Representing the VIPs
Johnson Eung on the Importance of Dedicated Career Support for Top Tech Professionals
Imagine you’re a tech professional looking for the perfect role — one that fits the skills and expertise you’ve built over the years. You’ve scoured the internet and searched all the different job sites for the perfect opportunity. You’ve attended multiple interviews and are still trying to find the perfect balance between stimulating work, great pay, and a healthy work environment. You’re no different from millions of other tech professionals around the world, except the VIP tech talent from The ROOM. They have an advantage. They’re represented by skilled talent agents, like Johnson Eung, who support them in gaining access to exclusive opportunities and in transforming their careers.
In this engaging conversation, Johnson shares how his shift from cloud technology sales to tech recruitment ignited a passion for accelerating the careers of tech professionals, ultimately leading him to The ROOM.
Can you share a bit about your background prior to joining The ROOM?
I started off in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud technology sales, where I generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. From tech sales, I transitioned into full-time tech recruitment, as a Technical Recruiter/Sourcer with Meta, where I strategised innovative methods to build talent pipelines and helped to recruit world-class Software Engineers championing the next evolution of the internet. I’m also the founder of ANOA Foundation — a group that has loaned thousands of dollars to support women entrepreneurs in Ghana.
As a Talent Agent, how do you define your role?
My ultimate goal at The ROOM is to identify and represent the top 5% of technology talent from around the world. To achieve this, I focus on three key things:
- Coaching members of The ROOM to take their careers to the next level
- Nurturing this community of inspiring mentors for ALX’s upcoming tech talent
- Building a strong community of the best tech talent in the world
I ensure that I create an environment where members feel welcomed and supported, connecting them with job opportunities that best fit their experience and expertise and coaching them to excel in interviews.
The question I often ask community members — and myself — is, “How can I help?”
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends?
Living in Silicon Valley has been a big help. Half of the people I meet in my immediate environment — or even when I’m out for coffee — are tech professionals, so that’s definitely a plus. I also place a premium on lifelong learning; the more I understand technology, the better positioned I am to serve community members. I maintain a deep understanding of the latest technologies used in high-performance computing, AI, and cloud data centres. And finally, I attend lots of trade shows. The themes of some of these shows can help predict what tech movement could be adopted in the world in a couple of years.
How do you identify top tech talent?
- What does the growth trajectory of the tech professional look like?
- How has mentorship showed up in their career?
- Where do they fall in the spectrum of ‘lifetime learner’ to ‘I’ve learned enough in my lifetime’?
The answers to these questions typically provide me, and the employers I recruit for, with a good idea of who the tech talent is and whether or not they’ll be a good fit for the role.
At any level of your career, it is helpful to have support. It’s important to remember that being good at your role doesn’t necessarily mean you are good at getting jobs in that role.
What is your approach to building and maintaining relationships with members of The ROOM’s talent community?
A key thing for me is that I don’t just want to know what a member of The ROOM does professionally; I also want to know them as a person, so I do my best to engage with them on a personal and professional level. I find active listening has been the most effective tool in helping me achieve this. The question I often ask community members — and myself — is, “How can I help?” The community is incomplete without its members, so it’s important for me to take time to know each member and what drives their ambitions.
Why do you think dedicated career support is important in the tech industry?
At any level of your career, it is helpful to have support. It’s important to remember that being good at your role doesn’t necessarily mean you are good at getting jobs in that role. Working with a Talent Agent exposes you to job opportunities that match both your skills and interests. Career support helps make your skills easily visible, and the right talent agent will fight to ensure you are well compensated for your work.
It can be really lonely at the top… The ROOM provides you with a network to support your continued growth.
It can be really lonely at the top… The ROOM provides you with a network to support your continued growth.
What are some of your top tips for succeeding in tech today?
Stay curious. If something seems interesting to you, pursue it, even if it has to be a side project. Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) was intrigued by calligraphy so he took those classes in college, alongside his computer courses. Over a decade later, he used his calligraphy knowledge to introduce fonts to the computer world. Think about what role you would like to occupy in the future, and start adopting parts of that in your current position.
Finally, what value does The ROOM hold for senior tech professionals, and what difference can it make in their careers?
It can be really lonely at the top. The higher up you get, the less people you will find who are willing to give you honest, constructive feedback and support your growth. The ROOM provides you with a network to support your continued growth.
For those actively seeking a new role, The ROOM provides an accelerated path to a position they can thrive in. For those who aren’t looking for a change right now, The ROOM helps to build a foundation that can weather unforeseen shifts in the tech space. With The ROOM’s support, professionals affected by tech layoffs — which are becoming more and more frequent — don’t need to panic. Losing a job simply becomes an opportunity to accelerate to the next step in your career.
Finally, through The ROOM, each member has an incredible opportunity to pass on their legacy by mentoring the junior tech talent at our sister company — ALX.
The ROOM is building a community of world class tech talent that will power the future. Join our network to access all the benefits and career opportunities that our team of skilled and experienced Talent Agents bring your way.
