Rising Up as a Latina in Tech
Something curious happened when Rosa Gonzalez was a young teen in East LA.
Her mother told her she was a natural leader.
Back then, Rosa had no idea what those words even meant.
Inside she felt super shy and speaking up in front of people made her very nervous.
As a child of Mexican immigrants scraping by to establish a life in the US, Rosa only knew to keep her head down and just get things done.
Leadership was nowhere on her radar.
Even the huge leap she made to Yale University for her undergraduate education only served to reinforce her sense of how to be in the world. Don't make waves. Say less.
The Ivy League culture in Connecticut was a completely new reality for this girl whose parents needed food stamps to feed the family, and Rosa felt that fitting in at Yale meant non-stop pretending.
Fast forward to life as a technology executive in the San Francisco Bay Area…
Now solid in her leadership, Rosa is focused on uplifting Latina women in tech. Yay Rosa, We love how you are paying it forward!
Her mission: "To help people by telling my story."
Her core message: "Believe in yourself. Show up as yourself. Love and value yourself. Stop pretending."
Despite her clarity and success, Rosa recently took it to another level.
After going through Yes You Can Speak’s Interview Like a Pro four-week training, she landed her dream position as Director of Product Management at Intuit. Yes!
Despite how inherently fantastic Rosa is, she had a tendency to morph herself into what she thought the interviewer was looking for, which meant putting a lid on her warmth, personality and connection. And, needless to say, she didn't get the results she was looking for.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do this before the Interview Like a Pro program."
Can you feel her infectious leadership fire? Watch Rosa's video on YouTube and you can follow her on LinkedIn.
She is a force to be reconned with - her natural exuberance and enthusiasm and all!
#thislittlegirlisme #jobinterview #publicspeaking