{"id":456606,"date":"2017-10-17T10:22:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T09:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/welovesalt.com\/news\/2017\/10\/wit-dodgeball-coding-claires-life-tech-2\/"},"modified":"2023-08-25T12:46:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T11:46:35","slug":"wit-dodgeball-coding-claires-life-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/news\/inspiring-interviews\/wit-dodgeball-coding-claires-life-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"WiT: Dodgeball to coding, Claire’s life in Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
‘Ask questions, you won\u2019t look stupid’ advice to keep in mind throughout your career according to this #SaltSessions Women in Tech interview with Claire Tran, a Software Engineer previously at Gumtree. Claire shares her journey from Sydney to London in the world of tech.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The #SaltSessions Women in Tech #WiT interview series speaks with thought leaders to get their opinions and advice on how they have grown their career in tech and overcome challenges and adversity during their career.<\/em><\/p>\n Please give us a brief outline of your background and development?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m currently a software engineer and have been in the tech industry for 11 years. I\u2019ve worked in different industries ranging from Media, Travel and Classifieds and have worked with and led a number of talented and inspiring people.\u00a0 I\u2019m originally from Sydney and moved to London a few years ago looking for a change and I thought London might be a good place to base myself. Being in tech, there is always a challenge and you are always learning, whether it be learning new technology, scaling systems or growing leadership skills.<\/p>\n What is the biggest deterrent to women succeeding in the workplace?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a complex topic.\u00a0 I think this starts at a young age and isn\u2019t a simple problem.<\/p>\n Unconscious bias plays a role here. Society plays a part in reinforcing gender roles and thus unconscious bias.<\/p>\n Growing up, technology wasn\u2019t promoted amongst girls very much and I didn\u2019t initially think of a career in tech. Going onto the next level, there is a gender gap at university in degrees like Engineering and again in the workplace, there aren\u2019t a lot of women.\u00a0 So what this leaves us is, sadly a lack of diversity and in some places, unconscious bias kicks in again.<\/p>\n I have had experiences where my opinions weren’t heard in meetings and I often had to repeat the ideas before someone listens.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been in teams where my manager pigeon-holed me and didn\u2019t provide me with real opportunities.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had friends who have children and apply for promotions and are asked if they can take on the extra responsibility.<\/p>\n These are some experiences, but things that can happen to women in the workplace and are frankly unfair and limit our career opportunities.<\/p>\n What challenges have you faced in the work place, especially your experience in male-dominated environments?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the biggest challenges is breaking the misconceptions\/unconscious bias of me. Additionally, I am quietly spoken and I look young, so this doesn\u2019t help me either.<\/p>\n It often takes me about 6 months (at least) before people actually listen to my points of view or realise what my potential is and what I\u2019m really capable of.<\/p>\n That to me is a shame, because I often have to work harder to prove myself and the company misses out on what I can really bring to the table.<\/p>\n In your opinion is it getting harder or easier for women in tech? <\/strong><\/p>\n It is very slowly getting easier. There is a gender gap and the industry recognises this.\u00a0 It is a problem that will take a very long time to solve and can\u2019t be solved easily.<\/p>\n There are a few initiatives that I see which are aiming to help the problem<\/p>\n What are you most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n How far I’ve come in growing my confidence. I used to be a shy person who suffered from imposter syndrome.\u00a0 I still am shy and I still have imposter syndrome from time to time, but on the whole, I\u2019ve grown a lot in confidence and have worked on some challenging problems and led teams, which help bring things into perspective.\u00a0 It has helped that I have had great mentors along the way and been involved with Women Who Code that have helped shape who I am.<\/p>\n Who has been your biggest advocate\/supporter in the work place and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n A combination of people. My peers are a great source of inspiration and I am lucky I work with a great team.<\/p>\n I think great leaders and mentors also play a role here too, and in my career, I\u2019ve had people who believed in me (and given me confidence) which really has helped me succeed.<\/p>\n Did\/do you have a mentor in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have a few people who I consider mentors. They are the ones who truly understand me and know how hard I work and how much I care about my work and environment.\u00a0 They have been a source of strength when I\u2019ve needed guidance and I can call on them even though I don\u2019t work with them anymore.<\/p>\n As an employer what would you recommend to other companies regarding infrastructure to have in place to develop the best talent?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a few things that come into play, here are some things I think can make a company really amazing.<\/p>\n Other things I can suggest – there are great books out there to help companies with this such as – \u201cCreativity Inc\u201d by Ed Catmull or \u201cDrive\u201d by Dan Pink<\/p>\n In a management position, how have you found it best to promote and nurture women in the workplace?<\/strong><\/p>\n Some things I have found that help<\/p>\n What are some of the best and worst workplace initiatives you have seen\/heard of to help promote diversity?<\/strong><\/p>\n A lot of companies are providing unconscious bias training which is a great place to start. However afterwards, people will forget and need constant reminders or a program\/process in place to keep the thoughts and discussions going.<\/p>\n One such example was from a company who really embraced this – they have self-organised subcommittees looking at recruiting and retention, looking into partnerships for apprenticeships with programs focused on diversity, as well as try to run more internal and external workshops helping women in tech.<\/p>\n Another company had started a 3 month coding course (free) for women and at the end of the course select a few people to take on internships with the company.<\/p>\n Regardless of gender what is the one piece of advice you would give to someone in the midst of their career?<\/strong><\/p>\n Have confidence, humility and empathy. Be confident in your abilities, but also have humility, there will always be something you don\u2019t know and you should be open to learning and hearing something different, as well as be empathetic to your colleagues and users.<\/p>\n Do you have a role model\/ inspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have not really been inspired by the tech superstars (sorry Elon Musk!) but rather \u201cordinary\u201d people I\u2019ve worked with.<\/p>\n There have been people who have inspired me over the years. The ones left the biggest impression on me are<\/p>\n Any reading\/website you would recommend?<\/strong><\/p>\n Some books have helped me along the way such as<\/p>\n Website wise, there are so many resources out there these days it\u2019s hard to narrow this down:<\/p>\n Also to add – meetups are also a great way to learn. For example:<\/p>\n What is your biggest stress reliever?<\/strong><\/p>\n Exercise. It helps me switch off when I get home and maybe the endorphins play a role too \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Is there one piece of advice you wish somebody gave you at the beginning of your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n If I reflect on my days as a junior, I didn\u2019t have a lot of confidence and wanted to be on the same level as the seniors, I worked very hard but had imposter syndrome for a long time.\u00a0 I wish someone had said these things to me:<\/p>\n Ask questions, you won\u2019t look stupid.<\/p>\n What is your professional mantra? <\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure. Maybe this reflects me – Care about what you do, give 110% percent.<\/em><\/p>\n Fun fact:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>I\u2019m travelling every other weekend, chasing the sun while I can!<\/p>\n About Claire Tran<\/strong><\/p>\n Claire<\/a>\u00a0was a Software Engineer at Gumtree and a City Lead for Women Who Code.<\/p>\n Originally from Sydney, she\u2019s specialised in web technologies and worked in Media, Gaming, Travel and Classifieds and found herself in London a couple of years ago. She\u2019s passionate about technology and the community, organising tech events for Women Who Code and volunteering at Codebar.<\/p>\n While not coding or organising tech events, she\u2019s either travelling or trying not to get hit playing dodgeball!<\/p>\n Stay tuned for our next #WomeninTech #SaltSessions interview\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n Find PHP developer jobs<\/a> with <\/span>Salt, a global, award-winning<\/span> <\/span>Digital Recruitment Agency in London<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘Ask questions, you won\u2019t look stupid’ advice to keep in mind throughout your career according to this #SaltSessions Women in Tech interview with Claire Tran, a Software Engineer previously at Gumtree. Claire shares her journey from Sydney to London in the world of tech.\u00a0 The #SaltSessions Women in Tech #WiT interview series speaks with thought…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8000],"tags":[2822,2820,2965,2821],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":527511,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456606\/revisions\/527511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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