- Jen Lew said she exceeded expectations when she became a LinkedIn executive.
- Lew’s career began at Safeway, then a community college, then a state university, which ended with a job in the technology industry.
- Her success comes from continuous learning, networking and a proactive work ethic.
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This essay, as told, is based on an interview with Jen Lew, a 44-year-old director of business operations living in San Francisco, about her professional path. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I almost dropped out of high school. As soon as I graduated from college, I took a year off and worked at Safeway. After over seven years of work, I was not satisfied with working 40 hours a week for minimum wage, so I used my weekends to attend San Mateo City College.
I didn’t know what to focus on, so I thought I would start at a more cost-effective public university and then transfer to a public university in two years. I transferred to San Francisco State University, where I majored in international business and management. I am currently the Director of Business Operations at LinkedIn with no MBA or Ivy League education.
What made me successful was going above and beyond, which is the opposite of what is now called quitting quietly – that mentality never existed in my generation.
I took any job that would give me employment after graduation
After graduating in 2004, I went straight to work. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I was ready to take on any job. You don’t have to think about all this at the beginning of your career.
My first job was any job that would employ me. I worked for about nine months at Metareward, an email marketing company. I don’t know if it was a spam company, but they were sending out mass emails to win a free iPad.
At the beginning of the 21st century, I didn’t even know what the Internet was, I learned everything on the job.
My next job was at Ziff Davis, another email marketing company. My friend worked there and recommended that I apply for the position of marketing coordinator. I didn’t understand it, but I liked it so much that they gave me the role of account coordinator. I only had Metareward and Safeway on my CV, but it was an advertising-based role and I had some email marketing experience through Metareward.
For this job, I moved to New York in my twenties and worked there for almost three years.
Yahoo hired me with no technical knowledge and I had terrible imposter syndrome
In 2008, while in New York, I was hired at Yahoo. I don’t know how they found me, but I was recruited, so I got in.
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I believe they hired me because I specialized in advertising operations, a skill I learned at Ziff Davis, where I was promoted to advertising operations manager. Yahoo was building a product that required my skills.
I worked with publishers and consultants to help them develop their advertising strategies. After about five years, I became a product manager. I knew the technology well enough to be able to talk about machine algorithms with engineers, but for someone like me, without advanced education or a technical background, it was difficult. It was a huge deal.
At first, I just wanted to get into product management because I knew technology better than most. I wanted to have a sort of mini-CEO creating high-quality products.
After switching to the product, I had terrible imposter syndrome and didn’t feel like I was good enough. I didn’t feel comfortable because I didn’t have the same foundation as someone with years of experience building products.
I learned by doing
At Yahoo, I became an expert in systems and tools, working closely with customers and learning how they used our technology. I tried to understand what value we brought to them and their business models. I traveled to many countries, building a holistic picture of all the different use cases available. I asked how everything worked.
I wanted to learn more about these systems and how they work. I questioned processes to maximize time and ensure they were generating efficiencies rather than overhead. I kept re-imagining how things could work better. If I didn’t know, I would contact someone who did.
I also focused on building my expertise from scratch. They have set an extremely high bar to be a key enabler of innovation, commitment and enthusiasm. I was able to move the needle and execute complex initiatives.
After about two years of product management, LinkedIn approached me directly about working in global advertising operations. I quickly connected the dots and found out what position my former boss had been assigned at Ziff Davis, so I contacted her as a referral.
Even in my LinkedIn network, there is a consensus hiring culture, so hiring was still a rigorous process.
After 6 years at Yahoo, I received a higher six-figure salary
The energy on LinkedIn was exciting. Working for a growing company was fun because the focus was on growth issues rather than worrying about not making margin. We had more flexibility and creativity in terms of increasing revenues, creating new products, etc.
Additionally, LinkedIn has a fantastic culture and puts talent first.
A significant advantage of having a solid six-figure income is that we own our own home in San Francisco and have extra income for extracurricular activities (vacations, cars, technology, and more). Plus, we can afford for my husband to be a full-time stay-at-home dad. He initially worked in corporate and then started running a restaurant before the pandemic, before it closed. My daughter was born the same month he opened the restaurant while I worked full time. It was intense.
I always find opportunities to improve in my current role
I’m working on myself. I go above and beyond. I always do more than I should.
There are downsides to going above and beyond your core responsibilities, such as taking on more work beyond your core responsibilities without recognition or compensation. But I always say, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
You need to be able to promote and manage yourself upwards, demonstrate your impact on the organization, find ways to create value and have supporters.
If you have an interesting career path to a six-figure job and would like to share your story, email Manseen Logan at [email protected].
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