5 Takeaways from #TheComeback Virtual Conference Hosted by The Mom Project
5 tips for working moms from working moms
Last week I joined in on The Comeback, a virtual summit hosted by The Mom Project. The conference featured several incredible working moms and offered breakout sessions for moms to connect with future employers who “get it” —you know, what moms need to be successful at work. In short, it was amazing, inspiring and motivational. Here are my five most impactful takeaways from the two-day event.
Tell your story
Katie Quesada is a storytelling coach—huh? This was the first time I had ever heard of this role and I’m going to add it to my list of 8,000 jobs I want to have. Her optimism was infectious and her talk was one of the most engaging and helpful of the conference. She took us through her formula of how to streamline your story into six sentences. I need to write mine like yesterday. When I do I’ll write a blog post about it.
Box up work
Jennie Weber is the VP of Experience Design and Insights at Best Buy and she shared that one of the ways she manages her life as a working mom is by boxing up work when she gets home. When she logs off or physically comes home she takes her job and puts it in a metaphorical box so she can give her full attention to her family. This resonated so much with me. At my last job I felt like I was always working even though I was part time because I was constantly checking Slack and emails or taking phone calls. I’ve learned a lot from that experience and when I return to work I will make it a priority to work when I’m “at work” and when work is over I’m going to put it in a box so I can be fully present with my family.
Make an impression. Don’t share information
This was something Katie said during her storytelling talk and reminds me of something my favorite teacher in college also said: show, don’t tell. In an interview, during an introduction, or when meeting someone new don’t tell them your life story and every job you’ve ever had. Instead, make an impression by sharing something interesting and unique to you.
Something like: “I love visiting new family friendly places where we can explore by hiking and walking. Our favorite is tent camping in Yosemite.”
Instead of: “I like to travel.”There is no work/life balance. The goal should be work/life harmony.
Work/life balance has been a hot topic lately, especially because of all the changes we’ve had to make during COVID, but I have also heard that there is no such thing. Honestly, it did seem like an illusive notion—something we all strived for, but wasn’t really possible. And then Erika Veduccio, an account executive from NeighborSchools (a really cool startup that was sponsoring the event) mentioned she had heard someone use the phrase “work/life harmony” and I felt seen. Here is a great article from Forbes on work/life harmony and how to get it.
If you have an idea, make it happen. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Refine it as time goes on.
The paralyzing guilt and shame I have about putting my work and story out to the world for fear of judgment can be overwhelming. It took me over a year to finally share Evryst because I knew it wasn’t perfect and I was so worried people would judge me for all those imperfections. Every time I write and post a blog I feel that same shame, so when one of the conference speakers (I wish I remember who it was) gave us her biggest piece of advice I felt so validated. She said “If you have an idea make it happen. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Refine it as time goes on.” That night I spent way too many hours updating my branding on Evryst. I changed the color to a happy yellow, the homepage image, and the language to feel more inspirational. And I made my portfolio. I’m super proud of it. I’ll probably change everything again later. But for now, this is just fine. And that is also just fine.
Anyone want to commit to working on these things with me? 🙋♀️
