About: I graduated with a Mathematics degree right before Covid hit. I have been working as Software Engineer ever since, mostly in backend services. Currently doing my Masters degree part-time.
HOW DID YOU LAND YOUR CURRENT ROLE? WAS IT PLANNED?
At that time I was contacted by an external recruiter for another job. At the end of the call she said, “Actually, I have another opportunity for you, but don’t put too much hope on this company. The interview process is quite tough. Not sure if you ever heard of the company, it’s called GoodNotes.” I was like, “Are you kidding me? GoodNotes is the sole reason why I bought an iPad 😱!!!” Then the rest is history. What It Means to Be a Woman in Tech and Meet Charlene Hunter, Coding Black Females are excellent references for understanding the impact and experiences in the tech industry.
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WORK DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? I.E. WHAT MEETINGS DO YOU HAVE, WHAT PROJECTS DO YOU WORK ON, WHO DO YOU COLLABORATE WITH?
I am living in Singapore and half of my colleagues reside in Europe, so we have our meetings in my afternoon/evening. In the morning, I usually review what happened during the European timezone (when I sleep). After I have my morning coffee, I code until 3 or 4 PM (that’s when the meetings start). At the moment I am working on Microsoft beta release. A lot of fun stuff!!!
I have daily meetings with my team. Afterwards, I have a daily catchup/pair session with my onboarding buddy. Diverse Journeys in Cybersecurity has been an inspiration in how I approach these interactions. Other than that, I regularly meet with my manager and catch up with people from my team and outside the team! Some meetings that I was excited about were company-wide meetings like Demo Day or Company Milestones. From those meetings, I learned a lot about what the other teams are doing and what to expect from the company in the future.
ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC SKILLS OR TRAITS THAT YOU NOTICE COMPANIES LOOK FOR WHEN YOU’RE SEARCHING FOR ROLES IN YOUR FIELD?
From what I notice, companies tend to not look for something very specific. There are of course advantages if you have worked on similar tech stacks previously, but I think in general coding/problem solving skills, software engineering experiences, and great collaborative attitude are what they are looking for.
WHICH QUALIFICATIONS HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE THE MOST BENEFICIAL FOR SECURING JOBS IN ENGINEERING?
Coming from non Computer Science degree, it was quite a challenge for me to land my first job. I managed to secure it by having some software engineer internship experience. On the next jobs, I believe the companies cared the most about my professional experience.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK AT GOODNOTES?
First thing that comes into mind is that GoodPeople are very friendly and welcoming. On my first day, I received a lot of welcome messages in Slack. From my experience so far, the company culture is very healthy. GoodNotes values transparency and open feedback. I have seen people questioning managements about their decisions and the management would gladly give an answer.
That’s something that I rarely see in other companies. Also, I believe GoodNotes care a big deal about the employees. Some concrete examples are giving top-tier benefits like learning and wellness budget, home office expenses, and top notch work equipments!!!
HAS ANYONE EVER TRIED TO STOP YOU FROM LEARNING AND DEVELOPING IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE, OR HAVE YOU FOUND THE TECH SECTOR SUPPORTIVE?
I am very grateful to say that I have met only supportive and encouraging people during my tech career. Every manager, mentor, and teammate that I have encountered played a huge part in my professional development, be it from teaching me good engineering practices, sharing specific tech stack knowledge, and giving me general career development advices
HAVE YOU EVER FACED INSECURITIES AND ANXIETIES DURING YOUR CAREER, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
Yes. I often feel the “impostor syndrome”. At times, it seems to me that everyone else around me is always more expert, more reliable, and more knowledgeable. To be honest, I still haven’t fully overcome those feelings, but I am getting closer. In positive lights, my insecurities drive me to become a better engineer, such as motivating me to take a Masters degree and getting better educated in my domain.
I usually communicate this with my peers and manager. They would give me insights on how they overcome those feelings since it is a rather common trend to feel like an impostor among bright software engineers. On top of that, in the past, when I talked about my insecurities, I usually also received some positive reassurance that I deserved my position, which was relieving 🙂
ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK CAN BE DAUNTING. DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE FEELING OVERWHELMED?
Take it one step at a time 🙂
