In this post, I will discuss a coaching problem that many professionals encounter. As someone who mentors individuals in Software Engineering and management, I often see the challenges that arise during development, from technical hurdles to enhancing leadership skills. These issues can significantly impact personal growth and team dynamics.

I aim to explore common pitfalls, strategies to overcome them, and the importance of fostering a collaborative environment that encourages continuous learning. By sharing real-world experiences and actionable insights, I hope to equip you with the tools to tackle these coaching dilemmas and inspire growth in your professional journey.

Question

I am a mother of a 3-year-old and moved to Berlin 2.5 years ago. I have 6 years of experience as a Big Data Engineer but have only done project work since relocating. I’m considering returning to a full-time role, but balancing a nine-hour workday is a challenge.

I’m seeking guidance on finding companies that value work ethic and offer a supportive environment for growth. I thrive in demanding roles, but I want to avoid stress and maintain balance in my life. Any recommendations or insights would be appreciated.

My Advice

Setting Realistic Goals for the 9-Hour Workday

It is good to be clear about this upfront with your employer/hiring manager/recruiter to be able to set expectations but do make sure you don’t get lowballed on salary because of this constraint.

The working hours itself can be negotiated with your team after you join. Not saying to cut down the hours, but in terms of making yourself available for your team. You could be clear about this upfront during the interview stages, but the salary constraint is also something to watch out for. You could either negotiate salary with no. of working hours, or after you get the job offer you could negotiate your availability and working hours for your team. Teams are mostly flexible given the remote working situation in tech.

Company Culture

This is something you need to evaluate during your interview stages. Do make a note of points that you wish your future colleagues answered for you, and make sure there is time during the interview for these questions. If at all you run out of time, then make sure to follow up with these questions with the interviewers so that you get a better idea about what the company culture is about.

Example questions

• How does the company reward or appreciate performance?
• What is the learning and development budget and how do individuals get time to level up?

Work-Life Balance

This is tricky but totally doable as long as you set boundaries from day 1. Not just at work, but also with your family and child and tell them what is important for you. 

Work can be stressful at times, and so is parenting. But you can also enjoy your time by doing what you like and be able to context switch better and stay well organised. I know this answer is vague, and this is a topic you will master over time and experience. It is good you are clear about this from day 1, that is important. The “What” is defined at this point for you. You will have to define the “How” for this and you will figure this our eventually. By being able to define the “Why” behind this, you will eventually get more clarity.

Additional Inputs

The tech hiring situation is not good at the moment overall giving the global economic situation, so you might want to watch out for employers that hire vs fire.

You could apply for job interviews now, this is the advice I often give people so that they get lot of practice time and also to know the market conditions and salary.

Based on the interview results, you would also know what to learn and upskill on to be able to preform better.

I am a woman in tech myself, and these are my inputs based on my tech leadership experience as a hiring manager and making sure I do hire diverse talent across teams.