Adrienne Williams

I joined Yext because I felt like the Upward program was really going to invest in my skills and development. I joined Yext at an uncertain time in my life and in the pandemic, and knew that I would be able to grow myself at a company that had smart people from all walks of life. I'm invested in staying here because I truly feel like I am a valuable part of each team that I'm rotating on, and I have met amazing people that I can truly call my personal out-of-office friends. It makes coming into the office a rewarding professional atmosphere.

I originally grew up in a suburb in Connecticut and went to school in Boston – neither were very diverse. Being of mixed race meant I always needed more to find myself, so moving to New York City two years ago has helped me find more people and more interests. I love fashion and all things shopping, especially sneakers, high heels, and jewelry. On the weekends you can find me at bottomless brunch with my girlfriends or reading either non-fiction or a teenage love novel in Madison Square Park. My latest hobby is cooking new Jamaican food recipes to mix up my meals. My rasta pasta is awesome and I'm still perfecting my jerk seasoning blend!

My day always starts with a glass of ice water and blueberry flavored breakfast bars when I get into the office. Once our barista starts I will be including coffee in my everyday routine! But actually, for me a typical day is always atypical. I am currently in a rotational program on the Corporate Strategy team and our projects pull us in new directions every week. One day I might be interviewing a bunch of Account Executives to help inform our product strategy, and the next I might be aligning with our Growth Marketing team on the strategy for our next solution launch. My day involves lots of Slack messages, meetings, reporting, and analysis.

One of my favorite moments was during our Product Strategy department's onsite. We had a few days to listen to presentations and participate in brainstorming sessions for what was coming next for the company; it was great to take a break from our usual day-to-day. During the onsite we had a competition, where we would come together with each person from a mix of teams in the organization to design a new feature or data connector in two hours. It was so fun to work together with people who I had never met before and be creative and strategic, each bringing our own different skill sets to the activity. Sadly, my team didn't win, but it was a great project!

I wish I knew I was going to be one of the few introverts! I love the culture of networking, happy hours and events here, but being on the shy side sometimes makes events a bit draining. I will say though, the culture has pushed me to be a lot more comfortable and outgoing, which is helping both my personality and my career.

Always be curious! Asking questions and meeting new people across various roles will help you learn more about the company and help you do your job better. There are so many teams and functions and it is great to have resources across the organization. Curiosity can also bring you new opportunities and professional relationships, which can mean a lot here at Yext!