“Leadership, Communication, & Time Management” | From Student Leader to Program Manager: Meet Macy So

Macy recently graduated from Boston University. She studied computer science, and is working as a technical program manager at 微软 . Throughout her college years, she has taken on a lot of leadership roles, especially playing a big role in hosting hackathons, and mentorship programs. She also founded PMReady as a school club under 美国波士顿大学 , and aims to bring it out to expand it into a global community for people who are interested in breaking into the product management world.?

Miss EmpowHer: What does women's empowerment mean to you? Why is it important?

Macy So: Women empowerment to me means having a sense of self-worth and being able to determine our own choices. It’s important to be able to stand up for yourself, to show up, to be able to advocate for yourself! With social media playing such a big role in our lives, it is easy to get frustrated with yourself. Seeing other people getting internships, and going into their dream company, it is sometimes difficult to feel like you are not good enough, and you are not going to succeed. But if you work hard, your time will come. And when it comes, embrace it!?

"It’s important to be able to stand up for yourself, to show up, to be able to advocate for yourself!"

Miss EmpowHer: What advice would you give to other women looking to succeed in your industry? What qualities are the most important and what skills should they focus on developing?

Macy So: Be confident. Be you! Don’t be shy to be a little out there in your interviews, show your enthusiasm.?

As a technical program manager, being a good leader, and having good and effective community skills are essential to excel in this career path. You are constantly in meetings with cross-team, you are always trying to convince your cross-team that this is a good product/feature to develop, and worth our effort to develop them.?

There are 3 skills that I would focus on developing: Leadership, Communication, & Time Management?

"There are 3 skills that I would focus on developing: Leadership, Communication, & Time Management"

Miss EmpowHer: Tell us about a woman who has influenced your career and how their guidance has impacted your professional growth.

Macy So: The biggest influencer in my career path is definitely my lovely sister!?

She studied electrical engineering in college and became a cybersecurity engineer post-grad. I first learned coding from seeing her coding at home. I found it so interesting that I wanted to go into college as a computer science major.?

She helped me with my technical interviews back in freshman and Sophomore years. She was here when I got my internship and full-time offer. She helped me negotiate and guided me through how and what I should do when I am negotiating, and sometimes conflicts.?

She is not only a sister, but a mentor to me! If it wasn’t for her, I would have majored in business instead of computer science.?

Miss EmpowHer: How do you handle work-related stress and pressure, and what techniques or practices do you use to maintain your well-being while pursuing a successful career?

Macy So: I consider myself as an introvert. So what that means is that my social energy will drain so fast, and I don’t recharge by talking to people, but instead I recharge by just being by myself. So after every meeting in which I am leading, I give myself at least 5 mins to recharge, take a breather and then go into a second meeting. That’s what I do if I have a back to back meeting. But if I have more time, I would treat myself with something like boba or some snacks to recharge. I also like to knit my stress away, when I am at home, and want to do something to destress. Knitting is a good way to just forget everything, and focus on knitting and watching some YouTube or Netflix on the side.?

Miss EmpowHer: Can you share any lessons or insights you have gained from failures or setbacks in your career, and how you have turned them into opportunities for growth and learning?

Macy So: One thing that I definitely learned after my internship last summer is that imposter syndrome is real! Even though I was an intern, I was leading meetings. Sometime after the meeting finished, even though my manager would tell me “Oh, the meeting went great!” I don’t actually feel great. In fact, I felt like I am not fit for the job, and that I wasn’t doing a good job in leading the meeting because my manager had to jump in some many times to help answer some of my questions. That’s one of the things I want to improve during my internship is to get better with public speaking, and being able to lead a productive meeting and not just being in silence. It became an opportunity for me to grow, to practice my public speaking skills. My manager started setting me up with more speaking opportunities to higher ups. Even now, that I returned to my original team as a FTE, I still get the same feeling but it has been improved as I work my way through it, and practice more in hosting meetings, and leading the meeting discussion in the right direction.?

Miss EmpowHer: Can you share any strategies or tips for building a successful network and fostering meaningful professional relationships that have helped you in your career?

Macy So: I have 2 tips: 1 is network, 2 is build projects. I actually got a referral through networking, and by posting on LinkedIn . I was connected with an alumni, and we kept in contact when the time for applying for an internship came. I reached out again for a referral, and I think that referral is what pushed me over the line into the candidate pool and landed my junior-year internship.?

"I have 2 tips: 1 is network, 2 is build projects."

Second, if you don’t have experience and you are having a hard time finding an internship. Build a project, and make an opportunity for yourself. You can work on your portfolio, start a product project, and look for any leadership position.?

"Build a project, and make an opportunity for yourself."

Miss EmpowHer: What strategies or tactics do you use for setting and achieving your career goals, and how do you stay motivated and focused on your objectives?

Macy So: Every year, I set goals for myself. They are general goals because I don’t want to narrow myself into just a corner, and have the mindset of “Either it’s this, and only this or nothing.” Every other month, I would check back on my goals to see if I am on track, if I am not, I think to myself what can I do to make sure that my goal is going to go back on track? And at the end of the year, I reflect on all my goals, all my achievements that I did throughout the year, and think about new goals again. This is something I have been doing for the past 3 years, and I find it really helpful to see how I am growing personally and professionally.?

Miss EmpowHer: What motivated you to choose your current career field, and what do you find most fulfilling about your work?

Macy So: I was going to go into the software engineer route post-grad. But I tried it twice, 2 internships, and realized that route is not for me. I don’t get joy out of the work that I did as a software engineer. And so I decided to switch to product, before landing a product internship. I have always known that I like to work with people, lead a team, and manage programs/projects.?

The most fulfilling thing about my job is seeing my product being shipped and launched into production/going into the market.?

Miss EmpowHer: Can you discuss any specific trends or changes in your industry that you see impacting careers, and how you are preparing to adapt to these changes?

Macy So: The current technology trend is implementing AI in all and every software. With co-pilot coming out, it makes designing for non-designer designs PowerPoint very easy. I don’t really like AI taking over creativity, I would rather do first-hand research on design, and use it to learn and design my own designs on PowerPoint and such.?

Miss EmpowHer: What advice do you have for individuals who are starting their careers or looking to make a career change, based on your own experiences and lessons learned?

Macy So: When I started college I wanted to become a software engineer after pursuing a computer science degree. However after sophomore year, I had 2 SWE internships, and I realized that SWE is not the route I wanted to take as my future career path. Instead, I would want to become a product manager and leverage my communication and leadership skills instead.?

I would say if you are like me, and wanted to break into the product management field. Your soft skills are really important, especially your leadership and communication skills. Start a passion project, find an existing product, and create a project on improving product features or user interface or any pain points that current customers might have.?

"Your soft skills are really important, especially your leadership and communication skills. Start a passion project..."

Last but not least, show passion, show you’re enthusiastic in the field, especially during interviews.?

Miss EmpowHer: How do you approach professional development and continuous learning to enhance your skills and stay relevant in your industry??

Macy So: Sometimes, I read tech news on 彭博资讯 , but other times, I follow people who post about technology trends on LinkedIn to get myself up to date on the latest trends. I also find other social media a good way to keep myself up to date to the latest trends - like TikTok or Instagram .?

Miss EmpowHer: Can you discuss any significant achievements or accomplishments in your career that you are particularly proud of and what you learned from those experiences?

Macy So: By far, the most significant one has to be hosting a hackathon at my first university as a college freshman. I start by gathering a team of students, and having them lead different parts of the hackathon; the whole team only consists of 5 members on the organizing team. We had over 200+ participants, and 50 projects submitted by the end of the hackathon. Even though my teammates didn’t continue the hackathon in the upcoming years, I am still proud of what we are able to achieve if we want to.?

I definitely grow a lot in my leadership skills and time-management skills with organizing and hosting a 72-hour hackathon with only 5 members. It was also a virtual one, so time zones are also a problem when hosting workshops, and creating engagement. But participants were engaged in our activities and workshops so I would say that is definitely a big win for me.?

Miss EmpowHer: How do you balance your career ambitions with other aspects of your life, such as family, hobbies, and personal well-being?

Macy So: To be honest, I didn’t have the best work-life balance when I was in school. I always put school before personal life, and didn’t really open myself up until junior year of college. It was always lectures, homework, office hours, sleep. Every day, I just repeat the same routine. ? Starting junior year of college, I started to reach out more to my co-workers, my peers, and make connections. Hang out outside of lectures, go to more social events, it definitely made my college years different, and better!?

"Hang out outside of lectures, go to more social events..."

Miss EmpowHer: Are there any specific books, podcasts, email newsletters, thought leaders/influencers, or training courses/programs that you would recommend for personal or professional growth?

Macy So: I really like the “How to Ace the PM Interview” books - to learn about interview tips, and what are some of the essential skills as a PM. Other programs I like to suggest are definitely lower-classmen programs (internships) e.g. 谷歌 STEP, UberSTAR, 微软 Explore and many more. But other than that, there are definitely other free programs and fellowships that you are able to find and that they are free to attend. I have attended one from UpKey: Virtual Internship Program, and definitely BobaTalks: Product101.?

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