Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps

Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps 1Are you a professional who is...

  • looking for a job that will allow you to spend more time with your kids?
  • looking for a job that is part-time, flexible, from home, or virtual?
  • trying to get back into the workforce after an extended time away?
  • taking some time off, but wondering how you can stay connected in your field?
  • trying to conceive and wondering how having a family will impact your career?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then Mom Corps just might be your ticket to where you want to be.Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps 2

April Whitlock, the Senior VP of Marketing and Programs at Mom Corps, is here with us to share about the Mom Corps story and to explain how Mom Corps can benefit you.

ME: How old is Mom Corps and why was it created?
APRIL: Mom Corps will be three years old in July of this year. It was born out out of a dilemma of a working mother. Allison O'Kelly, the CEO of Moms Corps, was a Harvard graduate and a CPA. She was on the fast track, but after she had her second son, she realized it just wasn’t working anymore. Mom Corps launched in Atlanta and D.C. and the word quickly started spreading. We began to get attention from major employers and we were inundated with potential candidates - women who were either looking to keep their toe in the door or to come back to work slowly after an extended time away. We started as a staffing/recruiting agency, but then decided to tap directly into the talent pool and we launched the job board in December 2007.

ME: How does Mom Corps work?
APRIL: Mom Corps works to match professionals with flexible job opportunities suited to candidates' qualifications and scheduling needs. Candidates fill out a detailed profile specifying their professional experience and needs for flexibility. Once registered, candidates can search and apply directly to active jobs. In turn, employers search the database for candidates matching their qualifications and notify the select candidates they wish to have apply. Since Mom Corps also performs contingent or project searches for contracting clients, a Mom Corps recruiter may also contact a candidate directly about a job opportunity.

ME: Are the posted jobs truly "flexible"?
APRIL: YES - employers working with Mom Corps offer a variety of flexible employment opportunities. You choose when you work, how long you work, and how much time you take in between projects, and our database matches you with jobs suited to your scheduling needs. The more flexible you choose to be, the more opportunities you will find.

ME: How much does it cost?
APRIL: It's FREE! To register (upload your resume, search, and apply to active jobs) - it costs you nothing. However, if you are actively seeking a job, we encourage you to add our premium 'Featured Listing' service to your account for just $9.99 per month. 'Featured Listing' ensures that your resume will come at the top of the list of qualified candidates when an employer performs a search.

ME: Is it possible to get a job with the free listing?
APRIL: Oh, yeah! Definitely! Especially now because the job board is so new. Sometimes it does take time to make the right match, but the entire process is designed to empower the candidate. You can be as aggressive if you want to be.

ME: Are there virtual job opportunities available?
APRIL: About 90% of our contract work requires the mom to go in to a brick-and-mortar location once a week or once a month for a meeting, but 90% of their work is from home.

ME: I searched for a job in my city and the search was void. What are your geographic “hot spots” and are there plans to expand listings?
APRIL: Without a shadow of a doubt, we are east coast heavy, but we are national and continuously expanding.

ME: Tell me about “Own Your Life” and “Coffee Club.”
APRIL: One of the things that we started seeing is that there is a need to have a personal component for what we are doing. As great as it is to be virtual, women definitely have a desire to be around other women who are experiencing doubt, guilt, and multitude of emotions that come with the career decision-making process.

Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps 3As we grew, we launched the Coffee Club series. We encouraged moms to come out and meet the Mom Corps staff in their area, to get tips about updating their resume, and to learn how to rebuild their network or their confidence to return to the workplace.
Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps 4
The Own Your Life events are very large conferences. We had 500 attend last May in Atlanta and we expect 500 to attend this April in Atlanta. We have 4 Own Your Life events planned for next year and there will likely be even more beyond that.

ME: What does the future hold for Mom Corps?
APRIL: As a start-up company, we grew really fast in that first year. 2007 was all about hyperspeed growth. 2008 is all about figuring out best practices. In 2009, when its time to expand, we will be able to do it quickly and efficiently. There is unlimited potential for how we can grow and it is absolutely thrilling to be a part of this.

Mom Corps is an excellent resource for moms - and east-coasters are lucky to have the company based there. I will eagerly await expansions out here on the west coast.

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One comment on “Working Mom Wednesday: Mom Corps”

  1. Thanks Stephanie. That was incredibly helpful. I will check out the website for sure...maybe when kids are in bed, since, I think one is currently in the bathroom sink!

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