May 30, 2022

Black Girls Tech Summit: How these women landed opportunities at Snap Inc & Zalando

As we prepare for our 2022 Black Girls Tech Summit (BGTS), we’re reflecting on previous summits and celebrating the wins of our community. In this blog post, we’re sharing the success stories of Busayo and Keisha, two powerhouses who levelled up in their career after attending the summit. From key takeaways and personal highlights to landing a job, read on to share the experiences of two of our valued attendees. 

Today, Busayo is currently on a 2-month tech mentorship program at Zalando, while Keisha is working at Snap Inc.  

Key takeaways 

The BGTS is an opportunity to connect with our partners who are some of the world’s biggest recruiters in tech, experience inspiring panels and make meaningful connections. 

Speaking on the key takeaways from the BGTS, Busayo told us, “Attending the BGTS was my first introduction to the possibility of working in tech. I found it particularly helpful hearing from different panellists about their experiences and the many different career paths you could take- the HSBC session covered entering through the graduate scheme route. In contrast, some panellists shared their varying non-linear career journey into their respective tech roles.” 

Keisha was equally inspired by our summit as she shared her key takeaway was around imposter syndrome. She told us about her experience; “I found out that imposter syndrome is real, and many people experience it. The best way to combat imposter syndrome is to make sure you have a supportive team around you. It’s also important to work on the areas you may feel are causing the imposter syndrome and tackle that fear and anxiety head-on.” 

She added, “Secondly, I saw other black women who look like me strive to high positions in tech. I’m a young black woman raised in Croydon, where there’s a high crime rate. Seeing these women really empowered me and showed me that this is possible.” 

Personal highlights

We make it our mission to ensure the summit is an enriching experience for all our attendees. So, naturally, we were keen to hear personal highlights from Busayo and Keisha. 

A personal highlight for Busayo was applying and securing a place in the Zalando mentorship programme. Sharing her experience, she told us how the summit helped her get there; “I’ve had my CV reviewed by a tech hiring manager, a series of personal and professional development sessions (interview skills, growth mindset), an intimate Q&A session with the Head of UX/UI Design and built a network of lovely people at the Zalando willing to lend a helping hand with my career pivot into UX/UI design.” 

Speaking of her personal highlights, Keisha shared a valued piece of advice she learned, “I remember during the first initial summit, someone spoke about making sure to have cheerleaders. Essentially, these cheerleaders are the people who root for you the most and believe in the vision. They may even believe in you more than you believe in yourself.” 

Expanding on her highlights, Keisha also told us she enjoyed meeting other Black women who were curious to learn, meeting Nissy Tee and touring the Facebook Office and sharing candid conversations about working in tech and the importance of a support network. 

Career progression 

As mentioned earlier, Busayo is currently on a 2-month tech mentorship program with our 2021 partner, Zalando. So, of course, we wanted to share how she landed her placement. In Busayos’ words. “One of the employees at the early careers and Talent acquisition team at Zalando reached out to BGTS attendees to let us know about a 2-month Tech mentorship programme they were offering to those from underrepresented backgrounds.”  

She continued. “I submitted my CV and a cover letter explaining how and why I think this programme will positively affect me, and an informal interview followed this. It was an invaluable experience where I met with Zalando business leaders and experts and asked for advice, improved my interview skills, attended CV workshops, and so much more.” 

Despite struggling to break into technology straight out of University, Keisha’s determination and passion for IT paid off eventually. After ensuring she attended every BGTS event and committing to her career progression, Keisha went all in. In her words. “The lockdown happened, and I thought why not go for this IT thing 100 per cent. I then studied for ITIL 4 and Prince 2 and passed both exams. Afterwards, I applied for a job at Wise as an IT Specialist. I learned so much from my amazing colleagues. I also watched a lot of YouTube and read so many computer books.” 

She added. “After working at Wise, I decided to spontaneously apply for SnapInc, thinking nobody would reach out. How wrong I was.” 

 A leap of faith 

Speaking on the benefits of attending the BGTS for her career, Keisha explained, “I know that my company were happy and rather intrigued that I showed interest in their company by attending the BGTS event. I think it showed that I’m willing and passionate. I know the recruiters were blown away by my initiative. The BGTS really gave me a different perspective by taking that leap of faith.” 

If you’re ready to take a leap of faith, register your interest here and check out the highlights of our 2021 summit here. 

Tickets and line up will be announced in June.

Stay Tuned!