while to get used to, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.
- Higher entropy: In a smaller company there are more moving parts and shifting priorities than an enterprise setting, where plans and projections are set years in advance. Getting comfortable with some amount of chaos and ambiguity is something I am still adapting to.
Jenn (Finance Manager)
Q: How did you approach finding positions in the startup/tech world? Are the principles the same or different than other fields and larger corporate jobs?
A: Shopping for a position in the startup/tech world is pretty unconventional compared to a large corporate job. This makes sense, since startup/tech jobs are often times unconventional themselves. There’s definitely a higher reliance on two things:
- Your network — With a large corporate job, you have access to job recruiters to get you in the door. You can also do a lot of research on your own- these places tend to be well documented on job sites, past/current employees, the company website, etc. With a startup these resources can be sparse, so I would recommend making a more personal connection. When I came across SnapTravel, a friend had sent me the job listing because they knew the type of job I was looking for. Once I decided SnapTravel was a potential good fit for me, I brought it up to my friends, who were able to help make introductions via 1st or 2nd degree ties. By having those conversations, I was able to better gauge that SnapTravel would be a great place for me.
- Your gut — With any new job/company, you’re going to be taking a leap of faith. If you think about it in terms of numbers, at a large corporate company, there’s so many people that you’ll have more chances to meet people you can build great relationships with. In the worst case, you can switch departments or teams. In a startup you work closely with the same people everyday, so you need to know for sure that this is a place you will enjoy. It’s a high risk / high return type of game, so sometimes you need to listen to your gut to know if this is going to be a win (in case you’re wondering, for me SnapTravel = win).
Q: What are some differences you’ve noticed between professional services and tech? How have you navigated gendered office culture in both worlds?
A: No matter where I’ve worked, I’ve always operated under the mindset that the work I produce attests to my qualifications. In my opinion, believing in my own abilities and not focusing on gender has had a positive impact on how others have treated me. (This strategy applies universally!)
In the tech world especially, I make sure to practice this mindset, since there’s visibly more men at the majority of tech companies. Having confidence (or at least acting confident), will usually result in being treated with more respect.
In the professional services world there is an added layer of complexity, because you become exposed to the office culture of your clients — something you didn’t necessarily sign up for. There are times when no matter your composure, some people will treat you differently based on your gender. I’ve used these negative interactions as a learning experience, and I’m confident enough to know that in those situations I’ve been treated differently because of someone else’s bias, not my lack of ability.
Michelle (Frontend Software Engineer — Intern)
Q: How do you think campus culture around women in STEM differs from the workplace?
A: On Campus: It’s no secret that women have historically been underrepresented in Engineering disciplines. While this is true when looking at the Engineering faculty as a whole, in my program (Systems Design Engineering) the class is well balanced. Our most important class leaders are, in fact, women! When interacting with incoming female students as an engineering orientation leader, I would sometimes hear concerns that they would not fit in. In these situations I always speak to my personal experience. I have never felt any less welcome in STEM both on campus and in the workplace. Nonetheless, for those who are seeking support, there are organizations on campus that provide it.
At Work: In my past work experiences, due to the size or industry of the companies I worked at, I never had concerns about being a woman in STEM. Prior to joining SnapTravel, I had some concerns after noticing there were very few women in the team photos. I was also surprised to find out that I was the only female intern in my winter cohort. I remember in my first couple of weeks, I would look around the room during Frontend team meetings and make note that I was the only woman. As the most junior member on my team and the only female Engineering intern, I had some doubts in my abilities. As time went on, I became more comfortable sharing my input and realized not only that my ideas were just as valuable as anyone else’s, but that they were treated as such. In my experience, the positive inclusion of women in STEM workplaces mirrors that of my campus experiences — one that breaks through stereotypes.
Q: What are things you’ve worked on that have helped you discover what you might want to focus on after graduating?
A: In my previous internships, I’ve had the opportunity to work in UX/UI design, Data, and now Frontend engineering. This diversity in work experience has allowed me to explore different fields and learn more about what I like and dislike. From Design, I learned that I deeply care about the needs and requirements of the end user. However, I felt there was a more technical aspect missing from my role as a Designer. From working in Data, I learned to appreciate the value of data and the insights it provides to help improve a product, but missed the ability to impact the visual aspect of a user’s experience. In Frontend engineering, I have the ability to improve a product by both providing input on a designer’s work and implementing these improvements, which requires technical expertise. I cannot say with certainty that this is what I want to focus on after graduating, but I know I’m getting closer.
I have come to learn that there is no need to feel bounded by a degree or field of study. There was a lot of self-learning involved, and something new can be taken from each experience. All things considered, I know I will find myself in given a role for the same reason I chose my undergrad: my desire to apply data to design in order to solve problems.
It’s incredible to see the progress we’ve made as an org in just a year — we’ve grown at an accelerated pace from every perspective. Our revenue, bookings, product offerings and partnerships have grown exponentially, along with headcount. It’s no coincidence that as we’ve opened the doors to more ideas and people, we have earned dividends on the diverse ideas & expertise that they bring.
This #InternationalWomensDay, I’m feeling extra grateful for my colleagues, and the learning environment they foster here at SnapTravel!
