About Tech Interviews

If you are interested in working for top tech companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, or Facebook [Don’t you dare to say that you are not good enough!], you will probably have to go through a technical interview [ Read here why Technical Interviews Matter]. On another note, the good news for us women is: the majority of companies are interested in increasing diversity and recruiting women! So, go for it! 

Now, the very first step (before getting to the tech interview) is usually the screening interview where you talk about your previous experiences, points mentioned in your resume, and your goals. If you want to get to this step, I would advise you to make sure your LinkedIn profile is always updated [An outdated profile might scream that you are not interested], check out hiring events happening next to you, always have a resume if you are going to conferences or similar events …. In few words: put yourself out there and give recruiters the chance to find you (or go after them)! The Google Resume by Gayle Laakmann McDowell [An online version is available via Carleton Library] is a good resource to refine your resume. You should also consider the Co-Op and Career Services [They have an interesting blog too]. 

From Palantir - The Coding Interview

Once you pass the screening interview, a first technical interview will be scheduled. The number of rounds of technical interviews varies depending on the company you are applying for. The following resources are among the most recommended:

•  Cracking The Coding Interview
•  Programming Interviews Exposed 

These books cover the must-knows and provide examples. They basically go through behavioral questions (these are more general and about you as a person) and coding/technical questions. 

Here are few advices I got from my own experiences and from people who had tech interviews: 

• Prepare Prepare Prepare ….Study Hard! [If you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail!] In fact, you should start preparing way before hand, as soon as you know you want to work in a top tech company.
• Practice writing code on a paper or a whiteboard [It’s harder than you think! We become so used to IDEs that we don’t realize how much we rely on them]. So write your code on paper, then type it in your IDE and see if your program compiles. 
• Find lots of practice interview questions and solve them [The above resources are a very good start]. Don’t memorize common examples, make sure you understand them. 
• Review relevant course materials. It might be Digital Systems Design, Data Structures, OO, … 
• Don’t panic! Remain calm during the interview and solve the problems you are given. The interviewers are not against you, they want you to succeed and want a pleasant interaction. So, be genuine. If it’s a phone interview, tell your interviewers everything you are doing and your thought process. 

Be sure to check out CareerCup and GlassDoor to know what previous interviewees have experienced, and what kind of questions they got. 

Now, here comes the bad news: Studies show that there are subconscious, unintended biases - all else being equal, on average men will get a higher rating. On the Feminine / Masculine communication style, women are likely to show less confidence and understate achievements. Be aware of that! 

Also, know that if you fail, it’s not the end of the world! Get up, analyze where and why you failed, and be busy getting better. Failure is an option, but fear is not! Some people even turn their failures in interesting blog posts. Here is an example that unexpectedly turned out well after failing the interview. On the other hand, if you succeed, it’s great! Get ready for the next round, do a retrospective of your first interview and work on your weaknesses.

Stay great! 

Daniella

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Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

@niyodanie

The power of Thoughts: You can do anything you set set your mind to!

I recently attended a lecture on the power of thoughts and I was literally floored [Feels awesome when you have tons of projects]! It’s a subject near and dear to me because it can be life changing. Now, you may already know that you should care about your self-talk. Let me tell you why it’s important, especially for women in science and engineering.

Few weeks ago, Sheryl Sandberg shared at the CBS This Morning show that "The data says that stereotypes hold us [women] back. The reason girls don't think they're good in math and science is because everyone tells them they're not good at science. Studies show that if right before a math test you tell girls, 'Girls are good at math' or 'Girls do well on the test,' they do better." Of course, people are not always available to tell you how awesome you are and how great you are going to do! That’s why you need to help yourself [and those around you]: Tap your back and convince your wonderful mind that you can do it [exams, projects, whatever awesome dream you have]! You will be amazed at the results.

Back on my lecture about “The Power Thoughts”, the professor - a well-known engineer - showed us how thoughts are converted to chemical, physiological actions and reactions. The next experiment perfectly proved how thoughts can induce a chemical reaction:

•  Think about a lemon - a sour candy - a green lime
•  Imagine cutting a wedge of lemon or lime
•  Imagine smelling the lemon or lime
•  Take the wedge of the lemon and put it in your mouth.
•  Chew the wedge of the lemon - the very sour juice of the lemon now comes into your mouth and stimulates your taste buds
•  Concentrate - close your eyes and don’t block your thoughts - make it a reality for yourself.
• You will notice that your mouth became more watery. Salivary glands have responded to the sour taste of the lemon/lime thoughts. QED!

Don’t let that impostor syndrome fool you! Shut “anti-self” thoughts and shine bright. Success begins in your mind! So, next time negative thoughts creep in your mind, remind yourself (yes, you!) that you are awesome, smart and ready to rock the world!

Stay great!
Daniella


P.S.: Just because I love quotes, here is a related to today’s topic:

For more:

Check out this blog about the power of choosing your thoughts: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-firestone/choosing-your-thoughts_b_3461686.html

Also watch the following TED talk to find out how your power posing can boost your confidence. It might help you if you feel nervous every time you have a presentation or an interview ;-) http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

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Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

The Women of EA: What's it Really Like?

This video is quite positive about working for video game company Electronic Arts, even as a minority female.

(video link)

I am happy to see this, but I can't help but question what it's really like.  I have heard so many horror stories about excruciating hours and lack of life balance.

What do you think? Have things changed?

Reminder: Google Summer of Code!

A quick reminder: Google Summer of Code applications are due tomorrow!

Summer of Code is a program where students can get paid for working on open source projects over the summer. It's a pretty neat opportunity if you're looking to try open source development, because you get matched up with a mentor who's volunteered their time to help you work on your project.

You don't need a lot of experience to contribute. We're hoping to find new contributors this way, so we're prepared to train you on how to set up your development environment and contribute to the project.

I'm going to be mentoring for GNU Mailman this year. If you're curious about our proposed projects, you can find them on our wiki. We've got a bunch of really great mentors and I'm hoping we'll have some great students to match. I've already had a chance to meet some of our applicants on our IRC channel (#mailman on irc.freenode.net)

There's a whole slew of projects just waiting for great people like you. While the deadline is super close now, you've still got enough time to put together a good application if you're interested! Geek Feminism has run a few posts about preparing applications that you might find helpful: Google Summer of Code 2011: application tips from this year, and Showing your awesomeness for Google Summer of Code from last year, and many mentors are anxiously watching their email/IRC/mailing lists for last minute questions from students.

Go check out the list of mentoring organizations and put in an application now!

How CEOs' daughters are helping close the wage gap

I found this quite interesting:

A new, not-yet-published study that tracked 12 years of wage data in Denmark finds that when male CEOs had daughters, their female employees' wages went up 1.3 percent while their male employees only gained .8 percent raises. So the birth of a daughter effectively shrunk the male-female wage gap by .5 percent on average.

If the daughter was a first child, the gap closed by a whopping 2.8%!

The rest of the article: After CEOs have daughters, women employees’ wages go up

Top Women in Tech Lists

There has been a sudden increase in "top women in tech" lists lately, which is pretty awesome.  Just wanted to stop by to share some of my recent favourites:

• The Most Influential Women in Technology 2010
• Women in Tech: The Entrepreneurs
• The 15 Most Important Women in Tech History

Now if only the third hit when Googling "top women tech" wasn't "Top 10 hottest women in tech: AskMen.com."  :(

National Conference on Women in Engineering

This past month I had the pleasure of attending the National Conference on Women in Engineering as a delegate representing Carleton University. This weekend long conference was hosted by the University of Ottawa and was inspired by the theme of ‘Expanding Horizons’. The aim of the weekend was to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of women in the male dominated field of engineering, as well as to better understand and be prepared for the challenges that women face in the workforce. The conference was an inspiring way for a young female engineering student to spend the weekend and included keynote speakers, breakout sessions, a banquet, and networking opportunities.

I believe that most of the delegates will agree with me when I say that the highlight of the conference was listening to the experiences of the keynote speakers. Each speaker left a lasting impression through their personal story and words of wisdom. I would like to share some of the key takeaways from the speakers which helped them to become the successful women they are today:

- Recognize opportunities to demonstrate leadership
- Seek out people who think differently than you
- Set a goal – evaluate the tools you will need to attain it
- Be prepared – manage risk, commit, speak with credibility
- Don’t be afraid to change course based on your experiences
- Accept that you cannot control everything
- Be involved in your community

While at the conference, delegates had the opportunity to network with students from other universities from all across Canada (coast to coast!) This was a great way to talk about their respective engineering societies and to share ideas about how to increase the involvement and enrolment of women within engineering.

This conference made me feel very proud to be a woman in engineering. I can say with great certainty that NCWIE brought together future leaders of the engineering community and I am very hopeful for the opportunities which lie ahead for each and every one of these delegates.

Career and Economic Opportunity in Open Source Software

As part of the open source track at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) this year, there was an informative session on career and economic opportunity in Open Source Software (OSS).

The session served two main purposes -

a) to show that participating in open source projects can provide many skills that can be relevant in obtaining a job and building a career, and,

b) that open source does not necessarily mean free software and therefore, there are multiple ways in which to make a living from OSS.

I've provided a summary/transcript of the discussion in this session on the GHC 2010 Wiki, so below I list some of the key takeaways for me.

a) Building Job and Career Skills from OSS projects

1. Online and multi-site, multi-timezone collaboration and communication is perhaps one of the best skills you can pick up from an OSS project. Interacting with people of different cultures and in different physical locations can prepare you to handle multi-site activities that occur in many large companies today.

In my own experience, I find that being able to interact effectively with a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse team is an increasingly important skill in our globalized world. These kind of soft skills set you apart from those who have equivalent technical expertise.

2. OSS is a great way to slowly build up skills, be it programming, organizational etc. and be able to get feedback (it helps to develop a thick skin :)

I think this is something I will keep in mind when I think I need to build expand my technical skill set.

3. Flexible timings can provide women with the work/life balance that they might be looking for.

OSS might be a great way to keep in touch with the industry and keep your skills and experience up to date while taking a hiatus (like maternity leave)

b) OSS Business

1. Making money from OSS projects is not a bad thing, and shouldn't be seen as such. Indeed, many OSS projects become richer (in quality, and in participation) for having had a few high profile customers that were willing to pay for custom development

2. Providing complementary software, services and support is a widespread revenue model adopted by many companies that leverage OSS

In general, I was inspired to see such names as Cat Allman, Leslie Hawthorn, Stormy Peters and Margo Seltzer participating in the open source track and it served to reinforce the quality of the content that GHC offered this year.

Cross-posted to the Grace Hopper Blog

Tips for Choosing a Career in Science

This guest post is contributed by Beatrice Owen, who writes on the topic of bachelors of science. She welcomes your comments via email: owen1.beatrice(@)gmail(.)com.

If you love science and have a natural curiosity, you have a wide range of educational and professional opportunities to tap. It’s easy to choose a career in science today because the field is so varied and vast – the subjects are many, so even if you’re not interested in one kind of science, there’s always another related, yet different branch to jump to. Science careers are both lucrative and fulfilling, and if you’re thinking of one, here are a few tips that are sure to come in handy.

• Know what you want: While it’s ok to take some time and think about your career choice before making the final decision, it’s not wise to keep changing majors as you try to figure out what interests you. Ideally, if you’re interested in a career in science, you must know this during your last few years in high school and plan your college degree accordingly. Also, if you’re prepared and willing, you could take up additional college-level courses while still at school – this allows you to complete your degree faster and save on tuition costs.
  
  
• Decide on a specialization: Science is a vast field, one that encompasses hundreds of subjects and sub-categories. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage – you have many options to choose from, but the plethora can make the choice confusing as well. If you know which field of science you favor, it’s easy to find the path you should take and focus on achieving your degree and finding a job in that sector. Some areas of science overlap, so it’s easy to major in one yet find a job in the other. So make your choice based on your interest and the opportunities available.
  
  
• Focus on technology: No matter what kind of science you choose to major in, it’s important to pick up some technological knowhow if you don’t want to be left behind. Technology is a part of every aspect of our lives, and when it comes to science, it’s even more important because it forms an essential part of every kind of advancement and innovation. If you neglect technology, it is at your own peril.
  
  
• Don’t count out the value of experience: When you envision a career in science, you’re not going to be thinking about an entry-level job; however, you have to start somewhere in order to make it big in your chosen field. So instead of wasting your time searching for the perfect job, accept offers that are relevant to your chosen career just so you can add to your experience. Use your free time to earn a graduate degree – you’re improving your educational qualifications and gaining experience at the same time.

Advice from a consultant for new grads looking for a job

My brother and all his friends just graduated, so I'm getting a lot of questions from them about looking for a job. I'm feeling a bit of pressure to give the right advice. I sent them to my personal website's career page, I gave them some tips... but it never seems to be enough for them. Maybe they're too lazy to read so much or maybe I'm just getting rusty because I graduated a year ago. I've had my own experiences with looking for a job. It took me about 5 months to find one and boy was I busy running around to coffees, career fairs, networking events, conferences, etc.

So I recently asked a professional organization I have had good experiences with, ITO 2.0, to write to me any advice they had for new grads. Below is what Karen Blair, one of the consultants, wrote. Hopefully you will find it useful. Good luck in your job search and feel free to comment on this post!

- Go to the college/university they graduated from because most of them have a career services department to help students/alumni with their job search.

- Colleges/universities have job fairs though you may have to be a student or alumni to attend; check if the participating employers are listed on the website because it means that these companies are willing to hire people with minimal experience. The client could then approach the company directly at a later date and/or keep an eye on their website for job postings.

- Many large companies have a dedicated recruiter on their HR team who is responsible for "university relations" which means they develop relationships with the colleges/universities, participate in various events like job fairs, information sessions, etc. I did this for Dell. The schools also have events throughout the years that employers participate in, e.g. industry panel on resume/interview preparation & job search strategies (I participated on one at Carleton in January). Employers that participate in these events are interested in hiring new grads. I tell clients to research and/or call the companies they are interested in and ask if they hire new grads or if they have a recruiter who does "university relations" on behalf of the company. They may not be able to speak with the recruiter however they will at least know that the organization hires people with minimal experience and can send in their resume.

- Research the top employers in Canada/Ontario/Ottawa or wherever the client wants to find work. The information about the employer may say if they hire new grads or minimum level of experience required, e.g.
http://www.canadastop100.com/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/50-best-employers-in-canada/article1415568/

- Below are some other links I provide:
http://overview.careeredge.ca/index.asp?FirstTime=True&context=0&FromContext=1&language=1 internships for new grads
http://talentegg.ca/ job website for new grads
http://tbridge.ca/ OCRI's TalentBridge program

New Research from ABI Highlights the Characteristics That Lead to Advancement of Technical Women

This is an excerpt from the latest Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology newsletter. You can subscribe to it here.

A new research report released today by the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (ABI) sheds light on the attributes of senior level technical women who, at only four percent of the 1,795 technical men and women surveyed for the report, represent a rarity in the technology industry. The report, titled Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success, examines the characteristics of high-ranking women in technology, how they perceive themselves and their top attributes for success, and what organizational practices they most care about. The ABI report is publicly available at http://anitaborg.org/files/Senior-Technical-Women-A-Profile-of-Success.pdf.

Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success explores the demographics and attributes shared among women who defy the odds and achieve senior level positions on the technical track. It also makes recommendations for companies looking to retain senior technical women and for women seeking to advance to senior level positions.

Report Highlights

Successful women in technology show the same attributes of success, human capital, and work values, as senior level men. Senior technical women are collaborative, assertive, moderate risk-takers who work long hours, and they have made significant concessions to advance.

Manager vs. Individual Contributor: Women in the study were significantly more likely than men to hold managerial positions. Conversely, men at higher level positions were more likely to hold individual contributor positions, suggesting that men and women are tracking differently at the senior level. Lack of representation of women in the highest individual contributor positions is a loss for companies, as it represents an absence of diversity of thought in the innovation process.

Family and Career: Senior women are significantly more likely to have children than are entry or mid-level women. However, 51 percent of senior men report that their partners have primary responsibility for the household and children, while 24 percent of senior women have partners who have primary responsibility of the household. This suggests that senior women face work-family challenges similar to those faced by women at the mid-level, with the additional pressure of a higher position of responsibility. Combining high level positions and family responsibilities comes at a price. Senior women are significantly more likely than men to have delayed having children, as well as cut back on their social life to achieve career goals.

IBM Extreme Blue Case Study Competition

CU-WISE and uOttawa WISE held the Extreme Blue Case Study Competition with IBM yesterday, and it was a great success!

The event stemmed from the lack of women in last year's Extreme Blue program. From my personal blog:

Why is it that out of 20 awesome students in last summer's edition of IBM's Extreme Blue program in Ottawa, not one was female?

That was the question the current program lead here wanted to know the answer to, and she came to CU-WISE to ask it. We had a nice lunch meeting where we discussed why some of us had applied once and never applied again, how girls can be turned off by things that sound too technical, and how we are known to underestimate our abilities and thus avoid seemingly out of reach opportunities like this.

Read the rest of the post here.

My first 2 weeks as a software developer

Ever since I graduated, I've been learning a lot of things about building a career outside of school. The major lesson I learned is that you really are only as good as your network. So for all you students out there, I suggest gaining networking skills before you even graduate. There are plenty of organizations you can get involved in, networking events you can attend, as well as networking workshops you can learn from. Which reminds me, CU-WISE is panning a career event just for that purpose, so keep an eye out and make sure to attend!

After a couple of months of applying for jobs, networking, creating a website portfolio and going to career workshops, I got a job offer as a software developer. I started 2 weeks ago and enjoy it very much. What I noticed is that I really like "doing" as opposed to "researching". Specifically I like the fact that I am solving real problems for real clients with a team of very knowledgeable software developers. One thing that surprises me is that I wasn't once discouraged by the fact that I know little about software development. I think the reason is that all my coworkers are always happy to take the time to help me and to give me the time to learn what I need to know. So don't be afraid of venturing into something new and unusual because you will have the analytical skills and the resources to succeed in whatever you choose to do.

And of course I have to give CU-WISE a big thank you again for giving me all those skills that weren't taught in class. I miss you ladies!

Female Entrepreneurs Connecting the Dots

After CU-WISE talk of "How to use Social Media to Benefit your Career", our speaker, Natasha D'Souza from Virtual Eye See generously sponsored some of the CU-WISE attendees for the Women's Networking Event Connect the Dots.

I was very happy to know I was one of the 4 students attending this event. However, I was a little surprised when I searched for the schedule and I saw that the first event was a PJ party :-) and I didn't know if it was literally a PJ party until I saw this video with Mary Cavanagh and Laura Brooker promoting the event. Mary was actually wearing her PJs on TV!

So, I prepared my PJs and arrived to the event. I have to say that in the last couple of year's as an executive of CU-WISE and WISE Ottawa I have been fortunate to participate in many networking events, but this one was out of the ordinary! Not only because we could be pampered with massages and facials, but also because you feel like being with girlfriends and honestly, once you're wearing your PJs, all communications barriers are down. I felt so comfortable talking to other people, not as frightening as business networking event seem to appear for WISE women. So, if you're organizing a networking event for women, I would suggest to follow this example.

You can see more pictures about this event at the event's Facebook page.

Next day was full of talks and more fun events. Although this event was focused for Female Entrepreneurs, most of the advice and suggestions given by speakers and panelists can be applied to all women pursuing a career.

One of the first speakers, Lisa Lajoie talked about listening to our intuition, what feels right, and what really raises a flag. As a scientist and engineer, sometimes I forget about it, so this was a nice reminder. She also mentioned how we can be our own enemies and we can be our worst enemies. This sounds very familiar to the impostor syndrome and that feeling of boicoting ourselves that we've discussed in previous posts. Some of the speakers also reminded us to be authentic, know what makes you unique and share your gifts with others.

Lorraine Mastersmith from Women Entrepreneurs of Canada announced the Ask Campaing which aims to ask women where they want them to be, we want to help provide women the tools to make the “Ask”. If you would like to contribute to this campaing, you can answer this poll. She suggested some tips to ask:

• Do your homework and find the people whom you should ask.
  
• Make the Ask in a say to secure the Answer you're looking for (make sure you propose a win-win deal). Don't ask, offer!
• Go with a Big Ask.

We also had a social media showcase, where experts in social media (Facebook, Twitter, Forums, Newsletters) including Natasha D'Souza made a short introduction and went afterwards to separate tables to show how your company (or your career) can benefit from social media. Every now and then, Maryse Senecal from Myo-precision would remember us how we can take breaks of 5-10 minutest to strech and release tension in our upper body. Some simple movements can go a long way when you're 8-10 hours in front of the computer. I have now programmed a reminder to do some excercises every 2 hours and I can feel the difference.

The panel of Ottawa’s Million Dollar Women in Business included Heather MacLachlan (Business Women of the Year 2007), Lisa Larter from Group which encompasses Parlez Wireless, an Authorized TELUS Dealership, and Lisa Larter Consulting. They shared that ont their own experience, is not about the numbers, or the million dollar in revenue, but doing things you're passionate about, giving back to the community and satisfying your standars, and not only your client's standards.

I would like to finish with some of the principles shared by Mary Cavanagh, Leslie Eisener and Cara Rose-Brown from Ignite Potentials:

• Balance: there's never a right or wrong, seek the balance in all things.
• Evolution: evolution happens between order and chaos, find the gift in the chaos.
• Interconnectedness.
• Focus.
• Purpose.
• Gratitude.

For more blog posts about this event, you can check out the official Connect the Dots blog.

It was nurturing and empowering to meet all these women that shared her experience and advice with us. If you are thinking about being an Entrepreneur, I would encourage you to attend Connect the Dots 2010, which will take place in the Hotel Crowne Plaza in Ottawa and check out some of the Women's Newtorking Groups participating.

Upcoming Event on Social Media

I am happy to inform you that Natasha D'Souza has been invited by CU-WISE to speak about the use of social media as an effective tool in the professional world.

Since she has worked in this domain for the past six years, combined with her 13 years of hi-tech knowledge, her experience in marketing, project management, business development and sales and having worked for Fortune 500, mid-sized and start-up companies, it is no wonder why CU-WISE has invited her this Nov. 10th to speak to students about this hot subject.

She is also the founder of VirtualEyeSee , a Social Media Agency that handles all fields related to Social Media Campaigns. Their services encompass training, consulting, web development, PR, graphic design, copywriting and digital media services. These services are usually geared towards companies of all sizes to improve communications via the use of social media tools.

The exact theme to be discussed will be the following: "How to use Social Media to Benefit Your Career".

I find that this will be useful especially for students as we tend to use social media technologies with our friends and family members alike. As powerful as these are, it seems logical that we cannot use these same technologies in the same manner if we are to seriously consider continuing their use as we progress towards a professional career.

For example, you may not want to share every little detail of your private life with your coworkers or managers if you add them as friends to your social network. A lot of examples will be provided during the speech that will illustrate this interesting point.

As such, I encourage you to attend it. The event will take place Tuesday November 10th at 3165 Mackenzie, Carleton University and will start from 6 PM.

Hope to see you there.

Have You Ever Considered Being an Entrepreneur?

I'm going to try doing this post a little differently. I'm recording information during the actual session instead of taking notes and writing it up later. Below I have the introductions of the panelists, some general session notes, and a few of the audience questions.

Read the rest on my blog.

Why High Tech Needs Women Executives

From ACM Career News Alert for Tuesday September 22 2009.

Why High Tech Needs Women Executives
Computerworld, September 8

Joyce Brocaglia, founder of the Executive Women's Forum, takes a closer look at the opportunities available for women in high tech and explains why gender diversity at the IT executive level matters. As Brocaglia explains, many companies are beginning to recognize that gender balancing is good for business. In short, the corporations that are taking actions to identify, promote and retain high-potential women are reaping the benefits. According to recent studies, Fortune 500 companies with three or more women on the board gained a significant performance advantage over those with the fewest. Moreover, those companies with the most women on their senior teams showed superior growth in equity, operational results and share price.

The issue of women as leaders is no longer simply about equal employment opportunity, it's also a matter of smart business. In 2003, Brocaglia responded to the needs of executive women in the fields of information security, privacy and risk management and founded the Executive Women's Forum. What began as one-on-one conversations about gathering like-minded women together to build a trusted network has evolved into a community of more than 500 of the most influential women in their fields who have attended national conferences, regional meetings and interact through an online community. The community has been so successful since it is a "safe place" where women gather and are willing to be authentic in sharing their successes and challenges and discuss issues that they are wrestling with.

The Executive Women’s Forum has created a culture that is confidential, inclusive, empowering, inspiring and supportive. Each year the EWF holds a national conference where nearly 200 women gather for candid conversations, interactive panel discussions, and formal and informal networking events. It all leads to women getting to know each other at a much deeper level and building lifelines that last long after the event is over. Active members of the EWF are exposed to other women that have chosen not to "opt out" and have created their own path to the executive suite. Their career ladders more often resemble career lattices and members gain insight into how other women balance and attain professional success and personal fulfillment.

Click Here to View Full Article

Women with energy in an energy hungry industry

While doing some research on companies that are involved in sustainable and renewable energy (part of my job searching), I stumbled upon an article written last summer by TheStar titled "Women with Energy". What a neat title! The article states:

The first-annual event, called Women of Energy, was also about highlighting the progress that women have made in the sector, and the need to build a support network that also encourages female ranks to grow.

Why now? The invitation to the event explained it simply: "For the first time in Canadian energy history, there are three female presidents at the leading energy utilities."

And all of these women are based in Ontario!

from left to right: Laura Formusa, president and chief executive officer of Hydro One. Janet Holder, president of Enbridge Gas Distribution. Julie Dill, president of Union Gas.

Not surprisingly, one of the first questions asked of Formusa – the only one of the power trio with children – was about balancing a career with being a mother. "We have to show our children that moms can do it without killing themselves. That's why a support network is so important," she says.

Enbridge's Holder says it's a network the energy sector has lacked. "It's hard for women to look inside their organization and find other women with a similar life and values." Enbridge, Union Gas and Hydro One have agreed to take turns hosting the annual event, with an eye to building the network across Canada.

Somebody pinch me, I think I'm dreaming. Definitely looking forward to looking into this some more as I am quite passionate about sustainable energy, female support networks, and having a leadership role.

Some Career Tips for Joining the Start-Up Economy

Via ACM CareerNews Alert for Tuesday, February 17, 2009. In the spirit of Barb's post on the entrepreneurial spirit.

Some Career Tips for Joining the Start-Up Economy
Media Post, August 13

While job growth within the broader economy may be stalling, the good news is that we are starting to see a lot of “green-shoot” growth at small companies, especially nimble, fast-moving start-ups. Thus, for IT workers looking for jobs or thinking about career changes, particularly for those in any industry that generally lags the overall economy, the start-up sector is becoming increasingly attractive. With that in mind, the article shares some career tips for those who are considering joining start-up companies.

Success with a new start-up takes much more than desire to work in an exciting and innovative environment. People think that great relationships and a thick Rolodex are keys to success in transitioning from big companies to small, particularly if you are in sales or business development. It's not that simple. When you work for a big company, everybody wants to work with you. When you move to a small firm, the value that you provide is measured by the actual results that you can deliver for customers and partners. This requires really understanding your customers, their needs and your product and obsessing over customer service. You have to ask yourself every day how much real value you created that day, and make yourself essential.

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Women outnumber men in Canadian workforce

For the first time in history there are more women than men in Canada's workforce. A recently issued labour force survey found that about 7.1 million women were in paid employment during the first half of 2009, compared to 6.9 million men.

That means that about 50.7% of the Canadian workforce is female! Read more on CTV.ca here. The article also mentions that women are still paid less than men, about 71 cents on the dollar.