Watch Mojo Mom on the CBS Early Show, Saturday May 10
Mother's Day is a great time to be Mojo Mom. Last year I appeared on The Today Show, and tomorrow I am scheduled to be on the CBS Early Show.
The segment was inspired by the Moms as Executive SWAT Team members project I participated in. UNC's Kenan-Flagler business school hired local moms to come in as "Managerial role players" to give MBA students a taste of real-world work challenges. Thus the acronym SWAT, for "Smart Women with Available Time" who could jump in on a short-term, highly skilled project.
I had the chance to be one of the role players, AND this project was a total validation of the reinvention strategies I write about in Mojo Mom, so it was a wonderful experience for me.
A question has come up in a few discussion groups, namely, why is it okay that the business school only payed us $21 an hour when we were clearly filling an important, valuable role?
I am glad that the question was asked, because we should be thinking about money. But it is not the only consideration, as this case illustrates very well.
The Kenan-Flagler project was a win-win-win situation for the MBA Students, the business school, and the managerial assessor SWAT team. We were paid for the hours we spent in training, which was a valuable experience in itself. We had the chance to step in to an executive role that reminded us that we still have our business chops, even if we have stepped off the path of traditional full-time employment. And we had a chance to work with our friends, which was really fun, especially since we were displaying a totally different side of our personalities than we usually do.
I would definitely list this experience on my resume, and could possibly get a recommendation out of it. I could sign up to do it again in the future if I needed a job, and I felt that $21 an hour was a worthwhile rate for a periodic project that developed important skills.
Want to learn more? Watch the SWAT team segment on CBS Early Show tomorrow.
The segment was inspired by the Moms as Executive SWAT Team members project I participated in. UNC's Kenan-Flagler business school hired local moms to come in as "Managerial role players" to give MBA students a taste of real-world work challenges. Thus the acronym SWAT, for "Smart Women with Available Time" who could jump in on a short-term, highly skilled project.
I had the chance to be one of the role players, AND this project was a total validation of the reinvention strategies I write about in Mojo Mom, so it was a wonderful experience for me.
A question has come up in a few discussion groups, namely, why is it okay that the business school only payed us $21 an hour when we were clearly filling an important, valuable role?
I am glad that the question was asked, because we should be thinking about money. But it is not the only consideration, as this case illustrates very well.
The Kenan-Flagler project was a win-win-win situation for the MBA Students, the business school, and the managerial assessor SWAT team. We were paid for the hours we spent in training, which was a valuable experience in itself. We had the chance to step in to an executive role that reminded us that we still have our business chops, even if we have stepped off the path of traditional full-time employment. And we had a chance to work with our friends, which was really fun, especially since we were displaying a totally different side of our personalities than we usually do.
I would definitely list this experience on my resume, and could possibly get a recommendation out of it. I could sign up to do it again in the future if I needed a job, and I felt that $21 an hour was a worthwhile rate for a periodic project that developed important skills.
Want to learn more? Watch the SWAT team segment on CBS Early Show tomorrow.
Labels: SWAT team
posted by MojoMom at 12:37 PM
1 Comments:
I got to your blog through Baby Center and I'm glad I found your opinion and retelling of your experience with the whole SWAT thing. I wrote about it over at my blog at Work It! Mom, because from the way the project and term was described in the Shellenbarger article, I felt that it devalued SAHM work as "cheap." I know there are many critical factors when deciding to take on paid projects. The way it was positioned through the article, however, made it in my eyes seem like they way underpaid you for your work. I'm glad you felt it was worthwhile and that we're keeping the conversation going. I just don't want moms out there who want to stay in the mix to settle for unfair wages just because they are scared to either negotiate for more. While money isn't everything, it is one way to keep us competitive. Kudos to you for your hard and productive work!
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