Jennifer Sun, Strategic Planning Senior Associate at YouTube

Meet Jennifer, a Strategy & Operations professional at YouTube who's all about figuring things out. From data crunching to big-picture planning, she trusts her guts and leans into the unknown. Whether she’s diving into ambiguous business problems or prepping for her next big adventure (hello, MBA!), Jennifer shows that growth happens when you push yourself a little and don't take it too seriously. Her story is a great reminder to stay curious and keep experimenting.

What is the last thing you were curious about? 

I’ve been using AI a lot to help me brainstorm and edit emails and it’s been super helpful. I’ve been curious though about the negative impacts of AI overuse and how I can mitigate those impacts in my own life.

We’re a non-profit focused on empowering women. Could you share which significant female figures (role models, mentors, etc.) have impacted your career and how they’ve shaped who you are today?

My mother – when I first started my career, she stressed to me that I should always be thinking about how I can do more and what the next steps are. This growth mindset has shaped a lot of the moves I’ve made in my career and in my life today. I’m always eager and willing to try things that make me uncomfortable because I know those bring out the moments where I’ll grow the most.

Can you tell us what you do in Strategy and Operations, Strategic Planning at YouTube for those who are unfamiliar?

We are a central strategy & operations team responsible for annual planning, OKR setting, resource management, and special projects within the YouTube Business organization. Our work is very cross-functional and we launch, lead, and manage complex processes and work streams in order to ensure our organization is effective and aligned with leadership’s strategic priorities.

How does your approach to strategic planning at YouTube differ from your previous work in partnerships at Google?

This role is completely different because it’s a central team so our work touches every single team that sits within the YouTube Business organization. In my role at Google, I was focused on one individual program, and I had to understand that one program in extreme depth.

In my new role at YouTube, I need to be a mile wide and an inch deep in my understanding of the business. This changes my approach in that I have to really narrow down what my priorities are for the day because there are so many stakeholders I interact with. I also am tackling more ambiguous problems in this role, so I am learning how to structure and think through those.

In the next 1-3 years, where do you see yourself headed? (Any career aspirations or goals)? 

I’m headed back to grad school in the fall for my MBA! I want to stay in the tech industry, but pivot to a more product focused role. I’m still figuring out what that’ll look like exactly, but I’m excited to explore and see what else is out there.

Best career advice you've received/heard/read?

When you make a mistake at work, what you’re going to do next to fix it matters more than an apology.

What’s your advice for someone who’s interested in breaking into Strategy and Operations?

Strategy & Operations roles can vary SO much from company to company, and even team to team. S&O roles can cover everything from analytics to operations to launching products. The list goes on and on. If you’re interviewing for these roles, make sure you fully understand what the team you’re interviewing for does so it matches the areas you want to grow in. Overall though, I don’t think you need to come from a specific background in order to break into S&O roles because of the wide range of the type of projects these roles cover. I would focus more on ensuring that your work is crucial toward driving business results and involves being on a cross-functional team in order to prepare yourself for a transition to S&O.

How did working in different industries, like financial services (Sun Life) and tech (Google, DoorDash), shape your perspective on operations and strategy?

Working in different industries and companies has taught me that it’s important to take the time to really learn how a company operates and where it prioritizes its energy. This will ultimately allow you to make an informed decision on where you want to work in Strategy & Ops in the future.

For example, some companies are really reactive and respond to what’s happening on a day-to-day basis whereas others are focused on long-term strategy and take their time to develop products or launch initiatives. I’ve had experience in a wide range of environments and that’s taught me what I like and what I don’t and also what energizes me. So I would say, just do your research and always be open to being somewhere new that you’re curious about!

How do you make the most of your 1:1 meetings with your manager, and how has this approach benefited your career development? Can you share any strategies or practices that might be helpful to optimize these sessions?

My 1:1s with my managers usually center around troubleshooting and prioritization. During this time, I make sure we are aligned on what my priorities are for the week and also talk through some tricky problems I may be facing.

I think it’s important to come prepared with a point of view and rationale on how prioritization should be approached or problems should be solved. This shows your manager that you’ve been put in the work yourself and are just looking for their guidance and feedback. Your manager is often juggling many different projects and context switching all day so come prepared to make both theirs and your lives easier.

What inspired your transition from a technical data science role to a strategic planning position?

I really enjoyed analytics because it taught me how to approach business problems, story-tell with data, and narrow in on the “why.” However, I found that what I enjoyed the most was seeing my insights drive action and I wanted to be more involved in the actual execution of initiatives that were driven by data. 

This led me to transition to strategy & ops because while there’s still opportunities to do analyses and work with data, there’s a stronger focus on end to end execution and landing solutions and processes to tackle complex business problems.