We’re proud of each and every mentee at Women Go Tech who discovered the world of tech and is successfully seeking their career in this field! This time, we’d like to share the story of Regina Kenstavičiūtė-Ivaškienė, a Product Designer at Wix.com. Having faced an interesting field of tech in her previous role, Regina participated in our mentorship program back in 2019. How did this decision shape her further career and what are the main takeaways from this particular experience? Let’s find out!

The discovery of UX

Before joining Women Go Tech a few years ago, Regina had her own business. “Due to the nature of my work and background (I hold a degree in communications), there were more and more interactions with UX as a concept,” she remembers. This particular field became quite interesting to Regina who really enjoyed any related tasks and growth opportunities. Eventually, she realised that this new skill can turn into a permanent job. “I realised that this is what I actually wanted to do, so we decided to peacefully split the ways with my business partner after finishing all ongoing projects.”

“This helped me to understand that the biggest support you can find is talking to people. Whether that conversation lasts a few minutes or an hour, it really helps to move forward.“

After leaving her business, Regina started to look for more professional growth opportunities. “Although I had experience in marketing as well as knew a bit about industrial design and media, there were many more things to learn in order to be successful.” Finding out about Women Go Tech became a great chance to become more proficient in the UX design specifically: Regina joined the programme and found it really inspiring. “This helped me to understand that the biggest support you can find is talking to people. Whether that conversation lasts a few minutes or an hour, it really helps to move forward.”

Mentorship helps to achieve goals

Regina is particularly happy about the relationship she managed to form with her mentor. “That person was not only really kind and honest but also provided a lot of great advice.” According to her, mentorship is a two-way process where the mentee has a significant role too. “For me, it was important to have someone who could take a look at my portfolio and give some valuable feedback.” On the other hand, Regina notes that the support of her mentor contributed to her own development too: “Although my time planning and organisation skills are good, it was surely great to have a person who could track my progress in tasks and help to stay on track.”

“I found the best community of designers, as everyone was mature, friendly and ready to help.“

This successful collaboration between the mentee and her mentor delivered excellent results: Regina made her dream to work at Wix.com come true. “It was the only application I sent, and they called me the next day after I sent it.” Having started as an intern, Regina says that this period was the best school for her as an aspiring tech professional: “I found the best community of designers, as everyone was mature, friendly and ready to help. My internship experience not only developed my hard skills in UX but also allowed me to be responsible for the projects and surrounded by amazing office culture from the very first day.”

Build up your confidence while building connections

What could Regina say to the female professionals who aim to enter tech but lack confidence? “First and foremost: don’t be afraid to talk and discuss,” she says. Our interviewee marks the importance of mentors and other professionals from the desired field once again. “Instead of focusing on if, everyone should ask themselves when. Sharing success stories, answering questions and using other ways of informal communication will allow you to evaluate your abilities and even sketch a potential pathway to success.”

“we were all in this together, so sharing experiences and encouraging each other became an important aspect of development.“

Regina remembers the support of other mentees too. “I spoke to other girls from the mentorship program a lot. It’s natural: we were all in this together, so sharing experiences and encouraging each other became an important aspect of development. It may feel a bit awkward initially, but you solve any upcoming issue together and move further. This definitely helps.”

In line with this, she sums up: “What should we do to attract more female professionals to tech? Speak about it more. There are many women in tech – and it’s crucially important to display them more.”

Watch a quick interview with Regina talking about her Women Go Tech and Wix experience.