Helping Moms Juggle: Juggling Mother Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of Flexjobs (Part 6)

SM: When I look at your service, I think it provides women who are taking a break from their careers an opportunity to keep their resumes alive through flexible arrangements. Resume gap is a big problem.

SS: In the last six months we have seen a big change. The primary reason people are coming to our site is that they need to help make ends meet. Previously, it was more about supplementary income and keeping the resume alive. Employers are looking for less expensive ways to conduct business, and they are finding that telecommuting arrangements work much better for their bottom line.

We are definitely focusing on jobs which would help with the resume gap. The work-from-home market has traditionally been virtual admin, data entry, and call center jobs. Those are legitimate jobs and we do have those on our site. However, we also have 50 other categories. A friend of mine is a doctor who left her practice to stay at home with her two kids. She was concerned about keeping up to date in her field with licenses and such. I was able to tell her about some good jobs with medical information, including one site who was looking for doctors and lawyers to answer questions for people.

SM: How do job seekers find your service?

SS: There are three main areas to our marketing efforts. Initially it has been tied to organic search and search engine optimization. Another method has been relationship marketing, which means we work with other quality sites we have identified as being able to drive traffic.

Advertising really does not work. We have tried Google, but there are just too many scam jobs out there for us to compete with.

SM: What kinds of companies do you do partner with?

SS: Some are other job sites which are much more niche-oriented. There is one site, FreelanceWritingGigs, which is for freelance writers. We work with them and help them indentify our writing/editing/blogging jobs and send users over. The third area is press. It is such a topic in the news, and we have a really great opportunity to help spread awareness. We have gotten fortunate with different stories wherein we educate consumers about the scams out there. The scams have been increasing since the recession started and it has been a big concern.

SM: How does your site do with technology jobs?

SS: There are a lot of technology jobs. Web and software development are two of our largest categories. There is also a lot of writing. Medical and education are growing fields.

SM: Does your candidate database have a lot of technology people?

SS: It is one of our largest groups. I don’t know that we have a single dominant group.

SM: I am personally, philosophically, against people staying home as moms because I think it leads to a huge identity crisis. It sounds like what you are doing is mitigating some of that. There is a book on the bestseller list right now called ‘In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms’. I was cringing when I saw that. [Dr. Laura Schlessinger], who wrote that book, is the top women-focused talk show host on the radio.

SS: It is really a challenge. I always try not to be a judgmental person. I can’t be in everyone’s shoes. The statement that it is best for women to stay at home is something that is just not possible for many families, particularly now. I do have friends who have chosen to stay at home with their kids. I know that they struggle with it.

SM: What do they struggle with?

SS: Giving up their adult identity, the ability to interact with other adults on an intellectual, problem-solving level. You are certainly working with your spouse on a daily basis dealing with your kids. You are certainly working with your kids on a daily basis to solve problems. However, you are missing a part of yourself that is constantly challenged. I have friends who say they have not used sentences with more than four syllables all day long. I really think it takes a toll on your brain and certainly on your identity. For me, being a professional woman is not just about being a professional woman. It is about making a greater contribution to society and being a part of the working world.

This segment is part 6 in the series : Helping Moms Juggle: Juggling Mother Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of Flexjobs
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