On March 9th 2019, PN Vietnam successfully organized the “Women Talk” event in order to share an overview of some career paths in the IT sector to inspire students, especially the female ones, to work hard and succeed.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, PN Vietnam invited three guest speakers who have impressive achievements in their career to come and share their stories in the “Women Talk” event: Ms. Hanh Trang – Co-Founder and General Manager of Enouvo IT Solutions & Enouvo Space, Ms. Thu Nghia – Event Sales Manager of Four Points by Sheraton and Ms. Thuy Trang – General Manager of PN Vietnam. Let’s discover their stories!

Women working in Tech industry: Advantages and Disadvantages
Ms. Hanh Trang started with the story about her own career path, from a Banking student with an interest in Technology to an IT freelancer, then making her way to become the Co-Founder and General Manager of an IT company after years of hard work. She asserted that “Success doesn’t happen overnight”. It was the result of step-by-step efforts, determination and a great passion for IT.  

Ms Hanh Trang shared her story with the audience

From her experience, women working in male-dominated jobs like IT often receive more help and support from people. However, there are still certain disadvantages, such as overtime and work pressure. Ms. Trang affirmed that women had to work harder to prove themselves and make continuous improvements in technical knowledge. Getting in the habit of reading technology news every day is a good way to keep up with constantly changing technologies.

The importance of goal-setting

Ms Thu Nghia had the students set goals at the event

After Ms. Hanh Trang’s presentation, Ms. Thu Nghia described the significance of goal-setting as the key to success in any career. It helps people a great deal to measure their progress.

She recommended 2 methods which the students could adopt to improve their goal-setting skills. The first one is “The Wheel of Life” – a powerful tool to ensure that every aspect of lives are fulfilled in the right way – and the second one is “S.M.A.R.T.” – a method that helps people achieve their goals one step at a time using 5 criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. She also had the students try these tools to help them fully understand their usefulness. Goal-setting is an important skill for success, so it is essential to practice it continuously.

Valuable advice from successful women

The guest speakers in the discussion

The most exciting part was the discussion between the three guest speakers and the students. Lots of questions were raised by the students about other difficulties women may face at work and how to overcome them. Our guest speakers agreed that the greatest challenge, especially for women, is to maintain a work-life balance.

That’s why besides working, there are some activities which women can do to relax and stay healthy such as playing sports, reading books and doing yoga.” – said Ms Thuy Trang. “We should also focus on nurturing other aspects of our lives, such as friends and family.

There were other questions on how to improve English, common problems that freshers encounter and how to deal with possible contingencies. The discussion ended with the message that in times of hardship, with constant effort and a clear, suitable goal, students could overcome the challenges.

Group photo of PN Vietnam’s students and guest speakers

This event was a great opportunity for our students to become more aware of the career path in the tech industry and the important skills to prepare for it. There are only a few months left before our 3rd-year students graduate, and we are confident that thanks to this event, they will be well prepared for their future jobs and their new journey in life.