059: Hiring and Interviewing

Jess, Chris S, and Allison discuss the hiring and interviewing process in tech. They share their experience as the interviewee, as well as the interviewer. The team identifies the underlying bias in the process, good signs and bad signs, and why it's important to set up a potential interviewee in the best environment possible.

01:45 Hiring and Interviewing in tech

• Jess writes a book and gets a new job
• How to reduce bias in interviewing process

03:33 Tech interviews hinder parents and caregivers

• Take-home vs pairing session
• Hiring managers should set up the interviewee in the best possible scenario
• 6-8 hours for a take-home test, unrealistic for caregivings

09:50 How to access talent

• Everyway is flawed
• Take-home - kids constantly interrupting
• Paired - many engineers are introverted
• Solutions: Short at-home mixed with pairing, or problem prompt

13:30 Bias

• How to reduce: rubric for every round, being aware of the bias
• Allison asks about parental leave, and feels the tone shift drastically
  
• Legal protection, but a lot of fuzzy areas
  

16:45 Good signs for parents interviewing

• Its a non-event when a child pops into the room while on a call
• Companies reward evenly
• Talk with team members outside the interviewing committee
• Talk with someone you relate to on the team, mom, trans, BIPOC, etc

20:30 Bad signs for parents interviewing

• The entire tone changes after asking about parental leave..
• Judgmental, leadership team of non-parents

22:00 Handing flexibility

• Ask about parental leave, primary and secondary leave
• Be honest with needs
• Workplace flexibility

28:37 Genius / fail

• Jess deals with her son having accidents constantly
• Chris and his kids play board games and jam out to all songs names satellite
• Allison’s daughter sparks chaos when she leaves her room after bedtime… but soon learns to stay in her room to tire herself out.

How can I support the podcast?

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com.

Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.

Jess
Allison
Chris S

Sponsored By:

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Episode 053: The Parenting Playbook with Anna Mackenzie

Sponsor: Nurture Life

Welcome, Anna Mackenzie

Anna Mackenzie is a Software Engineer who is dedicated to improving parental leave policies in tech. She is currently working at Voiceflow, a software startup that specializes in workflow tools for building voice experiences. She is the co-author of “The Expecting Playbook,” a toolkit that helps start-ups of all sizes to roll out supportive parental leave policies. Her follow-up book, titled “The Parental Playbook,” provides start-ups with the necessary tools to support parents upon their return to work. In 2018, Anna was named as one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada, as well as one of the Top 30 Women In Tech Making a Difference by the DMZ.

02:40 How did you come up with the idea? Why write these books?

• Being a minority in the industry
• Starting to ask difficult questions to companies she was interviewing for
• No startup policy that lead to leadership roles for women
• Companies need a better hiring practices for women

05:50 Asking about parental leave during interviews

• Maternity AND paternity leave
• Are companies set up to have employees transition easily in and out of leave?

08:40 Changing perspective in the workplace

• The work place was designed for a world that no longer exists
• The necessary reason to be LOUD about things you believe in

13:35 Good policies get great people

• Employer thinking about childcare > parents thinking about childcare
• Diversity includes parents

17:10 How are companies adjusting to parents during COVID19

• Moms are typically affected more
• How can we restructure what work looks like - long overdue!

18:40 How to be inclusive of parents when they come back from leave

• Changing activities other than happy hour
• Adding a lock to the pumping room
• The importance of having diverse leadership and voices

20:45 Psychological safety

• What’s OK for parents to mention to their team?
• Will the team think less because a parent is sleep deprived
• Employees do better work

26:15 Genius / fail moments

• KWu gets her son to help with the dishes one utensil at a time to keep him from making a mess in the living room. #genius
• Allison creates an obstacle course to keep her kids occupied, which includes a captain’s hat! #genius
• Arit stays consistent potty training her daughter and finally gets onto the other side of potty training! #HUGEwin
• Anna’s dog gets sprayed by a skunk at a friend's house, cleans him off and then goes home, to only get skunked again in her backyard!! #fail

How can I support the podcast?

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com.

Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.

Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community!

Panel

Allison McMillan
Arit Amana
KWu

Special Guest: Anna Mackenzie.

Sponsored By:

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Episode 011: Being a Trans Parent

00:30 We're joined by our friend Jess today

We've been soliciting questions from our audience which will help guide our conversation today

02:00 How do you help young children who want to categorize everything in to boys and girls?

How do we talk about boy parts and girl parts and gender identity especially with young children?
It's a complex topic. Different children classify in different ways. Does it talk to how we socialize children? It changes when your children interact with other children in school.
Science has proven that gender identity is mostly internal and it is in flux until children are around 3 and then they demonstrate more behaviors that can be associated with a specific gender.

07:50 How much do body parts relate to gender identity?

Talking about body parts and explaining that you can't tell what a person is by looking at them. You need to ask,

9:00 Children see the world in different ways

There's a need to talk to children in different ways because the way children classify and categorize are different. It's important to reach a child in a way that makes sense for them.

You can still categorize and have these boundaries but talking about what defining characteristics and boundaries are is important.

We're seeing more categories now that are gender non-binary or gender fluid and that's another set of categories to introduce and look for in books.

When other people define those categories, it's also very difficult and overwriting peer pressure and social norms is tough.

We have to understand details and nuance. Needing to overwrite social norms and outside influence is so much of parenting.

It's a beautiful thing when parents can help their children learn compassion and talk through these questions.

14:14 If a child sees someone and wants to know what gender that person is, what is a good way to make sure we're guiding them correctly and having them ask in a way that is not offense and hurtful to the individual?

Parents react in a variety of ways when children ask. Jess talks about some of the reactions she's gotten and what is helpful in the moment.

The polite way to ask as an adult is "hi, my pronouns are and . What are your pronouns?" It's hard to tell by looking at folks so it can be normalized by just asking.

Sarah talks about a camp that does this and the children have picked up on it super quickly. Kids are much more open to these discussions now than we are at our age and they might be more open to these discussions because they are being raised in a different time.

19:50 Listener comment

Conversations about a trans girl in elementary school led to a lot of parental learning.

20:20 Are younger kids talking about this more and recognizing this earlier?

Definitely. Talking about media representations and cultural expectations of trans people in the past and present.

Late transitioners are going to become less and less common.

22:00 What's helpful as parents to make sure our children feel comfortable having these conversations with us?

Podcast: How to be a girl about a parent raising a trans girl

Book: Transgender 101 helps address these issues

As well as some helpful questions and approaches for parents with children talking about gender identification.

25:00 - 28:30 How do you deal with people who can't understand?

trigger warning Gender dysphoria and depression

dysphoria and euphoria. Talking about calling in a support system and recognizing how to be honest with ourselves and our families.

29:00 As parents, how to support trans families?

Best allies are simple things like using the correct pronouns because it's more about being a person and not about being trans.

Jess shares a Mother's Day story which shows fellow parent support and an example of allyship.

32:00 How to help young children develop identity in a world of gender policing?

Graciously accept gifts and then lose them. Trying to phrase things as play or as talking about play as what the child is doing.

Giving children options is good as well.

36:00 What are good resources?

Red: A Crayon's Story
I am Jazz
Kids books are few and far between.

For adults, pflag chapters are also good.
Jenny Boylan as an author is great.
Jess is also happy to chat on twitter!

39:00 Genius / Fail moments

Allison - I took my son to see the fireworks and he was excited but also terrified and asked to leave. I thought it was ok but then once we got home we needed to have a long discussion about how he's safe in the house from fireworks. I may have scarred him for life. #Fail

Chris - My kids wanted to wash the truck which was great but then they got bored of washing and took the hose to the side yard and now it's a muddy mess. #Genius

Jess - My son's daycare has been growing cucumbers and he brought home cucumbers to make pickles! #Genius

Josh - The food wars continue. My daughter helps me pick out the meals that get sent every week so she recognizes that she's agreed to what gets sent. #Genius

Sarah - My daughter drew a picture of being a spider vet when she grows up, but actually it was a spider pirate. She's got a great imagination. #Genius

Also, future genius? Family vacations are hard so instead of a family trip. We're doing 1-on-1 trips depending on where each child wants to go.

53:40 Contact Us!

Tell us if you have a question you want us to discuss on air!

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com. Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel:

Josh Puetz
Sarah Olson
Allison McMillan
Chris Sexton

Special Guest: Jess Szmajda.

Episode 009: Planning Childcare at Conferences

00:25 We're joined by Abby Phoenix today

01:00 When did childcare at Ruby Central events start?

started in 2015 and have now been at 6 conferences
The intention is to always have childcare at RailsConf and RubyConf

03:37 Where to start when you want to have childcare at your conference

Treat it as any other vendor
Go to the conference venue and ask for recommendations
Ask for recommendations from the hotel, local user groups, etc.

6:10 Smaller conferences

Smaller conferences are a little more difficult but also easier because if it's in the same location every year you can use the same provider year after year

7:30 Very important that childcare is based in the city of the conference

They know how to get around
They have alternative options
They are on time
They have the equipment they need

9:10 How many people use childcare at conferences?

Typically 5-7 kids
Usually younger children especially since RubyConf and RailsConf are during the school year so most older children are in school
Always a question of whether or not a parent can make it work because bringing a child to a conference can be challenging

13:45 Lactation room is also offered

Visibility is very important
It is important that it is known in the community that childcare and lactation rooms are available at these conferences
What to call the lactation room?
How it works at a conference to make sure you don't get walking in on and to make sure it is easy
The lactation room has outlets and a fridge.

20:20 We tangent about all the things we can't wait to forget as parents

Diapers
Wiping bums
and more

21:30 Lactation rooms are really easy to put in place as a conference organizer

22:20 What have been the biggest challenges of providing childcare at a conference?

There were things we did not know to ask when we started and so now we have a list which is helpful
Abby goes in to which questions they have started to ask

26:00 What do you wish you could provide?

Evening childcare so parents can do things.
They will try to work with childcare providers to offer after-hours care but can't provide it themselves

31:00 Childcare is often tailored to 1-5 year olds

Most of the participants are younger

32:00 Mandy talks about what you can do with an older child at a conference

Is it worth it to bring an older child to a conference?
What conferences have a "kids track"?
How to engage older kids at conferences?
The childcare provider will often tailor childcare towards the age range of the children there

39:30 What are the costs involved for organizers and participants

Participants are not charged for using childcare
Discussion about costs in different cities

44:00 Genius / Fail moments

Allison - My daughter has had a rough few weeks and loves being bounced on a ball but it's tiring for me and hurts my back, so I put her on the ball, tummy down, bounced her, and it calmed her down and she got gas out #Genius
Andy - After a difficult day, my daughter wrote "I love you daddy, even when you're grumpy" #Genius? or #Fail?
Mandy - My daughter got the principals award for having a positive attitude, was responsible, did homework, and more. I was very proud! #Genius
KWu - I'm on call for the week and so I set up a daybed in the office and negotiated with my husband that after the wake-ups, I would go to the office and turn off the monitor and be off duty for a few hours #Genius
Abby - My daughters are very picky eaters. My youngest will eat waffles that she'll eat for breakfast. Recently she brought one over to me and said, "mommy I really like these. I like that there is candy inside" #Fail
With my oldest, I asked her to describe her perfect meal and I thought she'd talk about candy or ice cream but she said "My perfect meal is a cheese plate" and so from then on every night has been a cheese plate for dinner, which to her means little bits of a variety of food #Genius

54:00 RubyConf is coming!

Find more information at @rubyconf and rubyconf.org has some information right now.
Registration will open in August or September

54:40 Contact Us!

Email us to ask questions.

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com. Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel:

Mandy Moore
Allison McMillan
KWu
Andy Croll

Special Guest: Abby Phoenix.

Episode 007: Keeping up to date with tech

00:27 Welcome back Allison

01:00 Today topic: Learning during the work day

02:47 It's ok if learning doesn't happen when your kids are little

04:14 Learning if you're a single parent is more difficult

It's more difficult if you don't have a partner to hand things off to
Real talk: you will always just have less time

7:15 Choices and Bringing your laptop along

Being efficient and aware of the time you have
But don't burn out

12:36 The pressure to always be learning

Pros and cons to these feelings
How it relates to burn out
How it related to work/life balance

15:35 Staying competitive in the industry

Tools, tips, and tricks

18:36 Learning staycations

22:33 Know how you learn and setting goals

Knowing how you learn is really important
How much do you want to learn? To what extent? etc.

23:34 Learning while you're on the clock

Convincing your employer to give you time to learn
Selling learning time to your boss

34:36 External groups like meetups, slack, etc. are extremely important for having a peer group to learn from

Support groups are super important
Coworking locally is even helpful if you can't make it to meetups, etc.

37:10 Genius / Fail moments

Chris - Conference swag as gifts for kids when you get home #Genius
Allison - I get to do 3 because it's been a while. I started a subscription to Le Tote so I can get new clothes that are nursing and postpartum body friendly #Genius
Baby has been sleeping for the entire podcast #Genius
My son didn't realize he could get out of his room on his own in the morning and he thought he had been left home alone #Fail
Josh - Labo is a set of projects made out of cardboard and it's integrated into a Nintendo Switch. It's awesome, but we haven't had a chance to do it yet. #Genius
JC -We're participating in the mulch fundraiser. My kids had to go out and hustle and sell mulch, cover fees, etc. But the fail was that my 15 year old had a snarky answering machine message on his phone and he lost a sale as a result. #Genius turned #Fail

53:00 Contact Us!

Tell us what you're learning!

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com. Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel:

Josh Puetz
Allison McMillan
Chris Sexton
JC Avena