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We’re thrilled to feature one of our very own in this week’s working mom profile. She’s spoken before on the blog about how being a full-time working parent has enabled her to be the best mom she can be. We sat down with her to learn more about how she finds fulfilment in that mix, and how she avoids burnout.
Read on to get to know how Amy C. established and advocated firm boundaries with her employer to create the balance she needed to juggle an impressive career and young motherhood.
XO,
EVM
Name: Amy Cosentino
Age: 31
Location: Chandler, AZ
Children: Hannah (2), Connor (3 months)
Tell us about your role and how you got to this point in your career
I am a financial analyst in the aerospace industry. I have been a financial analyst for 8.5 years, it is a perfect fit for my math/economics degree. Basically, I forecast financial metrics for our office’s portfolio of work. Even pre-COVID I worked remotely, as my company is based in Santa Barbara, California, and we live in Chandler.
Tell us a little bit how your job supported your husband’s career shift
Before we got married, he worked in the golf industry. He wanted to make a change since golf can be weekend-heavy which can be tough on family life. Thankfully, my job allowed him the flexibility needed for him to make a career change. He is currently a supervisor at Starbucks, they are a great company to work for! And as a mom with two young kids, I certainly appreciate the coffee perks, ha!
How do you balance working full-time and being a mother?
I make sure I set clear boundaries at work so my bosses and co-workers know my schedule. I intentionally log off when my kids are home in the evening so that I can enjoy time with them before bed. If I have more work to do, I will log in after they go to sleep to complete it.
Can you walk us through your morning routine?
It will be interesting to see how this changes when I adjust to having two kiddos to get ready after my maternity leave is over, ha! But, prior to having my son, on work days I would wake up around 6 a.m. to have at least an hour to myself before my daughter wakes up. I spend some of that time on things that help me start my day well (Bible time and coffee is my favorite way to start the day), and then log in to start my work day by getting ahead on emails.
When my daughter wakes up, I spend time with her getting her ready for the day and drive her to her in-home day care around 8 a.m. I come home and get back to work, often only taking short breaks to grab food.
Tell us about transitioning to being a working mom. What surprised you? How do you make it work?
It was harder than I expected, but not for the reasons I expected. I thought it would be hard leaving my daughter, and don’t get me wrong it can be, but I quickly realized just how much she was thriving having some extra socialization during the day. And I realized how nice it was for me to have some time to focus on something other than mom life.
I feel like being a working mom allows me to really enjoy both of those huge parts of my life: work and motherhood, siloed from each other.
Were you able to take maternity leave?
I got eight weeks of paid maternity leave and added on two weeks of my PTO to get 10 weeks in total. While I am so grateful to have any maternity leave at all, it can be hard because my office is based in California their state, unlike Arizona, has additional paid family leave, so most of my co-workers get four months off. I have to fight the comparison game, and just be grateful for what I have.
What are the biggest hurdles that you see for working mothers in America?
As a nation, we need better paid parental leave, not just for moms, but dads, too! My husband got nine weeks paid paternity leave with our daughter, and it was amazing that we got to spend that time together learning how to be parents. This time with our son, he only got three weeks off and that was by using his own sick time.
In your experience, what do you believe are the key components in balancing your career, your relationships, and parenthood?
Boundaries! And remembering that YOU are in control of your life. If something feels out of balance, remember that you can make a change. While I am so appreciative of my job, it is not my life. Therefore, when I log off, I log off. I disconnect, and instead connect with my family and friends. Setting boundaries so that I don’t feel like my work is running my life is key for me! And knowing that even with clear boundaries, I can still grow and excel at my job.
For some fun chit-chat, now!
- Favorite East Valley date night activity? Alamo Drafthouse, dinner & a movie!
- Coffee order? Currently, pistachio latte from Starbucks
- Favorite restaurant in the East Valley? So many! First that comes to mind is Ta Lew Thai Bistro.
- Most embarrassing mom moment? Baby (and mom) melting down in the airport.
- Last show you binged? Survivor (on Hulu)
