When a client graduates from my coaching, I ask if they’d be willing to give me a short testimonial at the end of their last session. So far all of my clients have said yes.
This testimonial is transcribed by the client’s request to preserve anonymity.
Rachel: What specific goals or challenges were you hoping to address through coaching with me?
Client: I was struggling a lot with imposter syndrome, with feeling like a software engineer with a lot of confidence issues that I had and have had while working in tech for the last five years. And also just not being sure how to describe my role and explain what I did with other people in a way that made me feel satisfied about my work. And I was just looking for someone who could help me gain confidence and basically feel like an engineer.
Rachel: Were your expectations met or exceeded during coaching? And can you share specific moments that stood out?
Client: Yes, my expectations were honestly exceeded. I came out of three sessions with a huge improvement in mindset and a huge boost to my self confidence. I finally for the first time in a really long time, probably ever, felt like I was a real software engineer and that I had a valid role in the tech space and that I had validation in what I did and I felt proud of what I did.
As for a specific example, I think the most impactful moment to me was when actually in the first meeting I actually spent 30 minutes or actually the full meeting just explaining my varied work roles and work history, which were kind of all over the place. Some roles were more technical than others. I’d never had what I considered to be a normal or conventional software engineering role and that contributed a lot to my imposter syndrome. So I basically spilled my guts and talked about the feelings of insecurity that I’d never really talked about before.
At the end of that meeting, Rachel basically took some time to just tell me – after all of those things that I had told her – that I was an engineer. And that everything that I did in all of my roles was real engineering work. She wrote out a list of all of the cool parts of all of my jobs that I’ve never really thought about and rephrased them in a way that made me realize how interesting and impactful my work was in a way that I didn’t really consider.
I thought about that moment pretty much every week afterwards. Just whenever I felt insecure, I just thought back to that moment with Rachel where she validated me. And that mindset shift really helped me moving forward.
Rachel: Can you describe any tangible changes in your habits, behavior, or decision making since working with me?
Client: So, like I previously mentioned, I have had a huge shift in my confidence levels. It reflects in the way that I talk to my coworkers. It reflects in the way I carry myself in meetings with coworkers and with engineers outside of my company. I no longer feel like I have to be ashamed of my job experience or worried that I’m not enough of an engineer or as much of an engineer as the next person. I feel confident in my role and I feel proud of what I do. I think that positivity just reflects itself in my conversations and my work.
Rachel: In what ways has your perspective towards your career changed since working with me?
Client: I think before working with Rachel, I was kind of on the edge of quitting software engineering. I just felt like I wasn’t very good at it and it wasn’t what I wanted to do. After only three sessions, I’ve found a renewed interest and love and passion for my work. It makes me want to keep learning and keep growing, both as a software engineer and as a person.
Rachel: What would you tell someone considering coaching with me? What made the experience valuable?
Client: Well, first of all I would say definitely do it. Even if you think you don’t need it, I think just having someone who will listen to and give feedback on all of your questions and insecurities is so helpful. Having that feedback come from another woman who is working currently as a software engineer is so helpful, because you don’t feel like that is coming from someone outside of your career. It’s coming from someone who has a lot of experience in tech and who wants to lift up other women in tech. So I would definitely recommend it and I would also suggest that you come prepared with a couple ideas on what kind of improvements you want for yourself.
Rachel: What is one piece of advice you would give other women in tech who are early in their careers and having similar struggles?
Client: I want to say get a career coach, but I feel like that’s the whole testimonial. I think what I would say is, find a community. Whether that be other women or tech or just people that you resonate with. Find people who you can talk to. I think oftentimes we don’t realize how important it is to receive feedback and hear validation from other people. Especially people who are not your coworkers, who don’t necessarily have a vested interested in making you feel a certain way since they have to work with you every day. Just having a community, or even one person, to talk to about how you feel, it just makes it so much more helpful. It lifts the burden a little.
Rachel: Thank you so much.
