SheMentors First Workshop Day: Event Recap
/Written by YWiB Toronto’s Event Coordinator, Olivia Cummings
Olivia Cummings, YWiB Toronto Event Coordinator
How can I describe the SheMentors Workshop Day? Inspiring? Motivational? Insightful? There isn’t just one word that encapsulates the day! There was something special about being in such a creative space (thank you Project Spaces!) on a Saturday, surrounded by like-minded women who were eager to learn and grow.
The SheMentors Workshop Day is a major part of our mentorship program. It was meant to be an opportunity for our mentors to share their expertise and equip our mentees with new strategies, tactics and tools. What was even more incredible, was that the mentors ended up learning just as much as the mentees did!
Our first mentor to present was Megan MacQuarrie who gave a compelling presentation titled ”Turning Down Your Bull$@%! Radio”. In other words, she spoke about Imposter syndrome. A term that many are far too familiar with but still fail to overcome in their day-to-day lives. Megan wanted to focus on how exactly imposter syndrome can hold you back. A few examples were it stops you from asking for help, stops you from asking for that new job or going for that new promotion, or causes you to overwork. After some discussion and group activities, Megan offered some easy take-aways that can help calm the tracks playing in your head. A few examples were collaborating with others, breaking big projects up into smaller sub-tasks, refreshing your resume every three months or even meditating.
Next up came Alana Ruoso. Alana first opened up about her fascinating career path thus far. Straying from the typical 9-5, Alana has enjoyed many different industries and many different jobs. What enabled her to embrace this type of career path was feeling aligned at every stage of her career. Alana urged everyone to pay attention to indicators that might show that you are out of alignment. Are you satisfied and feeling a sense of accomplishment at work? Or are you constantly frustrated, not able to enjoy your off time, feeling cranky, etc? One exercise that resonated with attendees was taking time to figure out your core values. Core values are your most deeply held priorities. What do you need in order to feel fulfilled and joyful at work? Is it respect and leadership or collaboration and creativity? Once you have four core values, it makes it much easier to know if a new job or promotion will be right for you. You will be aware of what to ask in your next interview, and how to set yourself up for success.
Faren Bogach sharing her wisdom on Business Development
For the last presentation before lunch, Faren Bogach gave a compelling and interactive workshop on business development. She switched up the angle and tapped into the emotions that would impede your own development as a young woman in business. First Faren asked all the participants to write down what scares them about business development. While this may have felt like a daunting and embarrassing task to do, it was actually quite funny seeing how similar everyone’s fears and challenges were. Faren also posed a few other questions to the group: What do you want to be known for? How are you going to stand out? While taking time and patience while answering these questions, Faren urged everyone to be honest in their answers and to push yourself past your internal boundaries. The group also set goals on how to achieve the answers to these questions. Finally, the session ended by facing some of those fears and by practicing pitches to one another.
Hang Zhao sharing insights on Time Management.
Everyone broke for lunch and some light networking, however, we were back to our fourth and final mentor presentation in no time! Hang Zhao spoke about the importance of time management. One point that really resonated with the group was making sure you are carving out time for self-care, seeing your friends, educating yourself, etc. Put it in your calendar and treat it like a meeting with your client. If you have to cancel it, then you need to find time to rebook it.
While you may love your job and want to give everything to it, it is important to find a balance and be in charge of your own schedule. Often times, we set goals but forget to think about how they will affect our experience of life and ultimately how we end up spending our time. Hang urged that when faced with reevaluating and making changes to your life, it’s important to do so by tackling one action at a time. Taking action in steps will improve your chances of success.
Schekina Israel, YWiB Toronto VP Marketing, led group activity to reflect on our key takeaways. A great way to end the day!
All in all, the SheMentors Day was an incredible day of learning and left everyone feeling very inspired by the end of the day. During Faren’s session, we added each other on LinkedIn and I’ve been enjoying following what everyone is up to on the platform. I was truly impressed by each presenter and the information and lessons they chose to share. Congratulations to all of our mentors and I can’t wait to see where these relationships and new skills take everyone!
