April 2019
Celebrating our Second Anniversary
art exhibition
Simple Steps has grown into a vibrant community with more than 500 people including the experienced female talent, mentors, supporters, and partner companies and organizations. There are a variety of factors that contribute to this growth, among those are dedicated volunteers always doing more than we ask and tremendous women who step out of their comfort zone and take a step forward. The foundation of it all: We grow together.
We are grateful for each and every one of you. Without you, there would be no Simple Steps. Every story we hear about landing in a new job or achieving something new never done before motivates us to put a lot of effort into the Simple Steps community. Thank you for giving us your trust and belief. We hope to continue to thrive on your support and commitment.
Make a Pledge to Become Simple Steps' Donor Today!
Whatever amount you can give, your donation brings us ever closer to our goals. Sign up for the donation pledge form today below. You can choose the amount and recurring frequency (monthly, quarterly, etc.)
You will receive a canvas tote ba with Simple Steps' logo as a thank-you gift.
https://www.simplestepscc.org/donate/
Interview Series Season 2:
<Meet Our Members> Eunjung Cho
This month, meet Eunjung Cho, a UX designer at Knowre, an education technology startup company.
Q: Could you start us off by introducing yourself?
A: I have been working for Knowre as a UX designer since December 2018. Knowre, an education technology startup company specialized for math education, was born from an after-school math tutoring academy in South Korea and has grown into an education technology provider in the United States and South Korea.
At Knowre, I plan and develop UX design to provide supplementary mathematical education software for U.S. public schools in need of personalized learning experience. This software can be utilized by students in elementary to high school.
Q: Can you speak about your past career in South Korea and your journey after moving to the U.S.?
A: I worked as an interaction designer and UX designer at large Internet companies and a startup. When I moved to the Bay Area, I decided to focus on caring for my two children for a couple of years. During that time, I actively volunteered at my children’s schools as an art docent and library helper. However, it took longer than I had planned to return to the paid workforce. While I was job searching, I worked as a solo UX designer and iOS developer and successfully launched 2 iOS apps.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the job search process?
A: I was passive about meeting with new people and building connections here in the U.S. Even though I knew that it was very hard to find a job without networking, I was not able to push myself to make more personal connections. Thus, I simply submitted my resume to companies’ websites but did not receive any responses. Whenever I felt demotivated and nonproductive, I focused my energy on developing my portfolio or doing work other than job searching in order to keep myself from getting burned out. I continuously repeated this process for almost 1 year.
Q: Could you talk about your experience with Simple Steps? How has Simple Steps supported you?
A: I was lucky to discover Simple Steps, as it connected me with mentors who gave me sincere and valuable feedback. I also participated in the WordPress study group provided by Simple Steps to upgrade my portfolio. It was a wonderful experience to study and learn with like-minded people and get support from the study group facilitator. While I was a member of the Startup small group, we had monthly meetups and shared our experiences and constructive feedback with each other. I was encouraged to move forward and take small steps out of my comfort zone through these activities.
Q: Do you have any advice to share with women looking to pursue their career aspirations?
A: First of all, I suggest setting small goals rather than one big goal so that you don’t get disappointed and give up quickly. In addition, I encourage you to believe that persistence and firmly believing in yourself will pay off. Finding and securing a job depends on a lot of factors that are out of my control, and it takes much longer than you would expect to get a job that perfectly fits with your skills and desires. Therefore, it is important to keep trying and pushing through challenges with perseverance. Even though you may not be able to plant and reap what you sow in the same season, your efforts will come to fruition in the future.
Second, I volunteered a lot for my children’s schools to gain confidence in my English. As I believed that I would be able to help kindergarten students, I mustered my courage and actively supported a language art class. This helped me reduce my fear of speaking in English. I did not start volunteering at school for any specific purposes. Surprisingly, my volunteer contributed greatly to interviews with companies in the education field. I encourage other moms to take advantage of the opportunities that are around you, especially by volunteering in your community.
Announcements
New Board Member: Keeyong Han
Simple Steps is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to the Board of Directors: Keeyong Han. His expertise and passion will be an invaluable contribution in helping us become a stronger and more impactful organization. The Board will provide leadership for carrying out the organization's mission to empower women across the community.
Keeyong Han's Bio
Keeyong has been working for various companies in Silicon Valley since 2000 and is an expert in the data domain. Most recently he was the head of Data at Udemy (the biggest online learning platform). Prior to joining Udemy, he was the Data/Search team manager at Polyvore (acquired by Yahoo in 2015) and a director of engineering at Yahoo Web's search team. He began his professional career at Samsung Electronics in Korea before moving to Silicon Valley.
Events
2nd Anniversary Party
We are hosting a party to celebrate Simple Steps' 2nd anniversary with you. Join us for a delightful evening and don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with amazing people! This is a family-friendly event.
When: Saturday, May 11, 5-9PM
Where: Monticello Apartment Club House (3555 Monroe St, Santa Clara, CA 95051)
Contact: events@simplestepscc.org
PROGRAM
5:00 - 5:30 PM: Registration
5:30 - 5:45 PM: Simple Steps' journey for the past 2 years
5:45 - 6:30 PM: Speak with proud members who successfully landed new jobs through Simple Steps
6:30 - 8:00 PM: Dinner and Networking
8:00 - 8:30 PM: Raffle Contest and Fundraising Campaign
8:30 - 9:00 PM: Networking and Closing
RSVP link
Please note that the number of tickets will be limited and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
NEXT STEPS Workshop - Part 2
NEXT STEPS is designed for those who want to figure out their next career move. We will focus on (1) understanding your strengths by analyzing your life experiences together, and (2) answering the question "which career is right for me?"
Workshop Facilitator's Bio
Dr. Bokyung Kim is a psychologist and a mother of two. She currently runs Studio B to provide psychology classes for parents and literature-based play classes for young children. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Psychology from Stanford University.
Workshop Schedule
Part 2: What is your next step?
When: Saturday 5/18 10am - 1pm
Where: Hacker Dojo (3350 Thomas Rd #150, Santa Clara CA 95054)
Workshop Fee and How to Sign Up
Each 3-hour session is $40 and accommodates up to 8 people. The workshop will be conducted in Korean. We will provide a light lunch and beverages. If you would like to participate, please sign up via the link below.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/next-steps-workshop-part2-what-is-your-next-step-tickets-59504106384
Resume Workshop
The Resume Workshop is designed for those who would like to update and/or reshape their resume. We will discuss resume formatting, SEO for resumes, how to write a summary statement and accomplishments, and sample resumes. Please bring your current resume if you want some advice. We will provide quick resume feedback at the end of the workshop. This is an additional section of the workshop!
Workshop Schedule
When: Tuesday 5/28, 11am - 1pm
Where: Hacker Dojo (3350 Thomas Rd #150, Santa Clara CA 95054)
Contact: events@simplestepscc.org
Workshop Fee: $15
You can pay via credit card or our Paypal giving fund.
RSVP link
If you would like to participate, please sign up below. Please note that the number of tickets will be limited, and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.