Introducing one of our Mentors: Elaine Gao

We all learn and grow from those around us, but wouldn’t it be awesome to have someone who’s been where you are and helps you out? The answer is yes! Everyone needs a mentor. Queen’s Women in Computing Mentorship programs are made for just that, to find a mentor to help you excel. And we wanted to introduce you to one of our mentors…

Elaine Gao

Elaine is a 4th year Commerce and Computing student working as a product manager at Blend, a mortgage tech company. She grew up wanting to be the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, and since that wasn’t a degree option she found product management at Queen’s by accident. She loves all things sustainable fashion and style, as well as weight training. And her dream is to build a fashion technology company in the future.

She’s amazing, right? We asked her a few questions about her life experiences, interview tips, how she’s got her job at Blend in San Fransisco on your behalf.

How did you prepare for interviews? What type of questions did you have?

I read the typical PM prep books: Cracking the Product Management Interview and Decode and Conquer. I studied up on my old projects that showcased skills that I knew they would test: prioritization, scoping, metrics, talking to customers, using frameworks for decision making, etc. I tested myself with www.thepminterview.com, which gives you random questions with a timer. I broke down crying in practice interviews. Pro tip: You will be so grateful you did practice interviews- Just don’t do them the night before. Right before the interview, call a friend and ask them to aggressively hype you up.

You’ll find that questions vary across firms: Some ask about your experience, while others ask you to do case and design questions. It’s best to check with HR or someone at the company for what to expect.

How did you get your role at Blend?

I systematically made spreadsheets of all the financial technology companies I could find in the Bay Area (40+ companies) because I wanted to work in California for a summer. Then I LinkedIn stalked any Queen’s alumni at each company and guessed their emails in the BCC field. I’d send a follow-up email every week if I didn’t hear back. In the emails, I’d ask to schedule a chat, and on the phone, I’d ask them to refer me to HR. It’s a numbers game.

Tell us about life in San Francisco (while you were working at Blend)! Is it what you expected?

I somehow thought San Francisco would be like LA! I could not have been more wrong- the weather is moderate, and instead of influencers everywhere it’s got a crazy startup culture where CEOs drive their supercars around town and everyone you meet has a startup idea. I loved the workaholic energy, the sourdough, and the snobby coffee culture. The main thing I didn’t expect was the tech capital of the world being so technologically behind: You can’t tap your card to pay there.

Was there a key turning point in your life that helped you gain confidence?

“Absolutely not. To this day I have a terrible habit of trivializing my accomplishments and abilities, so it’s still something I work on. I just slowly came to realize through lots of failing and personal growth that 1. No one cares about your failures and 2. You’ll never excel at anything if you compare yourself to others. When it comes to job hunting especially, fight to get yourself out of the “I will take anything” mindset. Define your ideal future, and try to take opportunities that will give you the confidence to reach those goals. Pick up the phone and talk to as many people as possible who inspire you or who have the skills you want, then ask for advice. It’s a failproof formula, and I promise it gets easier.”

Best advice?

Main advice: Meet and talk to as many people as possible. Challenge yourself and try new things until you feel fulfilled. Getting stuck in a rut where nothing inspires you or excites you is a dangerous mindset to be in.

Career advice: Define what you want to do, commit, and focus. Don’t be thrown off by what your friends are doing, don’t apply to every job opening you see. Find companies/career paths you like, find people there, and do what you can to get on the phone with them.

Mentor Town Hall

QWIC is releasing not one, but two, Virtual Mentor Town Halls, here’s what Maya Steckly, Vice-Chair of Mentorship has to say,

“Our mentor town halls are designed for students to learn from our mentors who work in various positions throughout the tech industry. There will be a moderated discussion period followed by questions from students. After, students will be divided into break out rooms, each featuring 2 mentors, allowing the opportunity for more personal conversations and connections.”

We know its a busy time for everyone. But we hope you’ll join us. Stay tuned for more details and get ready to e-meet our awesome mentors in person (well, over Zoom but same thing as of right now, right?)!

If you don’t already follow us on our social media channels, please do! (How else are you doing to be in the know?) And as always, stay safe! ❤