Quote:
"Be the change you want to see in the world.”—Mahatma Gandhi
Favorite Moment(s):
I loved filming
“Where the Hell is Matt?” with all of the Yahoos!
What have you done to be a better Yahoo?
I try to always be socially responsible. Even with their immense financial success, Jerry and David have never forgotten about their social responsibility to the community. They have specified teams dedicated to ensure that Yahoo! is as green as it could practically be. In addition, Yahoo! gives millions annually to non-profit organizations. Last year, the
Yahoo! Employee Foundation gave out $2 million dollars in grants to non-profit organizations. Jerry and David provide dollar-for-dollar matches of all donations. (Even as I was writing this, David just came over to my cube to give me the Yahoo! Holiday gift of a $50 donation to my favorite charity!) It’s inspired me as well as other employees to exemplify that same humility. Despite the disastrous economy this year, employees donated more this year than any year before in Yahoo! corporate history. It’s amazing that even though most people are watching their budgets so closely, employees are still willing to spend generously for others. I think it’s a great example of the unique corporate spirit that our founders have helped create at Yahoo!. I’ve given every year to YEF and this year I’m applying one of my favorite non-profits for a grant. I also try to use the employee shuttle for my commute...gotta keep things
green!
Are you able to think big at Yahoo? How?
Yes, I do feel employees are able to think big here. I’ve worked at older companies and I’ve noticed the difference. Older companies tend to be more hesitant to change things around. Yahoo! welcomes new ideas and change as important ingredients to success. The company’s mentality toward change engenders an environment that thinks big.
What specific Yahoo! project has made the biggest impact on you and why?
I was very excited when I recently learned that Yahoo! has a
Business and Human Rights Program (BHRP), which is dedicated to helping our company integrate human rights decision-making into our business operations. I got in contact with the BHRP director and helped put together a collection of 20 Flickr photos that embodied the program’s purpose. The pictures will be made into canvasses and hung outside of our conference center in Sunnyvale during an upcoming BHRP seminar. I have to say that I truly loved every moment of that project! I was able to go through the
Flickr gallery and discover so many amazing pictures that our users took around the world. There is so much creativity on Flickr and you can find anything on there! Most importantly, the project was proof that working at Yahoo! means so much more than your job description. I work in Finance, yet it took one email and I was working on a completely unrelated project. There aren’t very many companies that can provide that kind of opportunity and flexibility. If you want to do more than just your day job, Yahoo! welcomes it. It’s ultimately all about one Yahoo!.
What surprised you most about your internship at Yahoo and why?
The learning curve! I was used to grasping things rather quickly in college. I had a big reality check my first month at the company. With all the movement in the past year and a half since I’ve been here, I’ve had to wear many hats and support new businesses. I really had no choice but to learn fast. Luckily, I always had very supportive and helpful co-workers who had lots of patience. I need to give major credit to all the Yahoo! Finance Program managers! They have a huge impact on all of us.
What made you choose Yahoo! as a place to work?
You couldn’t ask for a better company to work for right after college. As a consumer, I was familiar with the products. As an employee, I knew Yahoo! had some of the top talent in the industry. It’s a great place to learn from the best.
