THE STORY BEHIND APPLY PACK
Apply Pack began during one of the most difficult transitions of my life.
After years as a stay-at-home mom, I was separated, going through a divorce, and facing the reality that I needed to return to the workforce. With my children in my care about 90 percent of the time, including every school night, I needed work that could support my family while allowing me to remain the primary parent to two children with special needs.
Remote work was not simply a preference. I needed the flexibility to manage IEP meetings, medical appointments, school responsibilities, and the unexpected situations that required me to be there.
I realized other women had to be facing the same problem. Like me, they needed meaningful help finding work, but they might not have hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend on a career coach or résumé package.
Out of personal necessity, I built Apply Pack, the affordable, flexible service I also needed.
When I started looking for work, I undersold myself.
On paper, my years as a stay-at-home mom looked like a gap. But that gap did not tell the whole story. During those years, I ran a mobile spray-tanning business and sold products on Amazon. I learned about logistics, inventory, buying behavior, advertising, scheduling, customer service, and the constant decision-making required to operate a small business.
When I considered those skills alongside everything I had learned as a teacher, I realized my experience was far more valuable and versatile than my résumé made it appear.
When I was looking on job boards like Indeed, I would see an unfamiliar job title and assume I was not qualified before reading the full description. But when I took the time to look beyond the title and examine the actual responsibilities, I often discovered that I had already performed similar tasks, just in a more unconventional setting.
My skills were there, but their connection to those intimidating job titles was not initially obvious.
Looking for a job felt like a full-time job. I did not need another job board giving me hundreds of listings to sort through. I also did not need expensive career coaching, another subscription, or a package that made me pay for services I might not use.
I needed something that could examine my complete experience, search beyond the titles I already knew, read the actual job descriptions, research the companies, and apply my requirements for salary, benefits, travel, location, and flexibility.
I needed realistic opportunities worth my time, not another endless list of jobs.
I built Apply Pack for women going through transitions like mine. These women are capable, determined, and ready to move forward, but need work that fits the reality of their lives. Apply Pack makes the connections we may not see on our own, making the path back to work feel possible, even when life is already full.
