Employee Name: Kelly Jia

Title: Software Engineer 2

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Last book you read / listened to: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

What was your career path to Zynga?
I joined Zynga right out of university after receiving a return offer from my internship! I studied at the University of Waterloo and was really fortunate to be part of the co-op program, where I actually did THREE internships at Zynga. I interned on the Words with Friends Instant team, the Words Casual team, and then on Merge Dragons. I ultimately returned full-time to the Merge Dragons team! Clearly Zynga had me hooked and I had to keep coming back!!

What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
During my first internship at Zynga, my mentor challenged me to speak up more and ask questions during meetings, as it doesn’t just help me learn, but it also builds visibility and trust within the team. I was always pretty shy and quiet growing up, which followed me into my internships—it was super intimidating to speak up while surrounded by seasoned professionals. But once I started participating more, I could tell that my confidence was building.

How would you describe the culture at Zynga?
The culture at Zynga is absolutely amazing! From day one, it was a truly welcoming and supportive environment where my teammates were always ready to share knowledge, answer questions, and help each other out. I felt that I was in an environment where everybody wanted everyone to succeed. Beyond the work, the Toronto office is also the most fun office I have ever worked at! There’s constant laughter, lots of it from me, and many of the people I work with have become some of my closest friends that I hang out with outside of work too.

What do you enjoy most about working here?
What do I enjoy most? The people, HANDS DOWN! It’s super rare to find a workplace where your coworkers become your real-life friends, but that’s exactly what I found here. We go out and celebrate each other’s birthdays, go bouldering after work, and we’ve even gone on overnight cottage trips together! When I tell my friends about my outings with my coworkers, they’re always so shocked how close we are. Having this level of friendship with my coworkers definitely makes coming into work that much more enjoyable <3

What is your favorite aspect of being part of your ZAPI?
My favourite aspect of being a part of ZAPI is celebrating my culture with others in the office! One of my favourite events was one we had for Lunar New Year in the office, where everyone received a red envelope that contained a fun fact about the holiday and we went around in a circle sharing our fun fact. We also shared family traditions, and I really enjoyed learning about the different ways my coworkers were all celebrating the same holiday! It was also really enjoyable sharing my culture to my coworkers of different backgrounds, and everyone is always curious and open-minded. I love how diverse it is here, and it’s truly amazing that Zynga has so many ERGs to celebrate so many different cultures!!

As an individual in the tech industry, what are some difficulties or obstacles that you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
Like many others in the tech industry, I faced a lot of imposter syndrome and always had the feeling that I wasn’t “good enough.” I attended a competitive university surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds I’d ever met, and it was so easy to feel mediocre in that environment. Tying back to one of my previous answers, I overcame this when I started gaining more self-confidence at work by speaking up more and engaging more during my internships. I saw myself leading discussions on my features and realized that I was a reliable and communicative team member. I was also really lucky to have supportive mentors and managers, who reassured me of my progress and good work.