#womencrushwednesday | Women In Tech Breakfast Panel at Zynga
Lessons Learned: Career Perspectives from Engineering Leaders
Our post shares the experience and lessons at the Women In Tech panel at Zynga, in which five success female leaders in tech shared their stories and career paths in tech.
Last Friday I attended the Women In Tech Breakfast Panel event for the first time at Zynga. Women In Tech Breakfast Panel is an event organized by General Assembly in San Francisco on a regular basis. The events in the series feature successful women with their career stories and each event has a different topic.
This event I attended invited the following guest speakers: Kate Huber, Senior Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Zynga, Michelle Del Rosario, Principal Software Engineer at Zynga, Annie Pennell, Front End Developer at CoverHound, Cameron Jacoby, Lead Software Engineer at Stitch Fix, and Di Chang, Senior Director of Engineering at Zynga.
As someone who has a non-linear career, I was excited to see two speakers, Pennell and Jacoby, with coding bootcamp experience on the panel. The panelists shared their career stories and advice for aspiring tech leaders in the audience.
Pennell shared that she had never considered a career in tech because of her liberal arts background. After being extremely unhappy at her job, she came across information about a coding bootcamp and decided to attend the bootcamp to learn to code.
Don’t be afraid to step away from the job that is making you feel miserable. — Annie Pennell
Jacoby used to be a merchandiser when she first started at Stitch Fix, through working with engineers building internal software at Stitch Fix, she became interested in engineering and pursued a coding bootcamp before making the career switch to be a Software Engineer.
Rosario shared that growing up, she knew nothing about Computer Science, let alone studying Computer Science. During a conversation with her father about wanting to make video games when she grows up, Rosario was introduced to Computer Science as a potential field of study that she could pursue in college (where she would learn ways to “type things into the computers and make things show up”).
What are some sources of inspiration for you in the tech industry?
Rosario shared that she tries to “see obstacles as opportunities” and extract nuggets of wisdom from every one because we all have very different experiences.
How hard was it finding a developer job after finishing a coding bootcamp? Any tips for bootcamp grads?
Pennell and Jacoby agreed that the job search post-bootcamp was hard. However, both were encouraging and said to “not be afraid of interns or shorter term jobs because you can use the opportunity to prove that you can do it.”
It’s about weighing your tradeoffs…but jobs at small companies can have big responsibilities. — Cameron Jacoby
Jacoby recommended attending conferences and meetups or even cold emails to put yourself out there and network with people in the industry.
What are some ways companies can support bootcamp grads?
The panelists agree that since bootcamp grads tend to be on the junior side when it comes to experience levels, setting up a formal structure could be very helpful for companies that are willing to give bootcamp grads a chance. For example, code reviews weren’t a thing at Pennell’s first job and she felt that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be after working as a developer for two years because of the lack of feedback from experienced engineers.
The panelists also stressed the importance of structured mentorship, such as having assigned mentor and mentee relationship so that there is a clear go-to source of support for the person who is more junior to ask for help or do pair-programming.
What aspect of the tech industry has room to grow and be better?
60% of Zynga’s users are women, so in order for Zynga to build products that really speak to the users, it’s important to have a diverse group of people who take part in building products. Rosario believed that exposure to STEM is critical to bringing more women to tech. Exposure will improve awareness and overtime there will be more and more “role models” to inspire future generations to pursue a career in STEM.
Additionally, people are more likely to get hired if they were fired previously than if they had opted out of a previous position to provide care for family. Resources and programs that help people return to the job market are still hard to find and are areas where tech companies should focus on improving. Overall, the tech industry could benefit from a more diverse workforce and creating more paths for people with non-traditional background or non-linear career paths to enter would be key to improve diversity.
What trends in tech are you the most excited about?
Jacoby shared her interest in psychology and said she looks forward to seeing how technologies affect human interactions and connections.
Chang pointed out that while some folks are passionate about using machines to do what humans can do, she is excited about flying cars and making machines do things humans cannot do.
Rosario believed that VR has a tremendous amount of potential and it’s still quite an “uncharted territory” so both men and women have the opportunity to become successful pioneers in VR.
What advice do you have for those who aspire to become leaders in tech?
Jacoby believed that it starts with asking for the opportunity yourself. She recommended meeting people and talking to them to understand how you can add value. Finding sponsors is important because they can advocate for you when the opportunity arises. Furthermore, telling people what you want helps others fill roles that may become available in the future.
Rosario encouraged the audience to “say what you want” by sharing concrete examples of your accomplishments first then follow up with “…and I want the position”. Ask about the next steps to get to the next role and self-advocate to other people in the organization and not just your boss.
Huber shared her own story of almost not applying for a job because she had never been a director before. Luckily, she ended up getting the job after speaking to a sponsor, so don’t let one unchecked checkbox in the job description scare you away from applying!
Work In Progress is a blog hosted by two ladies passionate about transitions in work and life. Our Events series features career-related panel discussions with thought leaders in the tech industry.
Our belief is simple: we can lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life by pursuing and succeeding at the careers of our dreams.
