Here’s what we learned about navigating career transitions from the Slack x Tech Ladies event

We brought Tech Ladies together at Slack HQ to discuss navigating career transitions, identifying and leaning on mentors, creating inclusive workspaces, and managing teams effectively.

Below is a recap of the insights shared by Slack’s incredible team. Huge thanks to all of the speakers (more info on them below!) and Tech Ladies for joining us. We especially loved our interactive Q&A session at the end of the event — it gives us the warm fuzzies when we see women sharing their experiences and advocating for each other.

Join us for more Tech Ladies events by checking out our calendar here.

• You have to be your biggest supporter. Negotiate for what you deserve and don’t undersell yourself. Keep track of your accomplishments, so when promotion time comes you have proof and a record of all your work. Ask for projects that challenge you!
• Holding yourself accountable can be hard, so having someone there to encourage you and remind you of your greatness is essential in your journey. Find a teammate who you can rely on and check in with each other, give each other kudos when you accomplish things, and push each other out of your comfort zones. Make sure to include new folks into the fold so that you create a community at your company that uplifts one another.
• If you’re transitioning in your career, the burden is on you to translate your experience for your potential employer. Learn the jargon by finding someone who knows both your current and desired job to help you figure out the best way to present your experience to future employers.
• To become a better manager, lead through influence and with empathy, not authority. Align your team towards a common goal; build positive and productive working relationships with your team and with others throughout the company; share your knowledge with others through mentoring and coaching; and lead by example — after all, how leaders act under pressure = how their team acts under pressure. For managers, trust and mutual respect is your #1 priority.
• Books are good, but learning from mentors is better. If you’re looking for a mentor yourself, look to your manager or the leadership team at the company. Cultivate relationships when you start thinking about management or any new role, for that matter. If you don’t have anyone to turn to, you can read management books or blogs, and look for training materials that can help you figure things out like conducting 1:1s and performance reviews, and having compensation discussions.
• Cultivate strong communication skills. Develop relationships where people feel comfortable giving you feedback; take advantage of opportunities like 360 reviews; and work with your manager to talk through what is working / not working.
• Learn from your team members with more experience! It’s always valuable to find people who are more experienced and ask them for help or support.
• Build inclusion at work every. single. day. Inclusion is the priority of creating a welcoming environment where people of different races, backgrounds, and identities can come together and feel respected and valued for their contributions. How can you build inclusion? Design on-boarding to include everyone; spend time and get to know people who come from different backgrounds; help surface and amplify the voices of folks most people might not normally hear from by giving them a platform; and show recognition for the work that people contribute.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You’re not going to handle every situation perfectly, but you’ll learn. Know your strengths and weaknesses — it’s okay to be vulnerable. There’s nothing more empowering than saying “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”
• Finally, STAY CONFIDENT. You got this. You are here for a reason! Be humble, but own your successes!

Speakers:
Twitter handles or LinkedIn profiles linked below!

• “Making Your Voice Heard— Women Early in Their Careers” (Kaya Thomas and Erica Engle — iOS Engineers)
• “Finding Advocates and Owning Transitions” (Jennifer Kanyamibwa, Design Studio Manager)
• “Transitioning? Speak Their Language” (Lorilyn McCue, Product Manager)
• “Transitioning from IC to Management” (Shivani Sharma, Senior Engineering Manager)
• “Managing Early in Your Career: Building Teams and Confidence” (Meagan Gamache, Product Manager)
• “Building Inclusion” (Trish Ang, Frontend Engineer)

Other resources shared at the event:

• Here’s a great blog post by Lara Hogan, VP of Engineering at Kickstarter, on 1:1s: http://larahogan.me/blog/first-one-on-one-questions/
• As a manager, it’s also important for you to establish an environment for your team to be highly productive. Here’s an interesting article on Google’s Project Aristotle that dives into this topic. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html