These 8 Women in Tech Sparked the Growth of Wonsulting

Culture

April 7, 2021

Jonathan Javier

June 2017: The month and year I was graduating from University of California, Riverside and was unsure what I was going to do in my career. I remember walking down the aisle cap and gown in hand; I was nervous yet excited for the future. I knew although I wasn't in my dream company yet, I would someday make a difference in the world.

In the beginning, the difference that I was making was at school. I was helping everyone land jobs at their dream companies: The Google's, the Deloitte's, the Goldman Sachs's of the world. It was then that I realized my dream wasn't to work in corporate; my dream was to help others achieve their own dreams.

At first, there was few who believed in me; I didn't even believe in myself to begin with. However, there were those who stuck by my side throughout the journey of starting Wonsulting to what it is today who have made a big difference in my life.

Last week, I talked about 6 Women of Wonsulting who are paving the way for the next generation. In this article, I talk about these Women in Tech who have inspired myself to keep on giving back to my community and most of all, make an impact in the world.

To the first person who advocated for my career in tech, Linda King.

When I was graduating in 2017 and just starting my first job, I remember meeting Linda King on LinkedIn after I had conducted a workshop. Her, Kristen Diaz, and Kelley Larsen reached out to me in hopes I’ve learning more regarding what I did at Snapchat; however, I pivoted the conversation from being about sales to creating an actual connection, building rapport and learning more about Linda’s passions for mental health, building meaningful relationships, and Women in Tech.

Linda advocated for my career in tech; she was one of the few that first believed in me when I started. She introduced me to folks and even introduced me to another one of my future mentors, Joy Embry, in hopes that I could be a part of the Business Leadership Program (BLP) at LinkedIn.

For the past 4 years, Linda and I have stayed in touch regarding both of our careers. She is now a Manager of Customer Success in the LinkedIn Learning business and is also a co-lead for Women at LinkedIn. She is passionate about coaching, and in particular the intersection of mindfulness and personal development. She recently relocated to Ventura, CA and in her free time enjoys exploring new hikes with her husband, Luke, and two dogs, Roxie and Everest.

I’m thankful for a mentor like Linda who I look up to every single day and believed in me since Day 1. Without her guidance, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

To the person who always provides amazing recruiting insights and believing in Wonsulting, Vivian Chen.

Vivian Chen and I first met when Wonsulting was first starting; I was invited by one of my mentors Pedro Banuelos to speak on a panel for Lyft on Jumpstart. I could tell Vivian loved to give back to her community and help people land jobs, especially young students and early-in-career individuals, which was something I also advocated for.

Vivian spoke on one of our panels for #WonsultingProject2020 where she brought herself and 4 other interns to speak regarding their experiences at Lyft and share insights/tips on how to break into the company. Since then, Vivian has helped me learn more about how Partnerships and Recruiting works from a Recruiter lens; every time I have a question regarding anything in terms of recruiting, partnerships, and other topics, I know I can rely on her to respond.

I’m thankful for recruiters like Vivian who continue to help future generations of leaders break into their dream tech careers.

To the person who influenced me to always have a positive mindset, Joy Embry.

I was introduced to Joy Embry by Linda King when I was interested in working at LinkedIn; our conversation was memorable to say the least. I remember Joy telling me “we’ve never had someone who already graduated from university be a part of the Business Leadership Program (BLP) at LinkedIn, but I’d make you an exception”. Those words put energy into my job search because it gave me joy and hope that someone believed that I could achieve something that I once thought was impossible; she even introduced me to Yifan Gong who gave me insights regarding BLP and eventually became a mentor for The20, a Wonsulting Company.

Joy inspires me to give back to the world and always have a positive mindset; when I had questions or was feeling uneasy with Wonsulting last year, she was there for me and even sent me articles regarding how to reflect and meditate. Reflection and meditation were some of the key reasons why I adapted a positive mindset which contributed directly to my own work ethic in growing Wonsulting to even further heights.

I’m thankful for female leaders like Joy who always bring good to the world through a positive mindset.

To the person who provided opportunities to me while in corporate, Shari Williams.

When I first started at Cisco, I didn’t know what to expect; I remember when my LinkedIn Post about my career journey to Cisco went viral and Shari was one of the first Cisconians I met when I first started working there. Her, Davina Nguyen, and Virginia Lewis got me involved with EROs at Cisco which eventually led me to be featured on Cisco’s Blog for “How Rejection was my Redirection to the Tech Industry”.

Shari showed me the true power of EROs and giving back to underrepresented communities. She’s currently a Program Manager for the Global Intern Experience at Cisco but also is involved with several EROs at Cisco, sitting on the Board for Women of Cisco, Americas, and is an active ally for the Veteran Community. She provided me opportunities to always give back, whether it was hosting workshops at Cisco for Early Career Network or being involved with learning more about Cisco’s Brand and Events. This eventually led me to representing Cisco as the youngest speaker at Great Place to Work 2020 and to meeting many senior leaders.

I’m thankful for those who provide me opportunities to make a difference in the world just as Shari does for so many others.

To the person who showed me the power of storytelling, Miri Rodriguez.

When I first reached out to MIri on LinkedIn, I wasn’t expecting a response; being the Head of Global Internship Program at Microsoft and a best-selling author of Brand Storytelling, I didn’t think that she would respond to someone who was just starting his company like me. I first heard about Miri through the Association of Latino Professionals For America where I was active in as a professional for the ALPFA Orange County and Nationals Chapters. Miri responded to me in the kindest manner to be on one of our Monthly Speaker Series, and she brought the ENERGY. She did another event for Wonsulting for our #WonsultingProject2020 and also even raffled off her book to our viewers.

Miri showed has shown myself and many others the true power of storytelling. Having received several awards and being ranked as a top in-demand speakers at leading industry conferences around the world, she shows that no one should be afraid to speak up and have a voice. To empower other women to build their personal brand with empathy, passion, and purpose exemplifies who she truly is: a leader, a person to look up to, but most of all, a mother of 2 boys and an American Bulldog.

I’m thankful for leaders like Miri who empower others to share their voice and story which has translated to me sharing my own.

To the person who keeps it real and is all about finding your purpose, Niki Woodall.

I was first introduced to Niki on LInkedIn when I was tagged numerous times on one of her posts regarding collaborations. I could tell that she was someone that wanted to make a huge splash in the world by collaborating with more folks to help others. I chatted with her about her own story to become a Recruiter at Facebook and why she decided to start her own career coaching business; she kept it real and unfiltered just like in our Wonsulting Project 2020 Webinars, something that I hadn’t seen in most people I’ve connected with.

Niki taught me the true meaning of what mindset is; her journey of moving from Philly to NYC to change careers but also overcoming her own issues around worthiness and other limiting beliefs is empowering to many. Her mantra of “You are loved, you are limitless and it’s time to shine” just show who she is as a person: someone who’s passionate about helping younger folks in transition to tap into their limitless potential. She even hosts weekly sessions on Monday nights to talk about “hot topics” along with tips and strategies to survive during crazy times and land jobs.

I’m thankful for career coaches like Niki who continue to teach others during these times on how to always have a positive mindset in whatever they do.

To the person who first taught me the ins and outs of recruiting, Charlene Delapena.

I first met Char in 2017 when I was a student at UC Riverside trying to figure out what I wanted to do in my career. She was recruiting at Dolby Labs at the time, as I was interested in working for the company and landed an interview with her help. Although I didn’t get the job, I stayed in touch with her until I moved to the Bay area after graduating from college. She even invited me to get lunch at her office which was Coinbase at the time in San Francisco!

Char showed me the ways of how recruiting really works; whether it’s her work for URx or helping students/job-seekers land jobs, her insights is what helped me dive deeper into thinking about how I could help more underdogs turn into winners and get them recruited into their dream companies. Char got me involved with numerous URx activities which eventually led us to partnering with them and also gaining exposure to a wide variety of corporate companies.

I’m thankful for recruiters like Char who go the ends of the earth to exemplify great talent.

To one of the first Googlers who replied to my cold-message to give me insights, Ricki Wax.

When I first started working at Google in 2018 after Snapchat, I remember reaching out to many folks internally. Some would respond, others wouldn’t; however, Ricki was one of the Googlers who not only responded to me but also set up a 1-on-1 meeting to talk about our own stories, insights, and how to navigate the corporate world. Fast forward to today, Ricki participated in our Wonsulting Project 2020 and brought an energy to inspire more job-seekers to land jobs.

Ricki’s passion for helping others is a true testament to who she is: a Googler, an Author, a Speaker, a Career Coach, a DEI Advocate. What differentiates Ricki is her willingness to respond when not many would.

I’m thankful for people like Ricki who want to help people maximize their potential every single day to be the best versions of themselves.

In conclusion, these 8 Women in Tech Sparked the Growth of Wonsulting.

Linda, Vivian, Joy, Shari, Miri, Niki, Char, and Ricki are examples of Women in Tech that all folks should look up to. Each inspired me to grow Wonsulting to what it is today, and their willingness to help others is just one of the many reasons why they’re being recognized today in this article.

At Wonsulting, we always say you only need ONE yes and ONE person to believe in you. Thankfully, I had 8 when I was starting my career who showed me that true success is creating success for others.

To more of your successes,

#JWoW

Jonathan Javier is the CEO/Founder of Wonsulting, which mission is to “turn underdogs into winners”. He’s also worked in Operations at Snap, Google, and Cisco coming from a non-target school/non-traditional background. He works on many initiatives, providing advice and words of wisdom on LinkedIn and through speaking engagements. In total, he has led 210+ workshops in 9 different countries including the Mena ICT Forum in Jordan, Resume/Personal Branding at Cisco, LinkedIn Strategy & Operations Offsite, Great Place To Work, Talks at Google, TEDx, and more. He’s also been featured as a Top Job Search Expert in articles from Forbes, Business Insider, DailyMail, Yahoo News, LinkedIn News, Jobscan, Brainz Magazine, and more. He’s amassed 700K+ followers on LinkedIn, Instagram,& TikTok as well as 30+ million impressions monthly on his content.