Thank you so much for sharing your story, Elena. I really like how you described the shift toward focusing on outcomes. That perspective can definitely change how we see our own work.
And I completely agree about community. Having a group of supportive, like-minded people around you can make a huge difference when navigating a career in tech.
But sometimes that community doesn’t even exist inside a company, which is perfectly okay. In this case, the support can come from external communities (like the ones here on Substack), friends in the industry, or people we connect with along the way.
Yup! It never happened at work. I had to look out for it and when things aligned I’ve got the opportunity to met amazing women that are helping me shaping my career while I’m shaping hers.
It’s just something so beautiful and natural!
Look for mentors outside of work also can help a lot.
Oftentimes, it's uncomfortable to self-advocate because it feels like boasting. But it's so important to make your work (and results) visible. If you're in bigger teams, it's easy to get overlooked.
And you’re right, in larger teams it’s very easy for work to become invisible unless we make the outcomes clear. Small habits like documenting progress or giving context in updates can make a big difference over time.
Stefania, this piece is very important. You described a big part of my career.
Switching into product management made me think more about the outcomes, and it was like I had a new perspective. But sometimes that's not enough.
I'm grateful that I found my group of like-minded women a couple of years ago. These women have been so supportive. We learn so much from each other.
I strongly suggest that people not navigate their careers alone!
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Elena. I really like how you described the shift toward focusing on outcomes. That perspective can definitely change how we see our own work.
And I completely agree about community. Having a group of supportive, like-minded people around you can make a huge difference when navigating a career in tech.
But sometimes that community doesn’t even exist inside a company, which is perfectly okay. In this case, the support can come from external communities (like the ones here on Substack), friends in the industry, or people we connect with along the way.
Yup! It never happened at work. I had to look out for it and when things aligned I’ve got the opportunity to met amazing women that are helping me shaping my career while I’m shaping hers.
It’s just something so beautiful and natural!
Look for mentors outside of work also can help a lot.
Great piece - especially for women in tech.
Oftentimes, it's uncomfortable to self-advocate because it feels like boasting. But it's so important to make your work (and results) visible. If you're in bigger teams, it's easy to get overlooked.
Key advice from Stefania:
- Keep a brag document
- Set clear goals with manager
- Give context with updates
Thank you, Alex! I really appreciate the summary.
And you’re right, in larger teams it’s very easy for work to become invisible unless we make the outcomes clear. Small habits like documenting progress or giving context in updates can make a big difference over time.
The “impact > effort” point is real.
In complex engineering environments a lot of valuable work is invisible unless someone explains the system change it created.
I’ve seen strong engineers undersell their work simply because they describe activity instead of the outcome.
Framing it as problem -> action -> outcome is a really practical way to make that clearer.