After two failures, she finally got the nod from Facebook and Google just after she graduated from a university in Vietnam.

Do Thanh Lam

“My path to Facebook was very tough, but extremely memorable. It was not just the days of preparing for interviews, but also the process of self-improvement to become better,” she recalled.

Lam, who loved information technology (IT), decided to take the entrance exam to the informatics majoring class for the gifted of the Le Quy Don High School in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province after finishing secondary school.

The decision was not applauded by teachers and her parents.

A teacher came to meet Lam and advised her not to study informatics, because this is not suitable for women. They said workers in the industry have to work hard and women won’t have time to care of their families.

But she still took the exam and passed, becoming one of six schoolgirls in the class to do so

“They told me that men are always better than women in sciences, especially computer science,” she said.

That was why Lam was not chosen when teachers wavered between choosing Lam and a male student for an important exam.

“You are a girl,” the teacher explained.

Lam vowed to prove that women can do many things, and in many fields, they are even better.

After that, she realized that one needs to prepare well for anything. And after a lot of failures, she understood that if you don't try, you will never have opportunities.

At the end of the 10th grade, Lam became the only female student attending the national informatics competition for youth. The achievement caught the attention from teachers at the school.

After that, she passed the exams for the class for talented students in the Information Technology Faculty of the HCM City University of Natural Sciences, a member of the HCM City National University.

Two times refused before gaining success

Becoming a first-year university student, Lam met seniors with ‘super profiles’, or great achievements. They had been admitted to large technology firms though they were just fourth-year students.

This encouraged Lam to apply for jobs at large technology firms.

“I thought that others can do that and so can I,” she said. She began building a plan for herself.

The biggest barrier for Lam at that moment was language. She felt it would be more difficult to apply for famous corporations if she had only studied in Vietnam. Therefore, she needed advice from the seniors.

When she was a second-year student, Lam decided to apply for Google. The reply came one minute later. Lam was refused because her CV was too weak and she could not meet the requirements.

Lam began looking for internships, doing more personal projects, participating in international online competitions, and improving algorithms, English skills, communication skills and other soft skills. She also created her own profile on LinkedIn.

In third year, she continued seeking internship opportunities at Facebook, Google and Amazon. Her CV entered the second round of Facebook and she failed once again. Google and Amazon also refused her.

But she succeeded in the third attempt and got the nod from Google and Facebook.

Before becoming an official officer, Lam spent time on an internship at Facebook.

After 10 months of working in London, Lam said what she learned the most from colleagues was being proactive: taking the initiative in doing work, raising questions and solving problems, and developing the skills in which she was the weakest.

Lam said she not only faced difficulties on the way to Facebook, but many other troubles as well.

In order to obtain a visa to the US to attend an international event for female workers in IT, she had to apply for a visa twice.

After that, she realized that one needs to prepare well for anything. And after a lot of failures, she understood that if you don't try, you will never have opportunities.

“The people in the UK and the US have to make great efforts to obtain opportunities in leading companies, and I needed to make a 200 percent effort to get this,” she said. 

Le Hanh

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