Lyubomira Stoimenova, Program Manager at Women Back to Work

Mira is a market researcher by trade and diversity, equity and inclusion advocate by passion. She understands how to tackle biases and how to help create a more inclusive workplace. For Women Back to Work, she is responsible for translating the program needs into partnership initiatives and delivering impactful strategies that leverage diversity and inclusion practices to support the returners community.

Up Close with Mira :

I see people like books that are waiting to be open, and I am curious to read their story and see what is inside. Seeking understanding and challenging assumptions has helped me avoid biases and overcome barriers in my professional and personal life.

Mira, what are you most passionate about?

Recently starting a new job and a mum of two amazingly curious and energetic boys, I am deeply passionate about the challenges of maternity leave and how to bounce back to work after a career break. I have seen so many friends quit their jobs after coming back from a maternity leave due to a lack of flexibility and support from their peers or manager, or simply from unrealistic job expectations. I feel that there is a great need to speak more about this issue and support other working moms to successfully transition in and out of their careers. I love that through WBW, I get to help women returning from a career break, make these transitions smoothly at work and at home.

As a mom to two vivacious kids, free-time is a luxury. How do you manage to keep your hobbies alive?

I love doing art projects. Whenever I have inspiration, I just borrow time from my sleeping hours. When everybody is long in bed and asleep in the late evenings, I enjoy grabbing my pen and drawing some sketches. In the past I was doing more experiments with oils and big frame canvases, lately, due to time constraints, I have switched to sketches and watercolor. I usually try to be efficient and manage my time by setting daily goals and weekly tasks. This does not mean that I always manage to complete everything, but it helps me keep track of things and gives me an overview of the task at hand.

Mira, you’ve had multiple career breaks. What’s the story behind that?

I started my professional life in Switzerland as a project manager in market research at Hilti AG which is one of the top manufacturers of power tools for the construction industry. After 3 years with the company and a very successful career, I relocated to California and was forced to have my first career break due to visa restrictions and during this time I learned to paint at a professional artist studio. My first job in California was in academia where I spent a few years managing one of the largest research studies on birth defects in the United States funded by the CDC. During this time I had two kids and experienced two more career breaks.

You’ve had a complete career transformation. How did you transition into your current role?

Last summer due to COVID, daycares closed and I had two small kids at home who needed my undivided attention. I had to leave the workforce again and focus on my family. It was not an easy decision but it allowed me to reflect on my career path and the choices that working mums need to make in order to balance professional goals with family needs. I realized that I could not be the only mother who has gone through these challenges and needs to stay at home until it is safe to send the kids back to daycare. This changed my perspective entirely in terms of my career development. I felt passionate that I can help other mums face these challenges. So the first step was to find out what programs exist that help women go back to work and how I can contribute to them. There were many programs in diversity and inclusion but all of them required extensive human resource experience and knowledge which I had to catch up with. The more layers in gender diversity I was getting familiar with, the more questions I had which translated into more training, webinars, and certificates. I put a plan in place that no matter how long the break was going to take, I needed to use the time efficiently for my professional development and accomplish all the required certifications. It was difficult to balance the kids at home and the various course requirements but I was doing what made me happy for a cause that I felt passionate about.

How did you overcome challenges when returning to work?

I switched my career coming from a market research background and project management going into a new field. The first challenge was the fact that I did not have prior HR experience and a lot of the DEI professionals build their careers taking various roles within the HR department. My solution was to upskill by completing an HR certificate program with Cornell about Recruiting and Talent Acquisition so I have a better understanding of effective hiring and interviewing but also about best practices on how to attract and retain talent and make them thrive. All the additional classes gave me the confidence that I can understand the industry and with my previous experience and PM skills, I finally felt that I have quite a lot to offer and transfer my skills into my next job.

Let’s come to the best part here, what is your piece of advice to the many women who are facing challenges returning to work?

Be curious and proactive. Focus and know what is your professional goal, what are your skills, what is your passion, and do your research on what the requirements are to achieve your goals. Follow professionals that are in that job role and learn from them. Build your personal brand on professional social platforms and develop your network.