This week I was joined by Olena Kondratenko! She's the VP of Product at the female factor in Vienna.
We discussed a lot about the imposter syndrome women feel, especially when they decide they want to switch up their careers and all the thoughts and feelings that come along with it.
Funnily enough, we're not alone and many women (and men) have felt the same way!
Olena very openly shares her journey into tech when she originally came from an economics background and started an internship in a tech company when she relocated to Austria.
With many, many ups and downs and a HUGE rollercoaster in between - we hear how she went from doing an internship to becoming a VP of Product. 
She shares some great tips on how to transition and the importance of giving your dreams a go and learning along the way!


Olena Kondratenko - VP of Product - Imposter Syndrome & taking a chance

Hello and welcome to women tech talk and thanks for joining us! I’m Valentina co-founder of Micro-Search Solutions a niche tech recruitment company that focuses on helping Start-ups to SME businesses scale successful tech teams that build innovative products. 

We’ve created the initative because we want to change the diversity &amp; gender gap for women within the Tech industry. We want to show young women, women already in the workforce &amp; women thinking of their next career step, why tech needs them!

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Software How-To

This week I am joined by Anuka Pokharel (she/her) - Product Manager at HubSpot and I'm SUPER excited about this conversation!
Anuka started her career in Politics and Economics and quickly realised she isn't creating the impact that she wants to. 
After landing her first job in tech within the Talent Acquisition space, she soon knew that TA wasn't going to be her forever career and she found a passion for product.
We deep dive into how you need to take a chance on yourself and make your own luck. 
She explores how imposter syndrome played a massive role of feeling "incompetent" when she was thinking of transitioning to a tech role. 
This episode is for ANYONE (especially women thinking about the tech sector) who thinks you need a technical background to have an impact and work with technical teams - you don't.


You need to:
- Be determined 
- Trust yourself 
- Dream big 
- And take the leap 


We explore:
- Talent Acquisition and aligning together with hiring managers 
- Imposter syndrome and how to navigate your way to thinking positively 
- Why representation matters 
- How working within a supportive team can transform your career trajectory 
- And SO much more!


Connect witht Anuka: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pokharelanuka/

Anuka Pokharel - Product Manager - Imposter Syndrome and making the leap

This week I am joined by the amazing Mark Ivan Serunjogi who's the Strategy Director at TheTruthWorks. 
In this weeks episode we cover a variety of different topics and Mark Ivan takes us on an interesting journey from his experience relocating from Copenhagen to New York and from New York to Berlin and how each move shaped him in different ways as a person. 


Mark Ivan comes from a phenomenal Employer Branding background, so we have a deep dive discussion on DEI, why building an inclusive culture first matters more than focussing 'just' on the diversity piece. 
The conversation also gets surprisingly personal, where Mark Ivan shares a lot around his experiences growing up within an intercultural society, race, religion and why these things matter when hiring international talent. 
So, if you're someone who's thinking of relocating or has relocated and don't know how to position your cultural differences, what to look out for when finding a new employer, then this episode is for you!
Connect with Mark Ivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markivan/

Mark Ivan Serunjogi - Strategy Director - Why inclusive environments will transform your company

This week I am joined by Sérgio Laranjeira! 
He's recently joined as the CTO at Metacore and we have a great deep-dive conversation. 
During our conversation, we deep-dive into the topic of trust and transparency and how they play a vital role in every aspect of life including building successful teams and products. 
As someone who's been in a leadership position for over a decade, Sérgio explains what attributes a leader needs to build the best teams. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
- The meaning of being a good leader
- How DEI can change the course of your entire team & company
- The failures and successes of transitioning into leadership 
- The importance of understanding different cultures & communication styles 
- And SO much more!
If you're already in leadership, are thinking of transitioning into leadership or team member who want to know what a good leader is...then this episode is definitely for you!

Sérgio Laranjeira - CTO - Build teams with trust & transparency

This week I am joined by Oleksii Ishchenko who is the VP of Engineering at elopage.
During this mini-series of Allies in Tech, I've invited some amazing guests to join me and share their views and experiences on what DEI means and why it's so important to have within your culture - especially in the tech world.
Oleksii has a great back story - moving from Ukraine to Germany and working his way up the ladder to the VP/CTO level. 
He shares how being in a 50-man team room felt strange and how obvious it was that change needed to happen!
He has heaps of experience with mentoring, challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries with companies that equate to an inclusive culture for all. 
We discuss:
- His challenges & mistakes he faced when moving to leadership
- From his experience why is DEI essential in every company
- What benefits an inclusive culture holds 
- Why building an all-white male team is not the way forward for company success
- And so much more!
So, if you're someone who's tried implementing change but doesn't know where to start - have a listen to this episode because Oleksii explains exactly how to start. 
Connect with Oleksii: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oishchenko/

Oleksii Ishchenko - VP of Engineering - Allyship and the need to adapt

This week I'm joined by Nataliia Senatorova, who's a Senior Product Manager at Cronofy. 
In this episode we discuss how she got into tech working for one of Germany's biggest Fintech companies - N26 to her journey at her new role as Senior Product Manager. 
We deep-dived into handling rejection, the unknown, bad (and good) leadership and being a job seeker during a very difficult year in tech. 
If you're doubting yourself, not sure where to start or you have a fear of the 'unknown' then this episode is definitely for you!
Connect with Nataliia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliia-senatorova/
Get mentored by Nataliia: 
https://adplist.org/mentors/natalia-senatorova

Olena Kondratenko - VP of Product - Imposter Syndrome & taking a chance

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