“I love having that ability to work in an environment where we are all creating curiosity, we’re all there for each other. I like to call it a work-life blend rather than a work-life balance.”
— Jennifer Smith
 

The 2x Women in Tech Podcast with Chelsea Behrens

Jennifer Smith, Senior VP of Revenue Effectiveness at Payscale

If you’re not feeling the fire, then Host Chelsea Behrens’ guest on this episode of The 2x Women in Tech Podcast has a strong suggestion: Time to move along! Jennifer Smith has found career fulfillment at every juncture because of a few simple things she brings to every job: Confidence that she has something to contribute, curiosity about new things, and excitement about problem-solving. Currently Senior VP of Revenue Effectiveness at Payscale, her career has evolved organically from selling booking software in the infancy of online travel through a series of challenging roles that ultimately led her to Payscale – doing a job she loves for a company whose mission (pay equity and transparency) she finds meaningful. 


You’ll learn about the values and wisdom Jennifer brings in mentoring her team members, whose advancement is a personal passion. She also shares candid thoughts on “seasons of life” and how they factor into the choices all parents have to make when it comes to modulating their careers. The episode wraps up with some fundamental – and tremendously important – tips for women interested in pursuing a career in tech – especially those who are letting Impostor Syndromes or fear of change keep them stuck! Says Jennifer: “People think women in tech are all deep in technology knowledge. No! Tech is all roles. There’s so much opportunity … that doesn’t require that specific skill set.”

Key Takeaways:

  • A high-level look at Jennifer’s unique job description, which brings together various teams across the organization to optimize seller effectiveness:

    • Operations: Manages Salesforce and ensures that deals are closing smoothly.

    • Enablement: Ongoing support for onboarding and other enablement functions.

    • Pre-Sales Solutions: Provides demos and other support for products/services.

    • Project Management Office (PMO): Facilitates processes across the organization.

  • About how Jennifer got started: Her journey began in sales and account management within the travel sector as it was on the precipice of digital transformation. It was a perfect invitation for her to dive into her curiosity about technology and all the new applications under development.

  • The software company E-Travel (owned by Oracle), an early online booking system, was Jennifer’s first experience with technology sales.

  • Want to know how to go from job to job without doing a single interview? Jennifer hopscotched through various roles by being curious and looking for ways to solve problems – a self-starting, go-getting style that attracted opportunity.

  • Techphobia or intimidation? Not for Jennifer, who saw herself as bringing useful skills, no matter what the industry. 

  • Jennifer is a big fan of StrengthsFinder tools, which she encourages her team members and people she coaches to use as a way of identifying their assets as leaders.

  • A strategy for pursuing an opportunity:

    • Look at the role and what strengths are required,

    • Assess what you have to offer and how to leverage those skills.

    • Find ways to contribute your know-how to the company’s success.

  • Engagement is a huge driver and passion for Jennifer, who loves nothing more than feeling she can make an impact by working with others. Mentoring fills her cup, as does Payscale’s mission to increase pay equity and transparency.

  • Seasons of Life: Jennifer talks about maintaining a successful career progression as a single mother and as her best possible self, which organically led to leadership roles.

  • Two decades after remarrying and having raised four children, Jennifer acknowledges that the juggle is real but nonetheless, very rewarding. Her advice to parents in general: Recognize the seasons and know when and how to shift your focus.

  • Recalling a Challenge and GREAT learning experience: Before taking on the role of COO for the engineering organization at SAP Concur, Jennifer had a moment of Impostor Syndrome. What did she have to bring? The CEO reminded her that she had the experience necessary with:

    • Scaling teams.

    • Running business operations.

    • Learning and development.

    • Engagement.

  • After her successful experience working as COO of engineering at SAP Concur, Jennifer vowed never again to doubt her own qualifications.

  • Getting Unstuck: Are you advocating for yourself and taking the necessary career steps you advise others to take? If not, is it a fear of the unknown?

  • Jennifer’s Parting Thoughts: 

    • Tap your network to set up discovery meetings to see where differing roles and your strengths and values align.

    • Remember that tech does not necessarily require tech skill sets. Not at all!

    • Get out of your own way!

    • Experiment, learn, and be curious.

    • Don’t hide away or check out.

Episode Resources

To listen to more incredible interviews with Women in Tech, click here.

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