The decision to walk away from a career you love to care for your children full time is a difficult one to make. But the path to re-entering that career following an extended gap in employment can be even more grueling.
Après hopes to change that.
The digital recruiting platform, apresgroup.com, which launched on May 4, aims to help primarily women who have left their careers to raise their children, or for other personal reasons, get back to work.
The website features full- and part-time job postings, consulting projects, maternity fill-in positions and pro-bono opportunities across a range of industries, along with targeted editorial content and for-hire career coaches.
Co-founders Jennifer Gefsky and Niccole Kroll know firsthand the challenges facing women who hope to pick up where they left off when returning to their careers.
Chappaqua-resident Gefsky got her start at the New York City law firm, Proskauer Rose, before becoming vice president and deputy general counsel at Major League Baseball.
Despite loving her job, Gefsky eventually made “what I think of as one of the most difficult decisions” to leave her career and stay home with her children full time.
But when Gefsky was ready to get back into the workforce after an eight-year hiatus, she found it difficult to find employment.
Even with her 12 years of experience, she seemed to only be qualified for entry-level positions.
Feeling disheartened by her lack of resources, Gefsky bonded with Kroll, who found herself in a similar position after taking the off-ramp from her job as a registered dietitian.
The duo, who met through their children, soon came up with the idea for what would later become Après.
Since its launch, the site has added more than 6,000 members, with job seekers from all 50 states represented.
Though members are able to browse job postings for free, the site also offers premium memberships for $250 per year or $25 per month to feature their profiles directly to potential employers.
Apr̬s has also signed on more than 15 corporate partners who, for an annual fee based on the companyӪs size, are able to post an unlimited number of jobs on the Apr̬s site.
Partners include Stamford-based Gartner Inc. and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society based in Rye Brook.
Tessie Massa, vice president of human resources at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said the life experiences of this pool of candidates “can be very helpful” to positions within their company.
The nonprofit”™s job postings on the site are exclusively in the New York area, but Massa said the company”™s “ultimate goal” is to expand its listings to its offices across the country.
She said since this was the “first time we are working with a group like Après,” the nonprofit would like to “see how much it broadens our reach” before expanding its postings nationwide.
Technology research company Gartner is also beginning with local job postings, according to Robin Kranich, senior vice president of human resources, adding that Après exposes to Gartner to qualified, serious candidates.
“For us, it”™s just an excellent opportunity to tap into a whole new talent pool,” she said.
Gefsky said that allowing any company to post jobs without forming partnerships beforehand would be “a disservice to the membership base.”
“We felt it was really important to educate companies about this demographic,” she said. “Companies don”™t understand the value this demographic brings, so our mission is to go into companies one by one, literally, and explain why this group should be a percentage of their hires.”
Après is currently in partnership talks with more than 200 corporations, along with Connecticut hedge funds and “a ton of nonprofits.”
International companies have also approached Après for potential partnerships since its launch.
“It”™s not just the U.S. in this phenomenon,” she said. “Everyone”™s experiencing the female drain in mid- to senior levels.”
Gefsky said these women are an invaluable source of talent for corporate America, bringing a proven work record, loyalty and life experience, adding that they are “very appreciative of the opportunity” to get back to work.
“They want to prove you”™ve made the right decision,” she said. “They”™re not going to let you down.”
These women “generally are very re-energized about returning to work” following their career breaks, Gefsky said, making them highly motivated employees.
After a life of staying home with their children, Gefsky said that many of the women are excited “about coming back to where people are actually listening to them.”
Another part of the value of these women is the knowledge they can provide to the next generation of the female workforce.
“Millennial women want mentors, people to look up to,” Gefsky said, adding that they also “want to see they can have a family” while working for a company.
Being viewed as a company that”™s family- and female-friendly can be used in both recruiting new hires and enticing new business.
“Clients and customers want to know who”™s at the table,” she said.
And while millennials on average remain at one job for just over two years, these women are “typically done opting out.”
“They balance the millennial workforce,” Gefsky said.
Though Kroll has some experience with entrepreneurship on a “very different platform,” founding a children”™s apparel company in the mid-2000s, owning a business is something new for Gefsky.
“It”™s hard to be an entrepreneur,” Gefsky said. “You”™re doing everything from scratch. It takes a lot of perseverance.”
“I feel like every day I”™m given an excuse to be like, ”˜Ugh, this is hard,”™” she said.
But the response to Après since its launch has been “tremendous,” Gefsky said, and she has “nothing negative” to say about the experience.
“It”™s so validating to say, ”˜Ok, we really do have value to these companies, and they really are interested in this demographic.”
