Voices Unlocked with Guillermo Rueda

Guillermo Rueda is a Latino person from Colombia who faced several obstacles such as financial difficulties, language barriers, and a lack of confidence in pursuing a career in the tech industry.

Despite all that, he went on to study Computer Science in Mexico on a scholarship. Fast Forward to this day, he’s been working for Microsoft for 12 years, having held roles in software development, product marketing management, and currently as a software engineer manager.

Can you briefly walk us through your story – growing up, living life and where you are today?

I’m a Latino born and raised in Colombia. In Spanish. I never went to a bilingual school, I was rejected a US tourist visa 2 years in a row, I wasn’t precisely monetarily affluent, and I never even dreamed about working for Microsoft because, from my perspective, doing so was just as irrational as dreaming about one day suddenly growing wings and flying.

Despite me not having the money to have paid for any undergrad or postgrad tuition, let alone the cost of living abroad, I was at the time living in Mexico, doing my master in Computer Science, all thanks to scholarships that paid it all. And somehow, despite all this evidence, I still didn’t truly feel I had what it was needed when Microsoft showed up in campus to recruit software engineers.

I had to be dragged by a friend in order to get me to apply to work for Microsoft. Given all my background story, I truly didn’t believe I had what it took to be a Microsoft employee. I thought: My English wasn’t good enough to do full immersion. My accent was too strong to be properly understood. I wasn’t technical enough. I mean, I knew I was smart, just not “Microsoft smart”.

12 years later, I’ve stayed in Microsoft, and in Windows, going through careers/roles like Software Developer Engineer, Product Marketing Manager, and currently Software Engineer Manager. 

Is your career what you thought it would be when you first started?

My career has always been much more than what I thought it’d been. This is a career that evolves constantly, so, learning and adapting is key.

What was your journey like to get to where you are in your career?

I haven’t had a traditional linear journey. I started as a tester, knowing I wanted to become a developer. It took me 3.5 years to finally make the change. Later, a once in a lifetime opportunity landed on my lap: someone I had done side-hustling with at work wanted to give me an opportunity as Marketing Program Manager. I had 0 marketing experience, but someone was willing to bet on me, and I do have a knack for learning and having a growth mindset, so I took it, 6 months later, I was heading back to engineering. It wasn’t that I didn’t like marketing, just that sometimes you need to leave where you are to truly appreciate/realize that that’s THE place to be. 

Only a couple months after returning to be a developer, I was asked to step up to cover for the departing manager. This led to cover later for a second manager going on maternity leave and finally to me staying in that team as manager after the previous manager came back taking a different role in the group. 

It was interesting to think that I was a manager, someone who grew up my entire life saying I didn’t want to manage but learning down the road that “management” is a lot of “leadership” and very little “bossing”. So I’d love it enough to have decided to stay here. For more than 2 years now.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Definitely not a smooth road when you don’t just follow a linear growth. Jumping into unknown territory is always scary. There’s always the feeling of starting over from scratch. But past experiences, tribes, knowledge, truly travels with you.

What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome in your career or life in general? 

Moving abroad and starting alone, from scratch, a couple times, while knowing that I had a family economically depending on me.

What was a pivotal moment in your career that led you to where you are now?

When I had to be dragged by a friend in order to get me to apply to work for Microsoft. My friend convinced me to apply as a favor to her just so I could be her company during the process.

How did you overcome doubt during your career journey/transitions?

Knowing I have a support system and actually trusting in myself.

For those who may be experiencing imposter syndrome, what advice would you give that has helped you?

Check out my talk on it: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/overcoming-impostor-syndrome guillermo-rueda/

Are there any lessons you’ve learned along your journey that you can share with others in the community?

I’ve always been proud of my university’s motto: We teach you how to learn 

I think it’s one of those things that stuck with me since my college days, and that have proven to be an extremely strong and valuable asset. Specially in a continuously evolving/shifting world like the tech one.

I’d also call out having a growth mindset. It’s important to have this with you, combined with the ability to learn, to be able to comfortably take informed risks… And knowing that mistakes happen and, as unfortunate as they may be, it’s always possible to learn from them and pivot.

What else should the community know about you that cane help them grow in their journey?

Minorities a lot of time lack the confidence to believe in themselves, consider worth it, and even speak up. Shake yourself and believe in yourself! If someone else is betting on you by giving you a job, don’t think/assume you don’t deserve it, instead, trust on that external person and their judgement to take a chance on you. Being a little bold can take you through so many opened doors that otherwise you’d likely don’t feel like crossing. Don’t miss out!

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