For Julia Oliver the idea of hiring someone who could do the hiring for her was a dream come true.  The Capital Region Community Foundation executive had already gone through the process of bringing onboard five full-time workers, but the nonprofit organization needed a part-timer as well.  “The time it took to go through résumés and check references and do background checks was overwhelming,”  Oliver said.  She remembered an ad she had seen for a company called 10 til 2 and decided to give it a try.  “They sent me five qualified candidates and all I had to do was choose.”   In fact,  Oliver said, the candidates were so qualified and so perfect for the job, she decided to hire not one, but two!

As the name implies, 10 til 2, offers part-time work choices, everything from young professionals looking for  their first job experience to those looking for a happy balance between raising a family and having a career, to even those simply looking for a new opportunity or career direction.   It’s something Kathy Ackerman wished had been around when she was a young mother.  “I’ve always had an interest in finding ways to work but with flexibility for family time,” she said.  “Now that my twins are in college and my son is in Peru, I’m so glad I was able to find work like that.”

But finding those types of jobs wasn’t easy.   Ackerman found the best way to find balance was to be her own boss.  She owned the Ackerman Gallery for years.  “While sometimes it seemed more than a full-time job, I could always scoot out for sports events or school parties,“ she recalled.  Most of her friends didn’t have the resources to chart their own future.  They were forced to make the choice of putting family or career first.   It wasn’t until years later when Kathy was in Colorado to attend her son’s graduation that she read about 10 til 2 in a Denver newspaper.  She was immediately intrigued by the idea and said she hounded corporate executives to open a franchise in Michigan.  “It just made so much sense.  It was what I was looking for my entire life.”

Company officials eventually agreed and Ackerman’s franchise, which she runs with fiancé, Mark Schrag, the owner of Season’s in Okemos,  became the company’s very first outside of Denver.  It opened its doors last fall, and the candidate database has been growing ever since, now with 350 college-educated candidates.

While candidates are oftentimes retirees looking for a career “do over” or new moms looking to spend a little “grown-up time” away from home,  Ackerman said there are also doctors and lawyers in the database.  “Whatever the reason they’re looking to make a change, if they’re educated and looking for a long-term commitment to a business, we can help them.”   She emphasized 10 til 2 is not a “temp agency” but rather a placement service looking to connect good workers with good and stable employment.

The jobs are mostly office-related: bookkeepers, accountants, receptionists, administrative and marketing assistants.  Education requirements are the equivalent of a year of college.  Ackerman said the link 10 til 2 provides is a win-win for candidates and businesses.  “Most business executives don’t have the time to look for just the right candidate and, oftentimes, the candidates don’t know exactly where to look.”  She said some 300 résumés can come in for just one job posting.  In addition to weeding out those not qualified for the job, background and reference checks need to be made.  “In business, time is money,” Ackerman said.  “For most companies, it’s cheaper and certainly easier for them to hand off the job to someone else.”  She said 10 til 2 works like a human resources department, sending companies the résumés of only the most qualified and employable candidates.   Ackerman said her company screens those candidates free of charge and even handles payroll, taking some of the risk out of the hire.  “With uncertainty about the economy in the Lansing area, some businesses aren’t sure whether they should or can hire more full-time staff.  We take some of the pressure off them by sending them good part-timers who are happy in that capacity.”