The unexpected chapter

{To wrap up an important chapter of my life, and to start a new one}

{write to remember}

I came to the States four years ago, carrying a goal (not a dream), which is a master’s degree in business. I never thought that I would land a job in Silicon Valley, I never had an intention to work in tech industry because my whole background was surrounded by marketing, media and entertainment. I was aware that it is hard to get a job in the States, but nobody had told me how hard it actually is. 

The first internship had opened my eyes. I got an internship at an Israeli startup to work in fashion-tech industry. Sitting at an open working-space, in the middle of the busiest neighborhood in San Francisco, next to the Twitter building, had triggered my ambition to work in The Bay Area – Silicon Valley. After thousands of phone screens and interviews, I got an offer from Accenture to work in a new project with Facebook- the biggest social media hub in the world. Then, my unexpected chapter began. 

I got the opportunity to work with the humblest and smartest people from around the world, who believe in a common mission: make the world more open and connected. Despite a lack of technical background, my manager believed in my knowledge of digital advertising platforms and my “attitude”: my willingness to learn. Within two months, I was trained to use the internal tools to analyze and identify potential bugs on the ads platforms. The most interesting part about Facebook is, there is always something new everyday. We are never trained to do one thing; we are trained to be ready for new things. 

It would take days to talk about the great things of Facebook MPK (Menlo Park), but I guess the most valuable thing there is the extraordinary culture. I learned that people matter, especially the minorities. We held hands to support black people when the shooting happened in July. We inspired every woman in the company to raise their hand, keep pursuing whatever their dream is and go beyond their limit. Every poster, every event at Facebook aims to emphasize the core values of the company: be bold, move fast, break things and have empathy. It is not exaggerating when someone claims to be “in love” with this company, love is just naturally nurtured here. There were days, when I was so exhausted and lazy to get back to my repeated tasks, I still wanted to go to the campus and then my mood just got improved. I used to think about Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg as a perfect legacy. But working at Facebook had opened my eyes, that they are truly real: everybody has capabilities to make everything happen, that being perfect is not the point. Being brave enough to make mistakes and get things done is more important. The culture has made the powerful Facebook today.

Although I was not lucky enough to get the work visa after all, I did not feel unlucky at all. The opportunity at Facebook was the most valuable experience that I’ve ever had. Everything I learned there made me become the person I am today: eager to learn and never stop pursuing my goals. I came to the States with a goal, I went back to Vietnam with a dream. I am now working at one of the fastest-growing startups in Vietnam (Tiki Corporation) and I always feel like I am learning something new everyday. You can learn a lot of different things at different places in different situations. However, if possible, don’t forget to be humble to think about your true values and don’t stop your curiosity. It is easy to feel doubtful about your decisions and there are many things can hold you back. Please remember, the most important thing you have is the youth.

{Spring 2017}