Career Chats : Veronica Sun

You've probably heard the phrase "a career path is never a straight line." It can be scary not to know what you want to do, or know what you want but not how to get there. Career Chats is a series aimed at tackling these uncertainties. The series highlights women in different roles across LinkedIn and the unique journey that led them to where they are today. We hope these stories will help you find your path to your dreams.

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Career Chats with Veronica Sun

Role: Staff Technical Program Manager, Productivity Engineering at LinkedIn

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Q: Walk us through your career path so far.

Going from a systematic public school institution to a large university, I realized the possibilities were endless. I could be and learn what I want. I was confused and curious about the various paths I could take, which is how I ended up taking on Electrical and Computer Engineering and Marketing. Although seemingly different, I wanted to bridge the gap and be at the intersection of business and engineering. Learning about the product journey from ideation and creation to how it lands in the hands of a consumer by voluntary choice was intriguing to me. This has led me to experiment in various industries and roles trying to find a happy medium. I was an intern influencing product lines that created possibly your Charmin, Puffs, and Bounty products, started a venture B2B product for Nike, and some startup and consulting work later, and am now a Technical Program Manager for LinkedIn. 

Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?

Force multiplying! Inherently my role makes me think constantly about how to increase the effectiveness of the projects and teams I work with. This is done through a variety of different ways from creating a rhythm of business, and fostering team and project culture, to enabling engineers to work effectively within a given program.  

And if that impact wasn’t scaled enough, I also work within the Productivity and Happiness org, which strives to provide exactly that [productivity and happiness] to all engineers at LinkedIn through the developer tools, infrastructure, and experience that the teams I support build. By helping accelerate development at LinkedIn to build and ship faster, everything I work on is embedded into what others create.

Q: What is the best advice you have gotten so far in your career?

If I had to just pick one that has served me well throughout my career, it would be “do what you say you’re going to do - and more”. It may sound straightforward but it's not always easy to follow through. Establishing yourself as someone who is reliable builds trust and credibility. It also helps with allowing yourself to concentrate and actually make an impact.

Early in my career, I felt like I had to prove myself and that translated to saying yes to everything. I spread myself too thin, and it ultimately resulted in getting things done…but half-baked. I felt like I scratched the surface of making an impact and understanding things, but honestly, it's as if I didn’t do much or learn anything at all. Be cognizant of what you’re signing up for and really follow through. If you’re going to do it, do it and then exceed expectations by delivering a delightful surprise.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Ironically as someone that thinks of roadmaps and strategies all the time, I don’t try to think too far in advance for my own life. It constantly changes and my feelings for what I want and do change all the time. So, I’m not sure where life will take me but I want to still be in a space where I have joy and passion in whatever I do. 

I see myself continuing to grow in my career where I take on more responsibilities by leveraging the experience and expertise I’ve gained throughout the years. I hope to continue to be in a place where I am challenged and growing - learning new things and facing new challenges.

Q: What is something that is not on your LinkedIn Profile?

I am level 3700+ on Candy Crush, which I only play when I’m traveling because of airplane mode. I don’t know if this means that I am traveling a lot, or if I am good at Candy Crush. I love traveling so I am just going to say both! 😛

Want to see more posts like this? Check out our past Career Chats HERE