Yvonne Wong: For The COO Of DirectBooks, Mentoring Is A Way To Give Back

After beginning her career as a engineer at HP. Yvonne has worked at a number of different companies across a variety of industries and is now COO at DirectBooks, a communications platform for financial markets. As a female engineer working in tech and finance, Yvonne has been a long-time champion of initiatives to increase the number of women working in those areas and is about to be a three-peat mentor for Break Through Tech, this time for their AI program. “With AI evolving so quickly, I am concerned that this also accelerates our need to increase diversity and representation,” says Yvonne. “This program couldn’t have come at a more important time.”

Yvonne understands the challenges facing many of the Break Through Tech students. “They are often the first individual in their family to attend college, so even the seemingly small wins are important,” says Yvonne. “I make sure their LinkedIn profiles are set up, resumes are written, and they are properly prepped for interviews. I have mentees who are now at large firms and others in graduate schools such as Carnegie Mellon. In most cases it isn’t the technical challenges they face, as they are all proficient in programming, but personal ones, like self-advocacy, speaking up, and confidence.”

“To me it is very important to explain the why you need to do something in addition to the what you need to do.”

Yvonne believes the Break Through Tech programs’ projects and other hands-on experiences give the students something they can talk about during interviews, in addition to learning about the workplace and how to make the switch from student to employee. “I also try to share what my expectations would be if they worked for me in a manager capacity,” says Yvonne. “To me it is very important to explain the why you need to do something in addition to the what you need to do.”

As well as the diversity and representation goals, Yvonne lists employee satisfaction and retention as other major objectives driving her mentoring efforts. When asked what advice she would give to students considering the Break Through Tech programs, Yvonne doesn’t hesitate: “Definitely do it! And don’t shy away from the time commitment or the responsibility. You get out what you give to the program.”

As a person who had amazing mentors throughout her career, it is important for Yvonne to give back. “Mentors provide a safe space to talk through technical challenges, ask stupid questions and work through insecurities,” says Yvonne. “We all have those challenges, so let’s all give each other the support.”