The Power of Change How Maxon consistently supports me and enables me to be flexible in my job.
“A leap of faith started my interesting, fun, and rewarding journey at Maxon. I was not actively looking for new opportunities but when Maxon approached me, something about them made me curious. Maybe it was the idea of working for a company that is key in creating Marvel movies or the fact that on the first interview they asked “what would a friend that has had too many glasses of wine tell me about you” to get me to list my weaknesses. Anyway I ended up going through their interview process and really understood how different Maxon was when I rejected the offer to join. Yes, at first I rejected the offer because I saw their parental leave as unsatisfying.
I was not planning on having children, but I believed the policy could be improved to better support pregnant people and people looking to start a family. I was transparent with the hiring manager about my reasons not to take the job and instead of waving goodbye, the hiring manager took my concern seriously. A couple of days later Maxon reached out again with a proposal I could not refuse: If I joined Maxon I could be part of changing the policy for the better. So I joined as a Technical Program Manager and soon discovered that I now was part of a team of passionate people with an authentic love for the products they make.
The environment was fast paced, proactive, problem solving oriented, and above all amicable and collaborative. Jokes were allowed and people laughed together. Soon everyone I worked with felt more like a close friend than just a coworker. At the same time I felt heard and supported by my manager and others in leadership. And Maxon kept its promise. Soon HR reached out to me to give feedback on their proposal for a new parental leave policy. The result of our discussion was a new policy giving birthing and non-birthing parents 16 weeks paid parental leave with the option to extend 16 more weeks with unpaid leave and the opportunity of a flexible return to work.
As it turned out, I was one of the first employees to test out the new policy as I got pregnant about half a year after joining Maxon. I not only benefited from a parental leave policy that allowed me to recover from birth and spend time with my child but I also discovered that being a mother had no bearing on my professional development at Maxon. I know many women are hesitant to mention they are pregnant for fear of not being considered for opportunities for professional growth. Often, they are concerned their career will stagnate when they become mothers. My experience was so different and so positive it sounds like fake news. At 6 months pregnant I was promoted to senior and when I applied for a management position in engineering soon after, I was considered and got the job despite my belly bursting from all seams. HR, my manager, and my soon to be manager worked with me to ensure my responsibilities were transitioned and that I could take the time I needed to become a new mom before coming back to the new position.
I now have a beautiful 7-month child and four amazing people in my team. Maxon consistently provides me the flexibility and the support I need to be the best I can be in all my new roles. Maxon is different and I love it.”