Lessons learned from a non-technical young woman in tech
I have a business degree (Management Information Systems and Analytics) from my university’s management faculty. I started out in…
I am currently pursuing a business degree (Management Information Systems and Analytics). I used to be an Accounting student. I learned UX Design and basic Web Development languages (HTML & CSS) over two summers on my own. I am Shopify’s first Product Manager Intern. I am widely connected to the Ottawa tech industry. I am in my last year of school. I am a young woman in tech.
However, despite my wealth of experience, I still struggle with moments where I don’t believe I’m good enough. I still have thoughts like “I’m not assertive enough.” “I’m not technical enough.” “I’m not confident enough.” “I’m not speaking enough.” “I’m not making decisions quickly enough.”
However, after attending two women in tech conferences (Grace Hopper Celebrations 2019 and CAN-CWIC 2019) with the support of the University of Ottawa’s Engineering Faculty, I realized that I was not alone. For the first time ever, I was able to be in a room full of like-minded women who experienced the same things that I did. I was also able to listen to inspiring women leaders who have overcome stereotypes and were willing to speak openly and honestly about their experiences. On the other hand, I also did recognize that I was in a position of privilege to attend conferences like these. What if there were other people that have the same experiences as I do? So I’d like to pass on the gift of learning from all the conferences.
When I was writing this article, I wanted to answer the question: “what would someone from my perspective, who may have the same questions as I do, want to learn about?” Here are a few takeaways that I got from the two conferences that might help one or two of other young (technical or non-technical) women in the industry:
1. Imposter Syndrome is a real thing.
Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence. They seem unable to internalize their accomplishments, however successful they are in their field.
After speaking to a few women who have been in the industry for a while as well as listening to a few panels in the industry, it turns out that Imposter Syndrome is a real thing. During the Imposter Syndrome panel at CAN-CWIC, SVPs, managers, VPs, and Deans admitted that they still struggle with it up to this day.
In Canada, women accounted for slightly more than a third (35.1%) of all managers, and 32.6% of senior managers, in 2018. According to leanin.org, around 40% of senior-level women and women in technical roles are the only female in the room at work, which leads to over 80% being on the receiving end of microaggressions, compared to 64% of women as a whole. This results in them more likely to have their abilities challenged, to be subjected to unprofessional and demeaning remarks, and to feel like they cannot talk about their personal lives at work. This amplifies the effect of Imposter Syndrome.
This leads to thoughts like “I must not fail”, “I feel like a fake”, and “success is no big deal”. After having honest chats with my mentors and manager, as well as attending multiple conference sessions about this topic, I’ve identified a few ways to confront these thoughts:
“Imposter Syndrome is the antithesis of mediocrity.”
Recognize the symptoms. Awareness is the first step to change, so ensure you track these thoughts: what they are and when they emerge.
Form a community. You may end up being surprised at how many people are experiencing it. Find a good group of peers and mentors that will support you and call out the symptoms when they notice it.
Be mindful and check-in with yourself. I had a conversation with one of our inspiring Senior PMs at Shopify and she had inspired me to create a table that I update on a weekly cadence which reflects `What can I do well` (“What I did”) | `Here are the outcomes I have created` (“What I really made an impact on”) | `Quantify my outcomes`
Learn new mental models. I have been following this interesting email newsletter called “Farnam Street”, which highlights a new mental model every week. Through learning and practicing new mental models (like Cognitive Bias, First Principles, and Proximate and Ultimate Causation), I’m able to bucket my thoughts into making better decisions at work and in real life. A list of mental models can be found here.
2. There’s always room to learn.
When I started becoming involved with the tech community, I had constant regrets of not pursuing a Computer Science/Software Engineering degree which limited the amount of upfront understanding I had in software development. However, during the summer of my first year, I attended an HTML150 event organized by Lighthouse Labs and Invest Ottawa. I soon discovered that there were available resources that I could find that was beyond the classroom. As an Accounting student at that time, I then went on freeCodeCamp and spent the whole summer learning to code HTML, CSS Bootstrap, and dabbled with a little bit of Java.
In Summer 2018, I decided to switch my Accounting degree to something that was more aligned with my experience and passion: Management Information Systems and Analytics. However, academia only scraped the surface.
At CAN-CWIC, there was a talk from an SVP at TD’s Credit Cards tech department that mentioned even though she had a computing degree, she still felt like she didn’t know enough at the start of her career. I listened to another talk by the Director of Women in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo who started off as an Associate Lawyer at a private law firm in New York.
During the conference, we learned how to build a great voice experience with Alexa, leverage technology in the age of Digital Darwinism, and detect lesions using semi-supervised Machine Learning. At Grace Hopper Celebration 2019, we learned about Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, E2E personalization with reinforcement learning, and Google’s Product Development process.
After attending these conferences and self-reflection, I realized that my graduation date is only the starting line of my career. There are many ways to take certifications or online courses that will enable me to learn a specific subject matter. There are many resources out there beyond my degree and I just need to seize it.
3. Breathe and drink lots of coffee.
As someone who fits the stereotype of a Type A personality, I have a need to know things in advance. Sometimes, maybe at too advanced of a pace. I always hear my mentors say “just relax, you’ve still a ton of time.” but at the start of my career, I want to “get it right”. I want to get good at what I do quickly and efficiently.
However, numerous members in the community who also have been hiring managers noted that most of the time, it comes down to being there at the right time. And as a human, I’m not able to control time. However, what I can control is to identify themes on what I like to do, take the additional time to learn new things, and make the most out of my undergrad.
During the conference, I also learned the importance of forming a community around me: this means having lots of coffee chats with like-minded individuals and people with inspiring stories, learning about their experiences, and getting career advice from them.
For example, during my internship at Shopify, I was able to have numerous coffee meetings with many Shopifolks who have had extensive career paths. They gave me advice on combating imposters’ syndrome, advocated for me, and guided me on how I should decide what the next steps in my career should be. I also had the incredible support of my current team’s lead (Farhana Alarakhiya) and mentor (Shannon Gallagher) through weekly check-ins, where they both gave me invaluable career advice and provided me with the next steps in helping me navigate the tricky career landscape. They helped me identify my strengths, my weaknesses, my passions and my anxieties, which helped me narrow down the options of what I should do in my career, especially since I would be graduating in a few months.
Being someone who is new in the industry can be daunting, but at the same time, be such an exciting time. I’m looking forward to learning new technologies, learning new life lessons, meeting new inspirational figures, tackling new challenges, and growing alongside an empowering community together.
Want to learn more about my conference experiences?
Connect with me on LinkedIn or reach out to isabelhpgan@gmail.com. Let’s chat!