About Maternity Leave Mentor

Yes, I confess that I’m old enough to be your mother. But a mentor with three decades in the world of work is to your benefit, don’t you think? Here’s a snapshot of my story.

I was in my early 30′s when marriage and motherhood came along. So I had 10 years as a single, career-intense, full-time healthcare professional and marketer to observe what my full-time working friends went through when children were added to the mix. It looked like more than I could handle along with my career: very hectic and tiring! So early on, I negotiated flexible work arrangements.

One quiet morning in January 1993, as I enjoyed a weekday off, a question quietly surfaced: “Why can’t all my friends do this?” That’s how WorkOptions was born; if you’re interested, the full story is here. I moved the business online a few years later, in 1997. That’s a long time ago in Internet years, making WorkOptions.com a fairly mature business in need of a young offspring. So my new “baby” is Maternity Leave Mentor, focusing on pregnant professionals who are facing the struggle of work-life conflict for the first time.

You’re probably reading a ton of information, but there comes a point where you need to know how it all applies to you and your life. My goal is to make Maternity Leave Mentor a personal service that delivers creative solutions for your circumstances.

My strengths are in devising negotiation strategies for sticky situations and in developing ways to overcome obstacles to approval of your desired maternity leave or flexible work arrangement.

Clients describe their situation, the players, the politics, the obstacles, and the issues to me. I seem to have an uncanny ability to clearly see the agendas and interests of the people my callers are dealing with (“That’s it exactly!”), and work with them on solutions (“What a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that.”) to achieve a favorable negotiated outcome.

I use a combination of advice and coaching (I was certified as a Career Management Coach in 2005 through Career Coach Academy). Hope to hear from you soon.

All the best,

Pat Katepoo