As an instructor with WANDA, watching single mothers actively commit to working on themselves through the challenges they face, exploring their authenticity, finding empowerment, and reclaiming their true selves, has been a gift and a privilege to Mansi Goel.
Mansi has a background in tech and spent 10 years at Google before retiring as the Global Head of Product Policy and becoming a leadership coach. The professional development she had access to had helped her grow and succeed, which inspired her to help other women reach for their dreams.
She was introduced to Jennifer Advani, WANDA’s Program Director, by a mutual friend, and was eager to learn more about the organization’s mission.
Mansi’s mother came to the U.S. as a single-parent immigrant who dove into her professional career, so Mansi really wanted to support the mothers in WANDA’s programs to do the same. For the past six years, she’s led an Interviewing Skills class with WANDA, sharing the tools that helped her and adding insights she wished she’d learned earlier in her career.
Being good at interviewing is not only about knowing how to answer questions; it’s also about showing up as the best version of yourself. In Mansi’s class, students work on showing up professionally and authentically by using brain science principles to monitor their nervous systems, and practicing professional interpersonal skills.
In addition to that class, she makes herself available for 1-on-1 coaching sessions. These are a highlight for her, and she fondly recalls one mom in particular whom she coached for a job interview. In their session, this WANDA mom used the skills from class to develop the self-confidence she needed to succeed. She followed up with Mansi through the process, ultimately getting the job she’d wanted most. It was a thrill for Mansi to support her.
Mansi gets joy from seeing the WANDA moms taking risks, having fun, and learning from each other in her class. They are actively trying to show up as their authentic selves as they embark on their job search even in difficult markets. Whether they get rejected or accepted, they feel empowered to keep going and feel proud of themselves. That has been Mansi’s main goal in teaching the Interview Skills class.
In her free time, Mansi meditates, manages a household of dozens of rescued animals, and advocates for animal rights.