SARA YIN | “EARLY READING IS AKIN TO TRAVELING FOR CHILDREN”

About this series —

We explore the diverse perspectives of Asian-Americans in the workplace with amazing individuals like Sara.

What does a day in your life look like today?

It’s really boring since I became pregnant. I wake up, drink hot water with lemon, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, walk for 20 mins, eat dinner, and I’m in bed by 10. I’m relishing the simplicity of it. Before this I’d agonize over whether to meet with friends, do yoga, attend a concert, or do this and that.

How did you get to where you are today?

For better or for worse, I’ve never been one of those people who set out to be a certain thing by a certain date. In my early years I did whatever my parents told me to do, which is how I ended up enrolling in law school. I dropped out as soon as I opened a Contracts textbook. At that point, my dad threw his hands up: I was in the driver’s seat of my own career. I felt totally lost and took up a shitty job conducting “consumer research” surveys. I always loved to write and read magazines so on the side I would also pitch story ideas to editors. I got rejected a LOT. Before I knew it, I was a journalist.

My first “breakthrough” was a dating advice column for Men’s Health in Singapore. I also spent some time at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong as a features writer. Eventually I moved to New York City and joined the Huffington Post as one of Arianna Huffington’s research assistants, which led me to PC Magazine where I reviewed Android apps and mobile security. At the time I remember thinking I’d drawn the short straw because this was back in 2012, everyone was an iPhone user and no one cared about mobile security. But I met some brilliant and generous engineers and PMs in those early Android days. I fell in love with their optimism, their desire to do things differently and better. I caught the tech bug and wanted to be part of it. So then I made a tough decision to go in-house, and started off my journey in content marketing at Atlassian down in SOMA. I’m now at Intercom.

You’re both expecting and an Asian-American. What motivates you to feel engaged and fulfilled at work?

Years ago, I probably would’ve given you some lip service about being motivated by our company mission. It was early on. But I soon found that that’s not sustainable. I’ve since learned that career engagement isn’t just about how you’re treated at work, but from how fulfilled you are as a human being. I’ve learned that what makes me feel complete are relationships with my family and friends, and a creative input/output. And food.

Being pregnant is a constant reminder of my physical limitations but also that there’s something more important than business-to-business software.

Joining tech a few years ago, I didn’t realize diversity for Asian-Americans was an issue at all. I would always hear that there are a lot of Asians in tech, but often it’s actually a lot of Asian-Americans in individual contributor roles and not in leadership. That’s not always the case of course, and my MO is more to celebrate when Asians do advance rather than get too fixated on “why not me?”

Is it tough to find allies in the workplace? What are some positive traits that define a good ally?

It is tough. I truly believe every guy I’ve ever worked with wants to do the right thing. But what separates them from allies? In my experience, it’s a bunch of little actions rather than writing one epic blog post about their open-mindedness. Little things like:

• Noticing when someone’s talking over me in a meeting, he’ll interrupt that person to make sure I get a chance to speak
• Speaking up if he notices a lack of diversity somewhere because he’s aware that when a woman does it at work she might be labeled a certain way
• Volunteering a female counterpart when he gets invited to speak at an event
• Asking me in 1:1 settings how they can better support me/women (note: RARE)

When you’re not in a place of power (ie. not a white man in the Western world) I think you can instinctively tell if someone’s willing to be vulnerable enough, if someone’s curious enough to truly learn how they can be better.

How to fill a bookshelf, your Medium series, is really insightful. What was the thinking and motivation behind it?

Thanks! Although I mostly grew up in Hong Kong and New York City, my early childhood years were spent in Memphis. I remember being the only Asian in my public elementary school. I was naturally shy and no one talked to me or invited me for play dates.

I was short and sucked at sports. My parents would often take me to the library on the weekend where I’d get stacks of books. I’d bring a book with me while they dragged me out on errands. I guess it was my parents’ way of having a babysitter. I remember my dad would sit me in the corner with my book while he worked out — win win!

I read some trashy stuff like The Baby-Sitters Club, but it taught me as a kid a little about New York City and how it was a place where you could get bagels and pizza.

I think early reading, of any kind, is akin to traveling for children. We’re exposed to different worlds, different ways of talking. Love stories, adventure stories. New types of foods and tastes that otherwise I’d never know of as a quiet kid in Memphis. You could say that I wrote the series because reading has been one of the most impactful things in my life.

You just got married, congrats! What’s one cool way that Lewis supports your career ambitions?

So many. Lewis will just take on extra household chores when he knows I’m on deadline or really stressed at work. No questions asked.

How does being an introvert make you a better team player?

By default I think introverts are superior listeners. We listen before we speak. This comes in handy towards the tail end of a large project, when people are a little stressed and more emotionally charged than usual. That ability to stay calm and focused is appreciated. And when you do speak, people listen.