“You have to create the environment and skills to be attractive to a recruiter … but if you network and create relationships, that’s a way to get a foot in the door.”
The 2x Women in Tech Podcast with Chelsea Behrens
Christina Altomare, IBM Worldwide Events Marketing Strategist
If you think you know what it means to work in tech and that you lack the right skill set, think again. This episode of the 2x Women in Tech Podcast features a woman whose path over 16 years with IBM Services exemplifies the way in which the industry – and the roles available within it – are constantly growing and changing. Just out of college, Christina Altomare could never have envisioned her current role as a Worldwide Events Marketing Strategist.
Christina’s journey has unfolded organically, over time. She knew she had innate people and organizational skills as well as a passion for the creative side of tech, which she has parlayed into a series of challenging positions and gratifying promotions.
How has Christina done it? By staying open, looking for opportunities, networking with others and adapting herself to evolving seasons of life (in her case from a relatively mono-focused career woman in her 20s to a full-time working mom today). In this interview, I invite Christina to reflect on IBM’s culture and the opportunities that the tech industry as a whole can offer women with a variety of skills sets at all stages of life. “Life is short and you never know,” says Christina. “So if you’re interested in tech, reach out and let’s see what positions might be available. I’m always happy to talk. Let’s be allies with each other!”
Key Takeaways:
How Christina fell into the tech industry and followed an organic path that ultimately led to a role at the nexus of her interests in the business and creative sides of tech.
About IBM Consulting: It’s fundamentally tech agnostic, focused currently on digital transformation with an emphasis on people as primary resources.
Christina shares advice for women trying to identify a niche within the tech industry:
Take an honest look at what your innate skill sets are, as well as what you enjoy.
Look a layer beneath job titles to determine whether the tasks associated make a good fit with your temperament and talents.
From the kitchen to the Cloud: IBM is a product of cumulative iterations and adaptations, with a corporate timeline that maps back to developing cheese and meat slicing technology in 1911 and evolved to focus primarily on Cloud and AI technology today.
The tech industry is constantly changing, along with the roles required to manage various elements of the business.
Getting a foot in the door: Christina ticks off some of the (highly transferrable) critical skills relevant to prospective candidates for tech jobs: Can you learn on the job? Are you a team player? Are you adaptable?
The tech industry has evolved quickly, particularly in terms of its pervasive presence and influence on daily life. Christina is passionate about being a steward, ensuring that tools are deployed ethically, morally and responsibly.
About what Christina terms “collective altruism,” as highlighted in a McKinsey Study that underscores the bottom-line benefits that accrue when diversity is incorporated throughout the enterprise.
Christina reflects on how her priorities have shifted along with her choices, melding a commitment to work with a commitment to the personal care she believes is equally important – for our parents, our children, ourselves.
The Great Resignation is a reflection of the pause many workers have taken to reevaluate their lives, job satisfaction and long-term goals.
Christina’s wish list: She hopes (and believes) that the tech sector will step up to advance diversity, solutions to climate change and other global challenges.
How Christina decompresses in her off hours: Photography, art/design, food of all kinds, connecting with people and blasting music while running errands. She’s also on the board of directors for the YMCA of White Plains-Central Westchester and supports workplace excellence organizations.
Parting Thoughts: Go for it! Let’s work together to broaden horizons. There are many ways to find allies and advance opportunities for women in the tech industry.
Episode Resources
Christina on LinkedIn
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