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A Working Mom’s Career Advice: Grow Your Career Through Quality Time
“I get lost in my work,” Evangelina (Eva) Martinez Ruiz Moreno, Senior Engineering Manager at Salesforce shared. “I’m passionate about what I do. I get immersed in it. And when I look up, I’m surprised to see hours have flown by.”
Although Eva finds it easy – perhaps even tempting – to put in many hours, her advice would be to hold yourself to quality, rather than the quantity, of time.
It’s one of the many insightful perspectives she’s gained since becoming a working mother. Discover more of her brilliant tips below.
A little background: Eva’s path to Salesforce
Eva joined Salesforce through an acquisition. She was one of the first 20 employees at MuleSoft in Buenos Aires. MuleSoft provides the most widely used integration platform for connecting SaaS & enterprise applications in the cloud and on-premise.
Having been with MuleSoft since its early days, she was surprised to see how well both company’s values aligned.
“Merging into the Salesforce culture was natural because our companies approached so many things similarly. But I loved to see that Salesforce looked at this as an opportunity for them to learn things from MuleSoft and bring them back to the larger Ohana, too.”
An unexpected maternity leave experience
As Salesforce grew, so did Eva. She’s held four roles within the company. But her title change to “mama” was the most transformative of all.
“I was an individual contributor at work when I decided to start a family. During my pregnancy, I was really afraid of how it would impact my career. I worked until the last day, and planned to be away for just three months — the standard in Argentina.”
Her experience and vigilance preparing for maternity leave isn’t unusual. Harvard Business Review reports that pregnant women and mothers often face discrimination, and are viewed as less capable than their counterparts. Mothers who are aware of this unfortunate global predicament often work harder, and longer, to overcome bias.
But when Eva’s daughter Olivia was born, everything changed. Eva decided to take the maximum parental leave, had a courageous conversation with her manager, and was fully supported by her team.
“They congratulated me and shared in my happiness,” Eva reflected.
Salesforce is a family. And we want to help every employee care for their families. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been named a Great Place to Work.
Returning to work with a new mindset
At the end of her leave, Eva had cherished her time at home, but was ready for a change of pace. The transition back was made smoother by flexible work options. “I chose to work from home in the mornings and go into the office in the afternoons because face-to-face interactions were so valuable to me.”
But she was still riddled by self-doubt. “I was very afraid of what people were going to think about me as a working mom and my choice to spend mornings in my home. But, at the end of the day, I realized it’s not about the time, or the channel, or how I do my job. I still had the same passion that I always had in my work. It was about making the most out of the hours.”
“Putting in quality time (rather than more time) applies at home and work. It’s a balancing act. Sometimes it’s hard. But Salesforce has always encouraged me to integrate these two worlds. This support means everything to me.”
Eva, like many working mothers, became very intentional about how she spent her working hours. In fact, a Harvard Business Review podcast reported that working mothers often reenter the workforce with new perspective, improved relational capacity, and better management skills.
Others took notice of Eva’s intentionality. Soon, she received a peer-nominated award for exemplary teamwork. Shortly after that, she was presented with an opportunity to move into a people management role. The lessons she learned from motherhood became the cornerstones to her leadership approach.
Growing into an inspirational leader
Eva wants her team members to feel the same level of encouragement she’s been given.
“As a people manager today, I better understand that when somebody’s happy at work, they’re going to give their best. The most important thing that I can do is to ensure my team is enjoying their work.”
To that end, Eva encourages her team to swap roles. “I recommend people work on different teams so they can learn from each other and build new skills.”
And she’s honing her craft, too. “I’m learning every day. But helping my team grow and unravel their potential is one of the most fulfilling jobs I can think of.”
As Eva has moved from an individual contributor to a people manager, she’s shifted her focus to building a diverse and collaborative team, enabling that team to dig into the work they love, and creating an environment that breeds innovation.
Paying it forward
Beyond helping her team grow, Eva is devoted to enabling the next generation in tech. She volunteers her time with Chicas en Tecnología (Girls in Technology), which holds hackathons for teenage girls.
Having been supported by her father to enter this industry, she didn’t fully recognize the need this group was addressing until she locked arms with them.
Her motherhood journey continues
Today, Eva has stepped into her second parental leave carefree. She’s welcoming a little boy into the world and will leverage a six month paid leave without any hesitation. “I’m going to focus on my most important job right now: caring for my son. I’ll cherish every moment together. There’s no need to worry about my transition back. I know Salesforce will be here to support me, and that I’ll reenter the workforce — enriched and valued for the fresh perspective I bring.”
Get lost in your career
Impact is at every turn of Eva’s career experience — from the integration software that improves our customer’s solutions, to growing an incredible team, and supporting the next generation in tech. “People don’t just want a place to go to work. They’re looking for a purpose. You can find that here.”
If your interests are evolving, it may be time to explore open roles at Salesforce. As Eva says, “When you have passion for something, you get lost in it.” Discover your next adventure today.