In our latest interview, we sat down with Valentyna Chycha, Senior Software Test Engineer at Paylocity, who shared an inspiring look into her career journey - from a surprising start in software testing during her studies in Ukraine to a leadership role in a fast-paced U.S. tech environment. Valentyna reflects on the power of resilience, mentorship, and self-advocacy in navigating challenges such as micromanagement and underrepresentation. Her thoughtful insights highlight how continuous learning, clear communication, and inner confidence can shape a successful and fulfilling career in tech.
Mentoring schemes present not only a great opportunity to master new skills and kickstart your career, but also to add a very successful and highly experienced person to your network. Femme Palette works with a wide range of accomplished mentors. Meet four of them right now! Karen, Ivana, Ania and Eva answer questions in this mentor spotlight.
Podcasts represent a meaningful tool for discussing some of today’s burning issues. They can make us stop and take in the world around us, motivate us to think deeper and draw inspiration. Our very own Femme Palette podcast aims to do exactly that.For this year’s new series of our On Air podcast, we invited two guests to each session to share their point of view on important themes and help us learn and grow. Here are five examples of some highly inspirational episodes.
Are you planning to work for a corporation? Or do you already work for one and you’re wondering how to get more out of your current role? Here are my tips which I have learnt from the last five years in working for one of them.
I used to be constantly in a rush, managing a million things. Not only did I have an overflowing to-do list; I actually had a number of them. Days were too short, and I couldn’t even properly switch off during the night. Weekends or holidays were the same. I had this nagging inner voice reminding me of the outstanding matters that needed to be done. Don’t get me wrong, I loved what I was doing. Part of me enjoyed being involved in exciting stuff, meeting people, travelling. But as the pace was manic, I was exhausted and fragile.
Even though our main focus since the beginning has been to help women with their professional development, since we heard many stories of women struggling with their careers, our programs are open to any other genders who also want to grow professionally. Read about the stories of two men that applied to our programs and their experience.
Harassment is not an easy topic. Although it doesn't get to be discussed openly, physical, digital, or sexual harassment still happens from time to time at every workplace. What to do if you or someone you know become a person who is being harassed by a coworker? There are several steps in the process – make sure to get through them, speak out, and don't hesitate to seek help. You're not alone!
None of us were born as leaders but we are capable of leading regardless of what we are doing in an organization. We might think that we’d be stepping on someone’s toes if we tried to lead though we are not in charge. But trust me, the principles I am going to share with you will help express our absolute best and elevate others without needing a title. We can show the leader inside us by just following these simple principles.
Are you afraid of change? Get a mentor to help you fight it! This could be the message of the interview with one of our mentees Tereza Svedova and her mentor Michaela Kloudová, the founder & CEO of Genster. Misa not only guided Terka in leaving her comfortable job in finance into the unknown world of start-ups, but she also introduced her to its Czech community. And all of that despite being very skeptical about mentoring in the first place. Thank you for putting your trust in Femme Palette.
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