Kerri D.
Sr. Talent Acquisition Partner

Being pregnant is no easy feat... but being 8 months pregnant, while also trying to grow your career, AND navigating a new company is a whole other story. Between the doctors appointments, symptoms that change weekly, body aches, lack of sleep, cravings, all while trying to balance your personal and professional life – it’s a lot. I am extremely fortunate to say that I work in a place where, without question, I can always put my health and family’s wellbeing first. Unlike many women in the workforce, I can do what I need to grow and support my family, without any hesitation, feelings of guilt, or added stress. When I’m asked how work has been throughout my pregnancy, I’m filled with overwhelming joy by the quality of life I’ve had and the support I’ve felt from the start. Based on my experience so far and what I’ve seen from coworkers who are parents, I know I can be a fully present mother-to-be while also furthering my career growth and aspirations. I don’t have to choose one or the other, and I recognize that not all moms and working parents have this. I’m so grateful that I can enjoy this special time in my life, while knowing my Toast team is cheering for me.

This is my first child, and I will admit to being nervous about a lot of things: the birthing experience, acclimating to life after, and possibly never sleeping again. One thing I'm not worried about? My job. I have an incredible team, and my manager could not be more supportive. I was worried to tell her when I first found out I was pregnant. I had only been at the company for three months, and although she had been nothing but supportive and encouraging up to that point, I was still eager to see her reaction. As soon as I told her, all of those feelings melted away- she was so excited for me, and I even could see her tearing up. My team has been amazing in helping me prepare for my time away, and they encourage me to enjoy and embrace this next chapter in my life. Sometimes you hear about soon-to-be moms over preparing for their parental leave by working themselves tirelessly to over deliver before they go out on leave, but my manager already has made sure they had support in place, so I won’t  feel an ounce of that guilt while I’m on leave.

There are a lot of working parents at Toast and within the Talent Acquisition team. I appreciate how many of them lead by example by not only being vocal about taking the time we need but also when they share their own stories of time off they spend with their families. I can’t wait to continue to gain advice from them and start sharing some of my own *crouton* moments (*croutons* = Toasters’ kids).

With everything I have to look forward to in this next phase of my life, I am also super excited to announce that I was recently promoted to Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Toast! This promotion hit differently for me. Overwhelming feelings of gratitude and pride to work somewhere that, no matter what stage of life you are in, acknowledges hard work and values its employees. Oh, and did I mention the 16 week paid leave (for birthing and non-birthing Toasters based in the US), additional time with short-term disability benefits as the birthing parent, and flexible PTO?