Women Wednesday: Learn from Tatjana Lalkovic, Definity

By ibmblogsApril 19, 2022

IBM Canada STEM for Girls presents “Women Wednesday,” a video series that encourages youth and young women to knock down barriers to becoming an engineer, doctor, physicist and more. The possibilities are endless, and the future is bright!

“Love what you do.”

Career advice from Definity’s Tatjana Lalkovic

Driven by curiosity and passionate about leveraging transformation technology to solve business problems, Definity Finacial’s SVP and CIO Tatjana Lalkovic is a strong advocate for women in leadership and mentor to aspiring leaders in the technology space. Tatjana shares her unique perspective on how young women can find success in STEM.

Overview

01	Overcoming Challenges	(1:43)
02	Motivation & Inspiration	(5:00)
03	Change in Perspective	(6:24)
04	Dreams for Youth	(9:08)
05	Advice to Youth	(11:08)
06	Learning Recommendations	(12:58)

Tatjana’s Top 4 Career Tips:

1. See failure as a new path to success.

Failure should be viewed as an opportunity to adjust, recover, build resilience, and emerge stronger. At one point in her career, Tatjana was on track for a promotion to a more senior role in her field. When another candidate got the role, initially, she felt like a failure. But with the guidance and support of her sponsor, mentor and supervisor, she chose instead to broaden her horizons. Within six months, she landed an exciting role that not only extended her knowledge and skills but provided a pivotal learning opportunity that put her career on a new and interesting path.

2. Never stop learning.

Fields in STEM are broad and constantly evolving – offering a never-ending journey of learning and reinvention. To get where you want to go:

Take roles that will expand your accountability and broaden your leadership skills, experience, and knowledge.
Keep your career moving in the right direction by deciding exactly what you want to learn next.
Invest time in building a network of colleagues and professionals so that you can support one another on your journey.

3. Get introduced early to the world of STEM.

Early education and awareness of the varied, interesting opportunities available in STEM will attract girls to the field and provide a wider pipeline coming into the industry. The earlier that young women see the kind of exciting careers they can enjoy in STEM – without any barriers – the sooner we will see greater representation of women in STEM. “My dream is for a world in which there is gender equality – with a clear path for women in STEM to grow their careers.”

4. Enjoy the journey!

Tatjana believes if you love what you do, your job will be an incredible opportunity to express yourself and your creativity. The world of STEM offers so many opportunities to innovate, continue learning, and solve very complex problems with technology. The more you enjoy the journey, the faster you will improve yourself as a person, as a leader, as a technologist, and as a woman in STEM. As Tatjana puts it: “Enjoying the journey is what keeps me around and keeps me excited about what I do.”

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Learn with STEM for Girls (SFG) on IBM SkillsBuild!

Youth are telling us they want to learn and grow for greater representation in STEM fields. (And we know it’s hard to find representation in STEM fields!) We’re here to help knock down those barriers so you can see yourself one day as an engineer, doctor, physicist, and more. The possibilities are endless, and your future is bright.