MBA Finds Remote Job That Values Both Career and Family

The never-ending tug-of-war many working parents confront often comes down to this: the pull of career versus the pull of family. The challenge, then, becomes forging a path that honors and values both career and family—not a simple balance to achieve.

For Kristin P., who we’re featuring in this week’s FlexJobs success story, job search issues centered around managing her successful career as an MBA, without shortchanging her priorities as a single mother. Kristin determined to undertake a long-term job search for flexible work that was propelled by her decision to become a FlexJobs member.

It took some persistence, Kristin acknowledged, but on Christmas Eve she was offered a great full-time, remote job as a senior project manager of clinical enablement for UnitedHealth Group, a global provider of diversified healthcare services. How did Kristin do it?

A resident of Maumelle, Arkansas, Kristin was direct in her responses to FlexJobs about the frustrations she felt working in a traditional 9-to-5 type setting as a single mother, and an accomplished professional with a master of business administration degree. “I was enormously frustrated with my position and how prohibitively rigid it was,” Kristin wrote.

She continued: “As a single mother to an 8-year-old girl, I have plenty to juggle as is, but I try my best to make sure my daughter knows that she is a priority despite how much time away from her I have to spend,” Kristen said, adding, “I am also an MBA with 10 years of experience, and was having to bargain and plead for the occasional time to see my daughter’s school plays, take her to the doctor, etc.”

Kristin’s description of the challenges of negotiating with her employer to make time for her daughter may ring familiar with working moms and dads. “What I was asking for was in no way excessive, but my employer believed that if I was [not] physically in the office, with them looking at me between 9 and 5, that I couldn’t possibly be working, right? Forget about any kind of family vacation, that precious [paid time off] had been spent on my daughter’s sick days or the many, many school holidays that the workforce does not observe.”

Enter FlexJobs, and Flexible Work Options

Kristin discovered FlexJobs after a brief online search. “I was so relieved to find FlexJobs, and that there were others who found themselves in the same boat,” Kristin wrote. Managing her FlexJobs account was not a problem. “I found the site extremely user-friendly as well. I am a project manager by trade, and I was shocked to find out how many employers valued [project manager] telecommuters.”

Like many working parents, Kristin said her home life and her role as a mom defined her job search. “As a single parent, my ability to travel is, well, not there,” Kristin wrote.

Tips and Inspiration for Other Job Seekers

As a FlexJobs member, Kristin said using search filters and other job search benefits helped her target her search for parameters like “amount of travel required.” She shared a few other strategies as well. “My job search tactics consisted of mainly scoping out positions that valued my education, experience, and certifications,” Kristin said.

And job seekers take note: Kristin cautioned that her search took some time. “I’d like to stress that this was NOT an overnight process,” Kristin wrote. “I applied for many, many positions over the course of six months. I quickly realized that these positions are IN DEMAND!”

If you’re having a hard time weathering the job search marathon, take heart from Kristin’s description of her extended search for a virtual job and the things top job seekers do and endure consistently: “I went through about 35 (yes, 35!) screening interviews, and about 15 managerial-level interviews,” she said. “I got to the final interview stage four times, only to have another candidate selected over me. The best advice I can give to a job seeker is to be persistent and consistent.”

For those times when the job search seems to drag on, Kristin wrote: “Don’t be discouraged when this happens, just keep looking and trust that FlexJobs will be there and has your back.” Thanks to her Christmas Eve job offer, Kristin is energized to begin working from home. She told us, “I am so excited to begin the new year with a position that values and trusts my work ethic, while respecting my priorities.”