I was recently invited to Oxford University’s Internet Institute to speak to masters, MBA and MPA students about my book Dream Big. Hustle Hard., sharing advice on how to succeed in tech’s competitive landscape in spite of the well-publicised obstacles around inclusion. Unlike the students in the room — a diverse group of men and women spanning many ages, ethnicities, and disciplines — when I graduated from university the invisible barriers that hinder career progression were not known to me. Nor were they being discussed in public forums like newspapers
“I love tech, but I’m not a techie” is a phrase I’ve heard from countless people, particularly women, since starting Hustle Crew in 2016. I shake my head every time because even though I have worked in tech for almost a decade at giants like Amazon and Groupon, I never once wrote a line of code in any of those roles. What does it mean to be techie anyway? I found myself in summer 2016 unemployed with no next move planned. I quit my job in a London based startup
As a content strategist/UX writer at Google, my responsibilities were very much similar to a technical writer for a regulatory agency. The land of job titles is quite a tricky one in this field. The audiences, team members, content type, and products can be completely different, but I still go through a particular process for creating and publishing content. Even though each day is different, I’ll walk you through what I typically do for an upcoming product launch. Keep in mind, I could be jumping in between each step because I
Welcome to intern life! Whether you are experiencing your first internship, your second or third the encouragement is the same, stay on your toes, expect good things, be flexible and learn as much as you can. The formula is completely different from team to team WITHIN the company. You are going to have to learn that for yourself. If this is your first time at a new company I am sure you are excited this summer. But heads up, almost no one knows how to host an intern exactly right.
A far from an exhaustive look at Latina investors making strides in tech, but here are a few faces I thought warranted a signal boost. Jomayra Herrera Follow here: @jomayra_herrera Post-graduation from Stanford, and after a stint at a large edtech startup, Jomayra Herrera joined the Emerson Collective, a social enterprise started by Laurene Powell Jobs to dramatically transform the U. S. education landscape. Herrera identifies promising entrepreneurs committed to closing opportunity gaps, and driving the diligence process. Lisa Cuesta Follow here: @lisacuesta Lisa Cuesta is a principal at NextGen Venture Partners, a
Volunteering has been something I’ve been doing since I was in high school. I volunteered in spaces that truly resonated with me, my passions, and personal mission. I am a proud volunteer for Girl Develop It’s Boston Chapter, and I try to engage with the communities locally to provide opportunities to get more girls and women exposed to technology and the diverse array of career opportunities within it. Outside of my markup language skills in HTML5 & CSS3, my technical skills consist of Python and JavaScript (and both of their
Five years ago I was leading strategic partnerships for a World Bank agricultural research institution. I was “living my best life”, travelling all over the world and making an “impact” — at least that’s what I thought until I found myself on a rooftop in Nairobi, Kenya with a filmmaker, a designer, and a restaurateur who would change my life forever. That night, inspired by the courage, drive, and resilience of my peers I realized that disrupting the narrative on Africa in a way that did not involve “selling poverty”
Meet Tsion Behailu, a Google Software Engineer in the San Francisco Bay area. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. Tsion is not only a diligent and driven person, she also has a heart of gold. She is dedicated to helping others reach their highest potential. I’m lucky enough to have her as my cousin and mentor. When she’s not out conquering the world, she travels, spends quality time with family and friends, and inspires others to pursue computer science. Tsion was born in Metehara, Ethiopia and came to Atlanta, Georgia with
This may seem confusing and quite drastic upon initially skimming over the title, but there is a back story that provides context to a unique problem and an equally viable solution that sprouted in my life for the past year, looking back, and looking forward into 2018. I am your typical and atypical nerd. I grew up playing video games everyday, reading sci-fi/fantasy books, illustrating, writing stories, composing music, playing horn instruments obnoxiously loud in the garage, and studying any subject I found and deemed intriguing and significant to the human
I attended a tech rally organized by your feed at the Facebook HQ in London this week. It was an extremely inspiring event with a variety of insightful talks, with the underlying theme being self-promotion and the importance of showcasing your skills for relevant opportunities. While I found all the talks to be thought-provoking and the speakers’ passion for technology shone through them all, the one that stuck with me the most was about ‘not only knowing your strengths but being comfortable promoting them’. This was the 3rd time that day the
