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.
Wish you had a proper summer break, same as at school or university times? Shame we can’t travel back in time and enjoy three months off! But today, having full-time jobs and many responsibilities,summer is still a slow season, with many vacation days to take. It means you can still have some time off and use this summer break to your advantage. So how to get the most out of your, even short, summer break?
A friend once showed me a graph of his salary progression over the years (yes, he’s that person), it looked like those generic graphs you see on cartoons: smooth, up, and to the right. My heart sank, is that what mine was supposed to look like? Because let me tell you, the best way to describe my career is: turbulent.
While companies are returning to the classic (read: before corona) understanding of "the office", the question of the working conditions becomes acute as ever. Some are praising office perks and water cooler chats; others are already missing showering during the morning coffee break. I personally stand somewhere in between. The office provides immediate communication and group problem solving; dressing up to work raises my discipline levels, and, quite frankly, the coffee machine is way better than the one I got at home.
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been running an Ambassador program in various companies such as Red Hat, Kiwi, Creative Dock, SAP, NNIT and Public Group. The Femme Palette Ambassadors created a Women’s Support Group in their organizations and keep organizing monthly sessions to discuss topics such as self-confidence, personal brand, imposter syndrome, etc. In this article, we asked the Ambassadors from Red Hat-- Michaela Malatin (the Ambassador Program Lead) and Gabriela Borutova to share their experience.
We spoke to Laura Meadowcroft, a Senior Finance Manager at Sainsbury’s, who got paired up with her mentor, Lana Vukovic, a Finance Director Serbia / Croatia at DXC Technology about their mentoring journey. Learn more here.
People seek to make a career change for various reasons, you might be feeling unsatisfied in your role, you’d like to earn more money, or your goals and values have changed. Find out what are the steps to make a successful career change here.
Now, when many people have relocated and continue to work from home, finding a mentoring programme that will help you achieve your goals and connect with someone more experienced wherever they are in the world is crucial. Find out why you need a mentor here.
