Relaunch Stories - Back to work success stories | MomRelaunch

Success Stories



Sangeeta

I had worked as a software engineer for over 15 years but had taken a break for almost nine years to raise my kids. Once my kids flew the coop, I contemplated on the avenues that are open to me. Technology has always interested me and since there is a great demand in the Salesforce ecosystem, I decided to change my career path. I started learning about Salesforce through their online Trailhead program and focussed on how to become a Salesforce Admin/ Business Analyst Read More [+]

As I was completing my training, I came across Mom Relaunch, whose mission is to help moms get back into the workforce after having taken a break. After making contact with them, things moved very quickly for me! I was asked to submit my resume online and had a career assessment session right after I did so. I was interested in a CRM Business Analyst position and was given an internal technical interview, for Mom Relaunch to ascertain that I had the knowledge and updated skill-set to tackle the job. A few days later, I was called for an interview with the client. Throughout all this, Mom Relaunch was my mentor and trainer; they helped me with my resume, set up a mock interview with me to refine my interview skills and gave me the confidence to go through the interview.

With my newly found confidence that I was ready to be placed in the position, went for the interview and was successfully placed in the position.

Before I started working, I was placed on the Mom Relaunch LaunchPad, where I was able to fine-tune my Salesforce CRM skills and get practical experience working with the platform. I also got the opportunity to meet other like-minded women who, like myself, had taken time off work and now want to return to the workforce. While it is a struggle and stumbling block to return to the workforce with gaps in your resume, I like to think that I am an example that if you are willing to work hard and develop skill sets, with the help of Mom Relaunch, other moms like me could also have a success story to tell.



Danielle

After spending 13 years in the Financial Services Industry, I took a career break when I had my children, now 11, 8 and 5 years old. I spent a few years re-setting my life and focusing completely on my family, raising three young children and cultivating my own interests and health. I knew that at some point I would want to return to the working world but I felt strongly about doing so in a way that would allow me to feel like I was giving back. My priorities were to find a job that would allow me to have flexible work hours and to be a part of an organization with a meaningful social mission Read More [+]

A post on a Bay Area Moms Group that I am a part of caught my eye: Salesforce, CareerForce and Mom Relaunch were hosting an event aimed at moms looking to relaunch their careers. I decided to check it out and I liked what I heard from all three companies and felt that they “got it” when it came to tapping moms as an amazing resource. I took an online Salesforce fundamentals class and then applied to be part of the first cohort in the week-long Administrator training that CareerForce set up. When I was accepted, I rearranged my life so I could attend the training, at the office downtown from 9-5 every day.

A few weeks later, I took and passed my Salesforce certification test and let Mom Relaunch know I was ready to get started with my hands-on learning and job search. Being on the Launchpad at Mom Relaunch was invaluable to me as I had the chance to meet and work with other moms in the same position as myself. I felt very fortunate that a few months into the Launchpad project, an opportunity presented itself for a part time role as a Salesforce Administrator on an exciting project for a non-profit in San Francisco. Mom Relaunch prepared me and the company for the interview and I felt confident knowing that I had their support.

My family has been extremely supportive throughout the whole process. My husband was the one who initially pushed me to apply to the CareerForce program even though I came up with several excuses why it wouldn’t work or fit into our family’s schedule. My kids understand that my daily life has changed now that I go into an office three days a week and they are curious about what I do and excited for me as well.

I feel like I am making a difference, nourishing my desire for meaningful and engaging work, and still allowing my family to be priority #1 at all times. It’s been an exciting journey so far!



Sarah

I was among the talent sitting at home! My story reflects one, but there are many like it and I’m an example of how tapping into skilled women who are staying at home, could help to bolster our economy and our corporate world’s bottom line. I’m a testament that there are skilled, educated and valuable assets sitting right at home. After a decade of education and working, I started a family and that idea of having it all started to affect my health and well being, while taking precious time I could not get back away from my family. Becoming a mother shifted my priorities and I wanted to be available for phases of my children’s lives that I could not get back and not sacrifice my health to do it Read More [+]

I left the corporate world for the unknown. In order to secure work at home positions, I’ve jumped from contract to contract and job to job to find the right work life balance as a mom of twins. But I finally managed to find stability in the most unlikely of places.

Had you told me I’d be working as a communications liaison for an Ecosystem of cloud based staffing Apps build on SalesForce (I had to google that to be sure I was saying it right), I wouldn’t have believed it.

In a world of computer scientists, coding geniuses, and those implementing systems I can’t pronounce, my unique talents came in handy. That’s what I do. I help to establish, repair, and clarify the relationships among our clients, the support team and bridge any gaps that may come up between the various departments and our clients in the US, while planning ways to stay more in touch with our very valued client base through means such as webinars, newsletters and regular contact. I’m learning the system slowly but surely, but have been able to increase renewal rates and retention rates just by delivering in the area of relationship building and giving a listening ear to our clients.

Let me backtrack a little. When Reena Gupta, the CEO of Mom Relaunch, found me, I was working tirelessly to build my health and fitness coaching practice, while working as a Clinical Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. With a strong benefits package and mediocre compensation, I’d been searching for a work at home opportunity with great difficulty. I still needed stability as I’m the primary breadwinner in our family, but craved the flexibility of no commute so I could use all my extra hours to build my passion!

Communication has always been my strength. Listening, writing, relationship building and gathering others around a cause. Studying at the Manhattan College, MaryMount and working in Multi-Media prepared me for a variety of diverse work environments. I’ve gone from being a writer, journalist, photojournalist, transcriber, Opthalmic surgical assistant and clinical researcher at a University (that was when I never saw my family) and somehow all of the skills I’ve gathered in those arenas has somehow prepared me for the work I do with TargetRecruit.

Quite an unlikely match and a chance meeting of two professional women has come to be rewarding in many ways for all parties involved. What I’ve learned in sales, business, technology, patience, diligence, accountability and more will surely come with me wherever I go and I hope to grow with the core mission of TargetRecruit more and more each day, as much as they have all helped me to grow. It’s provided stability for my family and an opportunity to live a fulfilling life and pursue my dream at the same time. Furthermore, with a simple social media post a slew of educated, talented women flocked to the idea of doing the same as Surabhi and I have done. Our economy needs help and so do a lot of mothers, who are sitting at home with talent that could bolster our economy and your bottom line. Who’s coming on board?



Surabhi

Technology? Whatever even is that!? I’m not a tech savvy person by nature. I know how to get by, but I never saw myself working with a tech company using techy phrases, talking confidently about integration, implementation, project management and what not! I was the home maker, the artist, the mom and the wife. Being a first generation immigrant from India, my entry into the US was that of a spouse of an IT guy. Just like any other couple, our initial years in the US were challenging from every angle. Without much of a support system here, without being able to showcase my Masters degree of Psychology from India, I didn’t see myself working full time at a tech company AT ALL Read More [+]

With the challenge of settling in from a foreign country and my top priority being that of homemaker, wife and mom, my career and ambitions took a back stage. It was more important to be there for my family, to be there for my kids, attending to all the needs of motherhood and home maker. I spent several years running art classes from my home and actually enjoyed the satisfaction and the relaxation I got from this experience. After 5-6 years of doing art on the side, and with the kids growing up, I began to feel there should be more moms active in the workforce. I always ended up with the debate of “study this”, “do this online course”, “ join this college to get your degree”, but I still didn’t find my way into the workforce without compromising the needs of my family. Sometimes it was the lack of technical know how, at other times physical location of the work place was a challenge and more than ever I started loosing my confidence. I didn’t think could do it anymore. I thought I had missed the boat. There were younger people entering the workforce, technology was evolving at an unimaginable pace, and I was feeling left out. My options of joining the active workforce were limited to teaching or an entry level recruiter job. Both of which were not satisfying in any way for me!

I guess God had different plans for me. I met Reena, founder of Mom Relaunch. She was introduced to me through a common friend as a person looking to move into Pleasanton. We met a few times and she became interested in sending her daughter to my art classes. She would often come over and watch as the kids painted. One fine day she comes to me and says, “Why don’t you learn TargetRecruit?” I agreed and that’s when it all began. I never actually thought she had meant it in all sincerity, but maybe just in passing. She soon started asking me regularly if I had actually taken a look at the system and was interested. Honestly I had not even given it a serious thought. Suddenly she came up with the idea that she can place me as a user of TargetRecruit with a current Client, if I was willing to train and learn. I still didn’t quite take it seriously enough, but she was true to her word and soon she set up meetings with clients for me. My first reaction was to hide away and find a reason to skip it. I was full of self doubts and was very skeptical of succeeding after all these years of being out of regular work.

She would not take no for an answer. She encouraged me as a friend and mentored me to learn step by step at my pace. I finally felt ready to work for that Client as a user of TargetRecruit (an end to end Recruitment System built on the Salesforce platform) in their staffing business. Within a few weeks, I had become an avid user of TargetRecruit. I worked for that client for about a year and half before they decided to move their business to another location. Once again Reena came to my rescue and asked me if I was ready to work on the other side of the table. This was the turning point for me. I became involved in the product from the back-end side and learned one step at a time. It was like drinking from a firehouse because there was so much to learn for me. It was uncharted territory and even simple tasks were challenging at times simply because of my non technical background. I didn’t let that come in my way! With the team’s active help, mentoring and guidance I realized that if I was willing to learn, put that into action, and work hard, there was nothing I could not achieve.

I was partnered with some of the most competent folks in the company and shadowed them on several projects and tasks. Each day was a learning leap for me. My willingness to learn and the team’s ability to drive into me the confidence that I can do it brought me to this juncture of my life.

That’s some of my story, but this is not just my story. There are so many stay at home moms who are willing to get back into the active workforce. All they need is a little guidance and an opportunity. With so much talent hidden all around us, and such a high demand for dedicated workers, the stay at home moms need to be channelled back into the workforce. Employers willing to train this hidden pool of talent, have a lot to gain in the long run.

Relaunching moms back into different professions has undeniably proven a home run for all employers. If TargetRecruit can do it so can you. We as moms can help mentor, or coach one on one, or in groups more mom to continue this journey just as we have. We need employers to take the initiative and help moms train and get back into the workforce. We all need to do our part in helping to tap into this amazing talent pool.

Today I am working full time from the comfort of my home, in a fast paced, competitive and high tech environment. Currently I am working on several projects in the role of a Project Manager which was almost a dream just a few months back. The long years where I craved to work and put my education and skills to use are now a thing of the past. The work is crazy and even at times chaotic, challenging in terms of learning new concepts, and applying them on the job as I learn, but it’s so worth it. I find it very stimulating, satisfying and at the end of the day I feel fulfilled and like I’ve made a difference. It feels great to be able to work from home while being an important part of the work force. My journey has just begun and there are so many more to begin their journey just like me.



Megan

Megan is a mom with an autistic child who was working for a big healthcare staffing company, where work travel and a heavy workload took its toll on family life. Mom Relaunch placed Megan in a work-from-home job, which eliminated commute time, giving her work-life balance.