Ray Dorcely JR

Tell me about yourself and your journey into big tech.

I'll start really early - I played football my whole life. In college, I played football as well, and that’s actually when I realized, Okay, maybe going to the NFL isn't super realistic. I played Division I-AA, but now I was in a place where everyone was the best player at their school. I played all four years, but I remember thinking, If this is just college, imagine the NFL. It wasn’t necessarily discouraging; it was just that football started to feel more like a job. For me, football had always been an outlet, but in college, it stopped feeling that way.

I say that because, in college, I started taking life outside of football much more seriously. I joined student associations, started interning, and even got into music. I actually interned at Shady Records while I was in school - I would sometimes travel back and forth while also playing football. That eventually led me to an internship at Universal under Monte Lipman, who also attended the University at Albany.

After completing those internships and taking on a temp job in finance, I tapped into my student association alumni network and ended up getting an interview at a pharmaceutical advertising agency. So before tech, I was in advertising. I started in pharmaceutical advertising and did that for about four to five years before transitioning to BBDO, where I moved into consumer advertising. At BBDO, I worked on and led the Foot Locker account. I was there for about four years before moving to Anomaly in New York, where I worked on NBA 2K and Google Fi.

At that point in my career, I had three different paths I was considering. One option was staying at Anomaly because I really enjoyed working there. It was a great atmosphere, and I felt like I could grow. The second option was starting my own agency. The third option was transitioning into something completely different.

And then, just around that time, a recruiter from Meta reached out to me for a program manager role on their AR team.

Before that, I had never had much luck with tech interviews. I had submitted a bunch of applications, and I remember doing one interview at Amazon that didn’t go well. I never expected to get an opportunity at Meta, so when they reached out, it felt like the thing I should do - it was unplanned and completely new to me. So, I thought, let me try it.

Obviously, Meta is Meta. I couldn’t say no.

That was my first step into tech, a little over three years ago. I joined as a program manager working on AR, specifically with Meta Spark.

For anyone with a background similar to mine - coming from advertising - I would say program management is one of the best ways to transition into tech. It gives you the opportunity to work with multiple teams and see what everyone does. Depending on the team, it can feel similar to project management, but on others, it can be much broader. Program management gave me the opportunity to understand each function, what’s important to each team, and when to tap into different skill sets.

Fast forward three years, and I’m now a marketing lead in developer marketing. To be honest, if I hadn’t started in program management, I don’t know how the transition from advertising to tech would have worked. It really required a different skill set.

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to pivot like you did and how they can make that transition?

For me, when I was interviewing at Meta, it was really important to highlight my strengths, particularly my ability to navigate ambiguity.

Anyone who has worked in advertising understands that every day is different. That was my biggest connection to tech - tech is fast-paced, constantly changing, and, especially on the brand side, you have to be adaptable. In advertising, we constantly had to react to changes - the client wants something different, so we pivot. That ability to adapt and still get things done was something I emphasized a lot in my interviews.

In your current role, what does a typical day look like and what are your main job responsibilities?

First, I want to say that Meta is a huge company, and different teams operate in their own unique ways. So, my experience may not be the same as another marketing lead on a different team.

That being said, I’m the Developer Marketing Lead for Social Technologies. My focus is on business messaging, our app APIs, and communicating updates to developers about new capabilities and enhancements to our products. I also help lead Meta’s developer marketing channels, ensuring that all external communications related to developers are clear, engaging, and aligned with our broader marketing strategy. Essentially, my job is to keep our developer community informed and engaged while ensuring our messaging meets the highest standards.

A day in my role involves a lot of meetings. I work across multiple product teams and product marketing teams to understand their goals for the year. Based on that, I create a marketing plan that not only supports their objectives but also aligns with the goals I set at the beginning of the year.

Once we’ve identified key product moments, I kick off the process with ongoing communication between teams. It’s crucial to ensure that our messaging aligns with what the product teams want to communicate while also staying within legal and PR guidelines.

I also collaborate with cross-functional (XFN) teams throughout the entire process - from the initial product brief to the development of the marketing strategy. That means constantly keeping various stakeholders in the loop and leveraging their expertise to enhance our marketing efforts.

What advice do you have for others who want to break into big tech or do what you do?

My advice would be: don’t get discouraged and be patient.

I know I’m saying that from a privileged position - I have a job, and I understand that the job market isn’t easy. But I truly believe that, in time, what’s meant for you will come.

Right now, a lot of people are applying to jobs just to get a job, and I get that - it’s a tough market. But if you have the ability to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, I think it’s important to really understand where you’re trying to go. Look deeper into the role, the company, and the products they’re working on.

For example, if you're considering a company that looks great right now, think about what their five or ten year trajectory could be. One thing I realized after joining Meta is that anything we’re working on now was discussed five to ten years ago. So when you’re looking at companies, think about where they’re going, not just where they are now.

Again, I want to reiterate that I completely understand how difficult this market is. I know some people have been without jobs for a long time, and sometimes, you just need to take whatever job is available to you. But if you’re in a position where you have options, take the time to weigh your decision carefully. Think about the bigger picture. If this is a place you might stay for years, you want to be sure it’s the right fit - not just for now, but for the future as well.

43 new remote roles! 🙌

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today’s newsletter! If you have any feedback, please let me know down below. Have a great rest of the week and see you in the next one! Cheers, Brenna

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