In an increasingly digital world, the tech industry continues to expand at an astounding pace, offering numerous career opportunities for women to step into the industry.
However, breaking into tech can be challenging. Whilst there’s a growing movement to encourage a more diverse range of skills and backgrounds into the industry, the tech world has always been considered an exclusive place where you need to hold a specific set of skills to succeed.
Dorota Wróbel, Chief R&D Officer, G2A.COM, shares her experiences as a leader in the tech and gaming industry and looks at why you don’t necessarily need a technological background to excel in the industry.
A results-driven business development expert, specialising in everything e-commerce for the last nine years. Dororta is passionate about revolutionising online shopping experiences and a big advocate of women in tech. She believes that the best work comes from diverse teams with interdisciplinary backgrounds. In her free time, she’s a cycling enthusiast and TV documentary geek. Currently, Dorota is the Chief R&D Officer at G2A.COM, with responsibility for shaping customer-centric business development strategies for a growing global gaming market. She’s experienced in building and leading teams through fast-paced transformation, managing complex international projects and ensuring operational compliance in a dynamically changing business environment. Prior to this, she worked in the sales division of the business and focused on driving commercial success.
When I first started at G2A.COM, a leading e-commerce platform with a strong gaming community, I had yet to gain experience in the gaming or tech industry.
However, I was able to utilise my leadership and people knowledge to bring a fresh perspective into the business. As a woman working as a digital business development expert, I’ve experienced firsthand how interdisciplinary backgrounds can be beneficial to step into the tech world. There are multiple avenues to becoming a tech professional, and while everyone will have their unique journey, here are my top tips on embarking on a career path in a dynamic and ever-evolving field.
Leverage your transferable skills
Even if you lack a traditional tech background, you likely possess transferable skills that are highly valuable in the tech industry. Without deep knowledge of the gaming industry, I was able to harvest my knowledge of languages to land a role as a Business Development Specialist at G2A.COM. Today, I act as chief R&D officer, and I’ve seen more and more how soft and interpersonal skills can bring fresh perspectives to a tech environment.
Also, it’s crucial for you to know how to connect the dots, find places where tech advancements can help you grow your business, and be curious about the new – keep an eye out for any new technologies that appear and be interested in learning about them.
Explore all the tech world has to offer
A tech career is not synonymous with a career in coding,
engineering or mathematics; there are so many opportunities worth exploring. From creative design, marketing and communications to people and community management, the plethora of roles available in tech will give you a wealth of options that will suit your skills and interests.
Build and nurture your network
Aim to step out of your comfort zone and build a network of fellow professionals spanning across industries. Connect with people on the same level as you and with mentors more senior than you. When you’ve got your foot in the door, strive to reshare your knowledge and encourage aspiring talent to showcase your expertise and unique perspective. Not only will you empower future change makers, but there’s a lot to learn from new minds in the space.
Attend industry events, join online forums, and engage with professionals who share your interests. These connections can help you gain insights into a new way of thinking and lead to valuable career prospects (you never know where people will end up!).
Be an active learner
Tech is a rapidly evolving field. Even if you need more hard skills, staying informed about industry trends and market developments goes a long way. Curiosity will be your best tool to help you advance in your career. If you ask the right questions, connect with people with various interests and find the right opportunities to apply and expand your knowledge, you are better equipped to take on a plurality of roles.
Remember that you can use both internal and external knowledge sources to increase your expertise – working in a tech-oriented company means you have access to many very skilled and experienced specialists who can teach you specific skills related to the field they’re working in. They have the information about what has been tried already, whether it worked or not and what lessons can be taught from those examples. External sources like courses and articles can give you general knowledge, and internal ones can illuminate the specifics.
Make use of the tools available to you
The great thing about working in tech is that you have a wide range of tools available to you. Don’t hesitate to use online learning platforms, productivity software or, automation and AI software like Chat GPT to enhance your skills and empower you on your journey.
Look for other people similar to you
Being a woman in a male-dominated industry can often lead to a feeling of loneliness, but remember that you’re not the only one who tried to go this way – you can find many examples of successful non-tech women in tech organisations. Take Susan Wojcicki, the current CEO of YouTube, who managed to earn her place at the top by becoming the Vice President in charge of marketing at YouTube’s parent company, Google Inc. This and others like her can be a shining example for other women trying to get into tech without specific hard skills, and getting to know them better can give you some ideas on what to do and how to achieve success.
While a technological background can be advantageous, it’s a flexible requirement to succeed in the tech industry. Still, breaking into tech can be challenging, and rejection may be part of the journey. However, it’s essential to remain resilient. Your commitment to learning and adapting will be your most significant asset in overcoming hurdles and building a successful career in tech.
