From Protecting Your Calendar to an Innovative 11-Week Program: How to Kick Off Your STEM Career

If you identify as a woman and are interested in a career in tech but are not sure where to start, Nicole Phillips and her team are here to help. 

Phillips is a Talent Team Manager for Business Services at Wiley Edge, the emerging talent and reskill training partner for public and private organizations across the globe. In her role, she manages a team of recruiters who are responsible for matching candidates to entry-level finance and business job opportunities. To excel, she uses her experience as a Talent Acquisition Partner and Human Resources Manager in the technology space.

And Phillips is also involved in other important programs at Wiley Edge. “Our team recently piloted a program called Aspire,” she tells us. This is “an 11-week instructor-led online course designed to empower, support, and develop women in the tech space. Aspire is taught by women and designed for women from all degree backgrounds to help them access entry-level software engineering roles and address the gender gap in the industry.” 

Using this program, Phillips and her team are aiming to increase the representation of women in tech while providing support every step of the way.

In this article, Phillips shares some of her best advice as a woman in tech whose job it is to help you succeed. She also gives us an inside look at why she loves working for Wiley Edge.

Top Advice for Women in Tech

What is something that is imperative to excel as a woman in tech? Protecting your calendar! “It’s my tenet that you spend your time and your money on what you value the most,” shares Phillips. “In your career — particularly as you grow — projects, people, and clients will all compete for your time. Important things outside of your career deserve your time as well. Learning how to prioritize what’s most important and how to delegate or postpone what can wait has been an invaluable lesson for me.”

This ability to self reflect and determine your individual goals is also an important skill for advancing your career. In fact, to take your STEM career to the next level, Phillips says you need to “determine what is most important to you in your long-term career and build actionable objectives to help you meet those long-term goals.” If you have a dream job that you feel is far away from where you currently are, “identify what stepping stones you can accomplish in the short term that will help you get to that point,” says Phillips. “It could be pursuing certification, seeking out a mentor, or shifting into a new career industry — there’s a lot of attainable things that can be done in the short term, and that feeling of accomplishment will propel you toward your long-term vision.”

Join a company like Wiley Edge that supports you and your passions.

Another way to grow as a woman in tech is to find a company that aligns with your goals and passions. Luckily for Phillips, she found just that at Wiley Edge. “Our company exists primarily to help launch early careers and to champion the increase of diverse employees in the technical and financial industries,” shares Phillips. “Our goal is to help connect graduates to incredible job opportunities and to support their training and professional development in the process.”

Curious to join Phillips at Wiley Edge? They’re hiring! Click the following link to learn more.

Fairygodboss is proud to partner with Wiley Edge. Find a job there today!