“I work in tech” isn’t exactly the professional mic drop it's often made out to be. For me, it’s just as ambiguous as when my second-grade classmate would boast about his dad being a “business man.”

After a panel discussion on diversity in Silicon Valley during the National Urban League’s annual conference, a group of people overheard me discussing my experience working for Google and expressed their interest in making a career shift into tech. When I began to ask people what they wanted to do, things got murky.

Since joining, and leaving, Google, I’ve had countless coffee chats, social media conversations and phone calls with people who have an idea of what they want to do but struggle to connect their personal passions to the company’s bottom line. I believe that ambiguity around the tech industry is a factor in Silicon Valley’s low diversity numbers; particularly for experienced hires.

This isn’t to say that qualified applicants of color aren't overlooked by recruiters and hiring managers who are more comfortable building teams of homogeneous “culture fits,” but I've met people who could use some direction on pursuing opportunities at companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google and start-ups alike.

There’s a disconnect between corporate external branding, company culture and what the business does to make money. The "we're a cool place that does cool things" narrative is attractive but can be misleading for young people who are just graduating college and professionals seeking refuge from corporate burnout.

Taking naps, playing ping pong and biking building to building with ice cream cones isn’t an accurate reflection of the day-to-day work experience and often isn't clear on how those activities help companies change the world.

I challenge those of us who work and have worked, in the Valley to be more than corporate spokesmen and spokeswomen when we speak on panels and attend events. Let’s use invitations to speak about tech as opportunities to shed light on the nontraditional ways to work in tech, including non-engineering where many of us started, and to bridge the gaps that corporate storytelling often fails to do.  

Providing the clarity missed in job descriptions and company career pages is critical to building a diverse pipeline, positioning people of color to get hired and retaining talent once they’re in the door. Looking back, I can think of a thousand ways that guidance would’ve helped me navigate and manage my expectations better when I started out, so now I’m doing my part.