When I am asked why I left Microsoft after almost 5 years, I can only share the following quote from Sheryl Sandberg: ‘If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, get on, don't ask what seat.’
Some of you might know that in 2021, I made the decision to leave Microsoft and join a smaller organisation called The Trade Desk. If you haven’t heard of The Trade Desk (TTD) yet, they are a global Tech company within the Programmatic Advertising space. Their mission is to create a better, more open Internet for everyone through principled, intelligent advertising.
I have been four months in my new role as Engineering Manager and I thought I’ll let you how I am going.
Well, in short, I’m loving my new role. I started leading one scrum team in Australia and a plan to grow it and build another scrum team in West US. Currently, I’m accountable for the work of 3 scrum teams based in Australia and Hong Kong and with a plan to have another scrum team in West US.
I’m working with smart engineers with sense of ownership. They build, ship and own their work. I get energy when I see how everyone is passionate to do a right thing efficiently. We are working fully remotely, so using Zoom and Slack is in the engineering team’s DNA. Coming from Microsoft, I’m learning more and more about Slack, Jira and Confluence every day. By now you can ask me any short keys.
To my surprise the management team are Excel power users, and we are using Excel to track progress and plan some of our work. Four months in and I’ve identified an area of personal development. I’m planning on brushing up my Excel skills in 2022.
Another learning curve was the AD Tech industry itself. It’s an amazing area which every day I learn more and more about marketing, programmatic advertising. I feel fulfilled with my role and activities I do. It’s rewarding and I can see impact of my work.
We have a sharp CEO whose comment during meetings shows his passion and expertise. The Net worth of Jeff Green, The Trade Desk CEO is 4.1 billion USD. In November, one month after I joined, we saw his name in the news. He signed the giving pledged created by Melinda, Bill and Warren to give away the vast majority of his wealth through data-driven philanthropy before or at his death. He set the target to donate 90 percent of his wealth. https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=430
One of my personal goals is live beyond my lifetime and nothing could make me happier to know the CEO of the new organisation I just joined has similar believes. I picked The Trade Desk because of its growth and opportunities it can provide to learn and grow. It did not disappoint.
The Trade Desk just ranked 6 at 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. https://fortune.com/company/trade-desk/100-fastest-growing-companies/
To give you context Etsy ranked 5, Amazon ranked 30 and Netflix 40 . I’m still amazed how much The Trade Desk achieved with number of engineers they have.
So, if you wonder how I got my job at The Trade Desk, let me tell you how:
Danya Maguire (Senior Talent Acquisition) reached out to me in mid-May 2021 and sparked my interest. The message read something like this: “The Director and I at The Trade Desk have reviewed your wealth of skills and experience and think you would be a great fit for a Leadership role we are currently recruiting for within our Technology division at The Trade Desk (TTD).” And this is how it started. I still had to run through 6 interviews and pass a skill assessment but soon I knew The Trade Desk is a company I would love to work for.
Girl Geek Speed Hiring on 17 Feb
If what I shared made you curious about the Trade Desk and you want to know more, join our Girl Geek Speed Hiring on Thursday, 17 February at 6pm AEDT. The event is free and open for everyone to join. It’s fully virtual. You can listen to the panel to find out more about The Trade Desk and/or book a 5min chat with one of the hiring managers (of which I am one). https://www.meetup.com/Girl-Geek-Sydney/events/283372067/
Looking forward to chatting with you!
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