August 23, 2021
“We should all contribute to creating a level playing field in workplaces where all women can thrive. We need to raise more women to believe in themselves by celebrating our great role models and make them more visible.”
Today we interviewed Ejona who joined our mentoring program as a mentor. The interview was conducted by Katharina Platzer. She is currently in her master studies while working as a Product Owner in the Automotive sector and is volunteering for moinworld.
Who are you? What do we need to know about you?
I am an IT/ Information Security girl originally from Albania, and I currently live in Hamburg. Back in 2010, I began my journey in Tech at Ministry of Finance in Albania, working as a Database Administrator. Couple of years later I joined Deloitte as an Information Security Consultant and had awonderful fast paced experience by engaging in different projects, markets and sectors. Fast-forward 11 years: I’m now working as an Information Security Risk Manager in mobility sector in Germany. With anever-expanding scope, Information Security presents the ultimate growthpotential both in personal career path and learning opportunities. It is a discipline, but it links to all of the other IT skill sets, what makes it a very exciting career prospect.
Throughout my career, I’ve mostly worked in male-dominated environment. Women have been fighting an uphill battle for what feels like forever. However, while the obstacles remain enormous, there are signs that the scales are tilting. I am very passionate about empowering and encouraging women in tech and leadership positions. Therefore, I joined moinworld to contribute as a mentor and share my experience with women who are considering starting a career in tech.
How did you first hear about moinworld?
I heard about moinworld at my workplace. One of my former colleagues shared with me an event organized by moinworld and I attended it! I got a very good first impression at that event and wanted to be more involved, especially when I discovered the organizational values and objectives.
How is the mentoring program going for you and your mentee?
It went perfectly fine. Unfortunately due to Covid 19, we didn’t have the chance to meet in person, but we ran biweekly meetings online. My first mentee was also from Albania. We didn’t know each other before and it was quite a surprise for me. We’ve also studied at the same university but in different times. It was really a pleasure and an amazing experience to be part of the mentoring process. My mentee was already working in Germany in tech area, but she wanted to step into Information Security. At first, we delineated the goals and objectives of the mentorship program. I tried to give her some useful practical tips such as how to buildup a CV, areas where to focus (according to her interests), market insights, useful books and professional certification programs. We became very good friends and get in touch with each other, even after the end of mentorship program.
What do you like most about being a mentor?
Many female tech professionals get stuck sometimes in their career and are unsure how to move forward. They would really love to have a female mentor who has already managed to navigate through the same landmines and challenges. Nowadays, there are many women thriving in tech careers, but there should be more. That’s why women education, communities and awareness initiatives can make a big difference. I absolutely enjoy contributing to making a pipeline to ensure that there arewomen following the ones who are already on this road. I would be really glad if I manage to motivate them to a certain extent.
How would you describe the relationship between you and your mentee?
We consider each other friends. Our relationship was really stress-free,informal but goal oriented. We were very open and flexible with eachother. I also learned a lot from her.
Would you recommend the program to others?
Definitely, yes. I consider it as a very rewarding journey
Author: Katharina Platzer (you can find her on Linkedin here)
Interested?
Apply today here. A moinworld member will get in touch with you for the next steps within 1 week.
Do you have any questions? Get in touch with us at mentoring@moinworld.de.
We will also have a Meetup celebrating the ending of our first mentors and mentees batch in September. Everybody is welcome to join and listen to some of the success stories. Just follow our events!
Read more about some of our great mentors here.