Adaptability is key in any industry, but in the fast-paced world of technology, it’s hard to thrive without it. The characteristic of continuing to pivot, learn, and evolve has been the backbone of Rebecca Aquino’s career.
Read on as Rebecca shares her journey and experiences, including some of the challenges and triumphs she’s encountered along the way.
Capitalizing on opportunity
Currently a leader within the VMware Cloud Foundation™ Professional Services portfolio, Rebecca is responsible for creating services that enable customers to optimize their VMware technology for their goals and desired outcomes. At ten years and counting, she’s held several roles at VMware (now VMware by Broadcom) and discovered she most enjoys roles that require connecting regularly with people. Her passion for collaboration and learning has led her to excel in roles that allowed for dynamic interactions and fostered her career growth.
Discovering a path
“I grew up in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. when I was 15. I thought I was going to go into banking and do fine. I came to attend high school here and have more opportunities for college because there were only two universities in Hong Kong, and they don’t have a lot of space compared to all the students who want to attend,” Rebecca recalled.
When several friends decided to leave Hong Kong for the U.S. to finish high school, Rebecca joined them. She realized she was very good at math and science and loved the process of learning. She studied engineering in college, which was her gateway to a career in tech. “It’s always exciting to me to solve problems,” Rebecca explains. “Early in my career, I was working as a software engineer programming and debugging, and I didn’t like sitting in the back room, not talking to people. So, I made a change, became a project manager, and later transitioned to product management. I love learning new technologies and talking to people about how they can best make use of it.”
Navigating challenges
As a woman in tech, a long career doesn’t come without challenges. Many technology company teams continue to consist of more men than women, which makes sense given the example of Rebecca’s engineering class: a total of 15 women in a graduating class of 400. While the tech environment can sometimes be intimidating, Rebecca points out that having a good work experience depends on who you work with and individual personalities. “Some men will ignore you or talk over you,” Rebecca notes. “And being physically smaller can be hard. But I once heard another woman say that it helps to ‘think large’ by speaking and interacting confidently.”
Rebecca has also had an experience in which a man doing the same job received a promotion while she did not. When she asked her manager what she should be doing differently to get a promotion, the manager realized that Rebecca deserved a promotion, too. From this experience, she learned that as a woman, you must promote yourself and your accomplishments positively to create visibility. Men do this more naturally, but it’s one thing she recommends that women learn to do. “You’re not going to move up if people don’t know what you did,” she asserts. “It may not feel natural to promote yourself, but if you don’t, no one will be aware of the value you bring to your organization.”
Life and learning
When she’s not working on enabling customer success with VMware services and solutions, Rebecca – a self-proclaimed golf addict – enjoys getting out to a golf course as much as possible. She also makes time for massages and facials each month and considers taking time for yourself essential to maintaining a balance in life.
She encourages women interested in careers in tech to learn more about the subjects they enjoy and listen to their intuition to pivot if something doesn’t feel right. “Learning something new keeps me going. Whether it’s exploring new technologies or tackling innovative solutions, every opportunity to expand my knowledge excites me. That excitement is what I hope other women in tech feel in their careers, too.”
Want to learn about Rebecca’s field?
To explore and learn more about the services and solutions Rebecca leads, visit VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.
