Interview — Women in Tech
Here’s an article written following an interview with Fatima-Zahra, Data Analyst at Voodoo
She discusses why she chose to work at Voodoo and her vision about women in tech
Before you came to Voodoo, what was your background?
I studied at an ecole préparatoire in France and then went to business school. I was dedicated to business studies but I was always really good with numbers, which led me to more data-based roles in all my internships. I then did several training courses online to learn SQL, and did a few internships in the tech industry, where I got to develop my studies and put the skills I had learnt into practise. That’s when I discovered the Data Analyst role, which to me seemed like the perfect half-way point between data and business.
The first internship I did was in San Francisco, at a company called Adikteev. I chose this for the destination, I’ve always been very international.
Why Voodoo?
I came to know about Voodoo through Adikteev, as they were one of our advertising publishers. I remember playing Helix Jump in the metro in San Francisco! This was definitely my first interaction with Voodoo.
One evening, I had dinner with a friend that knew about Voodoo through their job. He worked with the marketing team and had heard a lot of good things about the company. At this point, lockdown hit, and job positions became scarce. That’s when I decided to apply for a job at Voodoo. I was really impressed by their recruitment process, as it had already adapted to remote working. The process was really smooth, with regular and prompt feedback after each stage of the process. This was super positive, and I was hired within a month!
What makes you get up in the morning?
I started at Voodoo back in August with one other person. At the beginning, we went to the office together most days, until wearing a mask became obligatory at all times in open spaces.
There was a great atmosphere in the office, really friendly, and full of interesting and pleasant people. The team was also very welcoming — it took us no time at all to integrate.
The impact of our work became obvious very quickly, as a lot of teams depended on us and the work we do. The fact that we know how useful we are, and that we can see how our work is helping them build something really helps me get up in the morning. We’re still a very young team, but very active.
What was your integration like?
My integration was an excellent experience! We started with several training sessions on the tools we use. The thing I really appreciated was how open the managers were. Anytime I had a question, they would immediately be ready to help and share best practices. This kindness and openness meant that you were never afraid to ask anything.
We have a shared page on Jira with a to-do list for each week. Even while we were doing our onboarding, we started doing some tasks. We each had a coach that would support us throughout the integration period and answer any questions we might have.
In terms of the work itself, we have a lot of SQL exercises to do. For each one, we would do a workshop with the coach to validate what we had done and allow us to gain skills and techniques quicker. The workshops also allowed us to observe different ways of doing things and to share best practices.
There was really no time pressure when it came to onboarding, we could take the time that we needed to really settle into the role.
What three words would you use to describe your role?
Useful: We work with and support other teams.
Challenging: Not in a negative sense, as we don’t have any pressure or fixed deadlines, but we define priorities together and communicate them with the rest of the team. The challenge comes from understanding the needs of the teams, turning them into an analysis, and transforming our analysis into recommendations, which is a really interesting exercise to do.
Varied: We work on different topics every day, and new subjects come up all the time. As a junior, we work on a lot of different things, which I really enjoy.
What is a typical workday like at Voodoo?
We have weekly meetings and work in sprints. Every Monday we have a one hour sprint meeting where each team member states what they have been working on, any points that may be blocking what they’re doing, and any new subjects that have come up. Following this, our manager redistributes the work according to people’s workloads and what they want to do. We have a list of things to do each week, and we can organise our time and prioritise however we want. This management style gives us a lot of responsibility, whilst also being very collaborative. We’re very flexible and feel that a lot of trust is given to each team member. We work very well together.
What’s the most exciting thing about your job?
Providing solutions. Helping respond to different problems across the company and consequently being able to have a positive impact on the business.
What are the biggest challenges you face in this role?
The biggest challenge I face, from a technical point of view, is the fact that we have several different sources for different data, and knowing where to go to find the right information. Right now we’re actually working on this, to make things clearer and simpler for everyone.
What is the impact of your role at Voodoo?
As Data Analysts, we are the middle-ground between data and business. The business teams bring us a need or a problem relating to their work, and we have to be able to respond to these problems in a clear, understandable way.
What do you consider to be the essential qualities that a candidate for this role must possess (technical and soft skills)? Do you have any advice for them?
Having an analytical mind is key, so knowing how to use excel! Even in terms of knowledge, we learn a lot when working together as a team.
English is absolutely essential, as we’re an international team, and English is our first language here at Voodoo.
You need good listening skills to understand the needs and problems brought to you. Overall, you need to have both excellent communication skills and organizational skills to be able to prioritize your work efficiently!
If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be for the test in the recruitment process. The most difficult thing was the business case. I’d recommend looking over your excel skills and knowledge before starting the test!
What value speaks most about your time at Voodoo?
Ownership. This is the one that I’ve experienced the most so far. Since the moment I arrived, I’ve had to be very organized and flexible. We have the framework, but for the rest, we are given the trust to take the initiative ourselves.
If you could change positions with someone at Voodoo, which one would it be and why?
I think I’d be a game artist! I’d like to know what makes a game great, not just in terms of data, but in terms of the creativity and artistic license, finding out how they make decisions and choose direction in the games that they make.
How do you feel about being a woman in the tech industry?
I was a little bit wary of a ‘boys club’ kind of effect, that men would be prioritized with all the best projects and develop quicker, or that I’d somehow be at a disadvantage just for being a woman. I know that this can exist in some male-dominated environments, but this is something that I have not felt or experienced at Voodoo.
How do you feel about being a woman at Voodoo?
I have four older brothers, so I grew up in a very masculine environment. I didn’t really notice anything when I arrived. My manager is very attentive and doesn’t make any kind of discrimination in terms of gender or seniority within the company.
What would you say to female candidates that are thinking of applying for a job at Voodoo?
You have to go for it. Don’t hold back just because you might be missing one or two little things on the job description. I think women can be more hesitant when it comes to applying to jobs, for example, if they are missing a skill in the ‘nice to have’ section, or something like that. They may also feel more of a need to be ‘perfect’ to have a chance at getting the job, and will be more ready to put themselves down, whereas men might be more likely to go for it anyway. Come and join us!
