In this episode, I interview an amazing guest who has made confidence and mindset the key drivers behind her career change success.
I hope that today’s interview inspires you because Katy started off as a corporate Marketing maven and is now the founder of a Facebook community called Flexible Working People! She recently launched a jobs board, website, and resources to support people who want to work flexibly and find careers that they love on terms that works for them. Katy is a champion of flexible working for the people.
What you will learn from this episode:
- How to identify your struggles and what you want in a career
- The power of uplifting others in a community
- Developing a plan that works for your current situation
- How to be proactive and strategic when finding jobs
Launch to Running Flexible Working People
Katy started her career with a law degree and the original plan was for her to become a lawyer, however her parents expected she continue on this path. But Katy had other ideas as she wanted to do something in Marketing.
She joined a legal publishing company when she started her career. As she worked her way up to a coveted role in Marketing at Microsoft and Thompson Reuters, she began to evolve in corporate Marketing.
When Katy had her daughter, she soon discovered things changed after trying to go back to work. Those things being 1) her job was no longer available and 2) there was re-structure within her former company.
Katy had no choice but to agree to redundancy at the time. It was a massive game changer as her career is the only thing she had ever known and sort of defined her in the sense.
As a new mom, she hoped to find a path where she wasn’t working full-time. That would allow her the flexibility to spend time with her daughter. Unfortunately, flexible working wasn’t heard of or embraced. It may have seemed that she was in a pickle, but she was determined to begin a freelance career to have the flexibility of work life while at home with her family. Granted she did have her roller coaster moments of frustration but soon found that there were other mothers in similar situations of being out of work. This led her to start the Facebook community, Flexible Working People.
Growth of the Community
At first, she thought her friends would be the only ones to join and soon exploded within six months of setting up the group, she had 10,000 people. It was growing tremendously and she shared a fond memory of hitting her 1,000th member and had a celebratory dance with her husband. Lots of engagement and sharing stories became a common theme in this group.
Two and a half years later, she has 30,000 members. She is beyond grateful to receive emails from folks who have shared experience and are passionate about getting back in the workforce but want to be within reach of their loved ones. It’s amazing to see the support from the members and to be able to cherish the growth.
Where can we find flexible roles?
Her members are amazed that this is a space where they can find opportunities as opposed to going the traditional places. The latest is that 11-15% of all jobs advertised are advertised as flexible. There’s been a massive transition where companies are starting to embrace working from home and companies are starting to see the benefits and that employees can be productive while working from home. The community has not just been a place for support but also a place where flexible roles are shared everyday.
Katy sends out a weekly newsletter for those seeking assistance on finding flexible work and can also be found her job board. They can also find and talk to flexible recruiters who are purely focused on flexible opportunities.If you have further discussions with traditional recruiters, we tend to learn that because companies have had this change in mindset, they are embracing that it’s not about where you sit in the office, it’s not about work. Work is what you produce, work is not where you are and how many hours you do.
Using the group
In the group, people come in and share flexible roles that they may find on LinkedIn or anywhere else and post them freely. There are lots of posts, so you need to be proactive and use search terms.
Katy works with companies who are looking for brilliant talent. When you register on the website for the jobs board, fill out your information along with your CV, and that allows you to be found much quicker as sometimes things can be missed in the group. Be strategic on what you’re applying, don’t apply to everything.
They can also come into the group and introduce themselves and explain what they’re looking for. There are managers who are definitely scouting, so make sure that you have an idea of what you’re skills are and what you’re currently looking for. They also have the option to post anonymously if they are currently working and don’t want the employer to see that they’re are searching.
Links and Resources
Flexible Working People Website
Flexible Working People Newsletter
If you liked this episode, you may also like these episodes
The importance of tapping into the hidden job market
The power of embracing change with Danusia Malina Derben
The importance of maternal health Arianna Taboada
THIS EPISODE IS BOUGHT TO YOU BY THE CAREER CLARITY ACADEMY
This episode was brought to you by my signature program, the Career Clarity Academy.
If you are looking for support with changing career direction, book a suitability call >> www.lightboxcoaching.com/academy
Want to connect with others who are on a career change journey too? Join the Career Change Made Simple Facebook community.
