Karolina Kurdybacha
Karolina: “the programme was amazing”
Karolina Kurdybacha was working in a technical role in Ireland’s largest property website, Daft.ie, when she started on the pilot Female Leadership Programme. When this interview was conducted in October 2017, she had been promoted to Product Manager. She subsequently moved to another role in another company. Karoline is photogaphed above with her mentor on the programme, Maria Hunt.
Karolina Kurdybacha’s working life has been transformed since her participation in the programme. She has received a promotion and a pay rise but more importantly, she is more confident and happy at work.
Karolina had been with a different company, in a mid-management role, which she enjoyed, but felt that her development opportunities were limited.
“I went on the programme to build my confidence as I felt I had lost that — and the person I used to be. I wanted to reach my full potential. The programme felt like the first step of the process of self-improvement,” says Karolina.
“At that stage, I had changed jobs but still had low confidence. The programme was amazing. I was surrounded by women who knew how to balance their professional and family life. I found a place where people understood me. I got to work on my weaknesses and became more professionally satisfied.”
After a few months, her confidence started to grow and now rather than seeing other women as the competition, she wants to support them in their careers.
The first day of the programme was the most difficult part for Karolina. “I felt the other women were a lot more confident than me, especially at public speaking. Now I am speaking regularly in front of hundreds of people. The programme opened my eyes that I can change and I don’t have to struggle. I can be very successful at work. “
The mentor’s view
When Karolina’s mentor — Marie Hunt, Executive Director and Head of Research at CBRE — first met her, she was surprised at her lack of confidence, given her level of experience. “Karolina felt intimidated and that she didn’t fit in as the rest of the women seemed so confident. However, they all had different goals, ambitions and issues to address,” says Marie.
“I feel Karolina has achieved everything she set out to at the start of the programme, even getting a pay rise by default as a result of her stepping up. It was hard hearing that Karolina was unhappy and felt she had no room to grow in her role so the best thing about this process was not that she secured a pay rise or a promotion but the fact that she is now more confident and happy in her work.”
View Karolina’s profile on LinkedIn
