Money Nuggets Exclusive Interview with Juliet Turnbull
Are you a mother looking to find a flexible and stimulating part-time job? Or are you looking for a job that can help you find the right balance between family life and work?
Money Nuggets is pleased to present this exclusive interview with Juliet Turnbull, a former chartered surveyor, property consultant and business coach, who is passionate in helping companies access untapped pool of professional mothers who have made the choice to raise a family alongside work.
Juliet Turnbull is the founder of 2to3days.com, an online community that matches employers with professional women looking for a rewarding flexible part-time job with raising children.
So what exactly does 2to3days.com do? And how can it help me find a flexible and fulfilling part-time work? Find out in our exclusive interview with Juliet.
1. How did you get the inspiration for your business – 2to3days?
In a nutshell, 2to3days is what I always wanted: the chance to have a rewarding career and be a great mother. When I reflected on it, I realised there must be thousands of women like me who want to do the same.
I looked into it and found a noisy recruitment market, but no one was really nailing it for women like me: university educated mothers who wanted to keep using their brains. These women have the same capabilities they had before having children, but for a short period they don’t want to work full time.
Mothers are a hidden talent pool, but employers don’t know how to find them. My idea was to match and connect the two together. The company’s name — 2to3days.com — is because whenever you ask a mother how much she wants to work, that’s always the answer you get, and when an employer tells you they are looking for someone part time, they will often say two to three days per week!
2. What sets 2to3days apart?
We are creating a movement. Our purpose is not just commercial: we want to change our society and our economy for the better so that our target mother should always be able to find her ideal job. 2to3days is just about mothers, and just about part-time, flexible jobs. There is no other site like it.
2to3days has now been going for a year. We have nearly 12,000 mothers on the site, and the feedback from employers has been consistent: they are delighted (and relieved) at the high calibre of candidates. We are about giving quality, not quantity.
3. Why did you set up a platform just for mothers?
Great companies have a strong, clear focus so the market knows exactly what they stand for. Our focus is matching and connecting mothers to employers and recruiters. If you are our target mother, you know you can come to 2to3days.com to find a suitable role, and employers know they can come to us to find you.
At 2to3days.com we attract progressive companies who ‘get’ the value of employing a mother on a part time, flexible basis, and the value the contribution she makes to the company by the level of her output rather than her presentism in the office.
Great companies have a strong, clear focus so the market knows exactly what they stand for.Click To Tweet4. How does 2to3days help mothers get a job?
It’s simple: companies or recruiters put up an advert on the site. Mothers fill in a quick profile, and then filter the options to find their ideal job.
We have an interactive dashboard to manage the application process. The whole thing has been designed with thoughtfulness at its core so we can match mothers with potential employers, and they can then connect by handing over a CV and covering letter.
5. What are your thoughts on flexi-time and job-sharing?
It’s great! With 2to3days, we all walk the talk: everyone, including me, works part time, with flexible hours. This is the business model we will scale. It’s about shifting away from presentism to output, trusting the people you employ to give you the results the business needs within a sensible time frame.
I think job shares are great. The obligation to make a job share work is just as much the responsibility of the mothers as it is the employer.
I have spoken to lots of mothers who have had successful job shares and they make sure it works; it’s in their interests to do so by putting in place a detailed process of handover notes, etc. which ensures that the job is done seamlessly, but it also means that businesses get a six-day brain for five, so it is a win win!
6. How can women succeed in their careers after motherhood?
Be clear about what is you want to do. Talking to a third party, be it a friend or a career coach, is invaluable.
You need to get your home life sorted out, working so it supports you. This involves setting up clear boundaries, and having honest communications with your partner and your employer on a regular basis. You have to work at it, invest in it, and keep reviewing it to make sure it works.
Be open to change. The job you did before isn’t necessarily the one you want to do now. As a mother you develop your soft skill set: logistics, time keeping, and conflict resolution. You don’t have to throw your career out with the baby’s bathwater, but can position yourself to take advantage of new opportunities.
7. Do you have any advice for mothers who see the childcare cost as a barrier to working?
It’s a sensitive topic, and everybody’s circumstances are different. Don’t judge. The pain period where you need intensive childcare is relatively short, both in your children’s life and your career.
My husband and I thought of childcare as an investment in my career: we thought of it positively. If you can’t afford what you want, you might do a different job for a while, or buddy up with friends and family. Perhaps you can do a home-based job that you found on our website.
If working really isn’t an option, stay active. Keep in touch with your business contacts, and do some pro bono work with a local school or charity. You’ll grow your contacts, experience, and exposure to what is out there. Don’t lock yourself away.
8. What’s the best advice you have received?
I was told to find three words you want to live by. Mine are love, let go, and tortoise! Love means don’t live in fear. Kill those fearful thoughts, and trust that the right thing will happen. Let go of the anxiety and worry. Trust the process. And tortoise?
I’m guilty of trying to be the hare and do everything in a sprint. Life and business are a marathon. Slow down, and be the tortoise. When I apply those three words, great things happen. When I don’t, it all goes horribly wrong.
In addition to this, I’d advise mothers getting back into work to make sure they have a CV they are proud of. Get your LinkedIn profile up to date too. Both of these documents are not easy to get right and can take a lot of time, leading to a huge amount of procrastination!
So, if you can afford it, get both of these done by a professional, because first impressions count. In your covering letter, tell your potential employer the value that employing you will bring to their business. Don’t undervalue yourself and the contribution you can make.
9. What are 2to3days’ plans for the future?
Our vision is to be the #1 go-to website in the UK for mothers to find their ideal jobs, and we want to scale the business internationally. We want to do this while being great mothers, working part time, and with flexible hours.
We have lots of exciting ideas to unearth high quality jobs, from companies of every size, and from every industry sector, and to shine a light on them for mothers who’ve previously not known where to look.
10. Finally, are there any resources you’d like to share to help mothers succeed in their careers?
If you can afford it, it is invaluable to invest in yourself and have some career coaching. There are also lots of fabulous networking groups where you are with likeminded women.
Many women find that their friends at the school gates are not necessarily the same women they want to talk to about re-starting their careers. You need the right support network to help you get the job you want.
If you can afford it, it is invaluable to invest in yourself Click To Tweet
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Thanks for sharing this, the website sounds great – I will definitely check it out. It can be so hard to find flexible work.
Looks like a great website. The holy grail of term time and / or school time working is almost impossible to find these days
This is amazing insight and a website I am heading off to subscribe to. I am exactly that, a university educated mum who has struggled to find work after having children. Thank you for sharing!
This is such a great idea and I am sure there are so many people out there, mums and dads alike who would find this an amazing opportunity x
Really interesting to read this. It sounds like a brilliant website and such a great idea as there are so many talented ladies out there who want to juggle work and family life and find it hard to do. I will definitely be going to take a look.
Great article and great and much needed service. However, I’ve just registered, filled in all my details and sadly there appear to be very few jobs being advertised? Far less than I anticipated. Maybe this will change?