Session: Navigating through your career breaks
Career breaks are becoming more common now-a-days whether it is a paid one or an unpaid one. This talk is about my experiences and how I have navigated both planned and unplanned breaks in my career. Sometimes an unplanned break or a layoff can be quite traumatic and hard to digest. During these times how can we stay objective, take stock and proceed further?
Post pandemic mental health has taken a centre stage. More companies and individuals are focussing on work life balance, sabbatical, flexible working, reduced hours, remote working, better benefits and much more. A break from the mundane day job can give you a different vantage point, rekindle the lost passion, and maybe even help you take a new direction towards your career.
During this talk, I will share my journey and mainly focus on what has worked and helped me gain a new perspective. Overall, I can confidently say these breaks have enriched my career, personality and attitude and put a positive spin on it. Though, I must say, it sure didn't feel like that when I was in the middle of it.
Bio
Kika is passionate about testing and approaches testing with a holistic view. She has over 17 years of experience in the IT industry, working as a tester, developer, and a trainer. Kika believes in the power of people and collaborating to build a safe environment where the teams can thrive and work on creating great software. She enjoys teaching and getting involved in community activities like speaking at conferences, delivering workshops. She is also one of the tutors at the Coders Guild and a core member of Synapse QA. Also, a keen advocate of Women in Tech initiatives and a global ambassador. In her spare time, loves spending time with her family and writing short stories.