Many women who have chosen to stay home and raise their children, who volunteer extensively in the schools and in community circles, suddenly find themselves wanting to re-enter the job market, but only on a part-time basis. They no longer have toddlers at home, their schools don’t always want volunteers in the classrooms as they did when kids were younger, and the idea of paying for college looms on the horizon. Two Palisades moms, Denise DeSantis and Marjorie (‘Boofie’) Graham, wisely saw an opportunity to start their own business, Business Talent Agency, that would utilize these women. Starting this fall, they have been matching moms with employers who are looking for part-time or replacement help. Many employers have shifted out of full-time employment and have opted to go with part-time help, mostly for financial reasons: they don’t have to provide health insurance or pension plans. Recently, a Newsweek article even gave the term ‘sequencing moms’ to those who are returning to work. DeSantis and Graham find that many of the women they want to place are highly skilled and held high-level jobs before they opted to stay at home. One was a producer at an editing house, another had a master’s in education, and yet another owned her own business. Some of the women are nervous about re-entering the job market after being out of the workplace for so many years. That’s where DeSantis and Graham feel they can be the most helpful, by convincing employers to hire the people listed with their agency. They point out that moms are experts in multi-tasking: running the house, coordinating homework and carpools, and juggling volunteer jobs. Most of the women that they are placing will be exceptionally loyal, with very little job movement because the women are not looking for full-time work that promises advancement. Graham and DeSantis met 10 years ago at Corpus Christi when Graham was Sunday School teacher for Denise’s oldest son. As their children grew, the two women stayed friends. Both had extensive work histories. DeSantis worked for Cushman & Wakefield in commercial real estate for almost 14 years, before she chose to do volunteer jobs like AYSO soccer, president of the St. Louis League at Corpus, and auction chair at the school. Her two youngest children, Isabella (‘Izzy’) and Vincent, attend Corpus and her stepson Peter is a freshman at Loyola. Graham retired last year after working for Coca-Cola for 23 years in various areas, including marketing and human resources. Prior to that, she worked with an employment agency placing fresh college grads with consumer product companies. Her son, Alec, attends St. Matthew’s. Chatting one day about what their next life move would be, the two women came up with the idea of Business Talent Agency (BTA). Since they had so many friends who were in the same position’between being a full-time mom at home and a mom needed at home after school’they felt there was a real need to pair them with businesses who need part-time help. They registered their business name in April at the Palisadian-Post and then spent the summer getting their Web site developed (www.businesstalentagency.com), as well as starting to make business contacts. Jolyon Gisselle, a senior vice president and wealth advisor for a major investment firm in the Palisades, says: ‘The whole theory behind hiring moms on a temporary basis is that there are a wonderful, bright, intelligent group of women who have had success in the past in the workplace, who gave that up to face the even tougher commitment of raising children. They find themselves wanting to continue that commitment, but still they’re interested in expanding their horizons and keeping current in other areas as well.’ DeSantis and Graham have held several meetings at their homes with women, listening to what they need, having them focus by filling out a form stating the kind of employment they would like, and then explaining how they can help get the women back into the marketplace on a part-time basis. Contact: 573-4282.
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