“Think about what you want to do and who you want to be.”
This is one piece of advice I received at Ontario Tech Women for STEM’s NEXTGEN conference last Wednesday at Microsoft’s Toronto office.
Beyond enjoying the GO train ride downtown and scanning a QR code that tell which elevator take me to the 44th floor, I recieved valuable advice that I’ll carry with me as I navigate my post-grad job search.
Tanya Geisler, CPCC, opened the conference by discussing the imposter complex and reminding us there’s no “100% ready bus.” She introduced ICONIC—Identity, Confront, Optimize, Network, Implement, Celebrate—a framework for navigating self-doubt.
Something else that resonated with me was how she showed that patterns like comparison and perfectionism can have positive qualities behind them, such as connection and excellence. I used to get frustrated with myself when I noticed these patterns, but now I look at them with more optimism.
During the HR panel, Naz Ansari, Fidel Romero, CHRP, Gowri Sivanathan and Carly O'Shea, CHRL, moderated by Aryan Habib, encouraged us to “treat the interview like a conversation.” They also emphasized curiosity, extracurricular involvement, and soft skills such as communication and collaboration.
Gina Strati shared her non-linear career journey and compared careers to a buffet. I thought this was a meaningful analogy: everyone takes a different path, and success does not have to look the same for everyone.
The women in leadership panel— Karen Chan, FEC, PEng, MBA, ICD.NFP, Kathleen Carew, Tarah Johnston, and Stefanie Helen Shavrnoch, moderated by Arlene Ali —reminded us to surround ourselves with inspiring people and that our definition of success can change.
We also heard from Yasmine Hazzaz about optimizing our LinkedIn profiles and using AI, and Mahrukh A. from Microsoft, who showed us how to use Copilot to tailor our resumes for job applications.
Dr. Georgette Zinaty MBA MSc DBA iGP closed the conference with a keynote on the power of networking. She reminded us of the importance of body language, not over-apologizing, and using more confident wording, such as saying “I recommend” instead of “I think.”
After the conference, Alexia Tijero Rondon showed us around Microsoft's office and explained how its technology is used across different sectors. At the networking reception, I enjoyed speaking with Hala George (J.J. McGuire), who shared some of the company's work with OPG and the ACE wind tunnel, and Li Ro (OPG), who gave me valuable career advice. I also enjoyed meeting Hannah M. (OPG), Maha A. (Hitachi Rail), Krista Nicholson, P.Eng, and Anya Mathur (NPX). It was great to share my experience at OPG and learn more about their work.
A big thank you to Ontario Tech Women for STEM , all the speakers, and everyone I had the chance to connect with for making this such a memorable experience!
#OntarioTechWomeninSTEM #Techwithaconscience