Koosje Eatenton and Rachel Poole: Advocating For Women In The Workplace and Identifying the Right Career For You

Season 1 - episodes produced by Bloomsbury Institute.

Welcome to Take A Chance On You hosted by Alexandra Forsyth, cyber security expert, advisor, coach and public speaker. 

Today's topic and theme is 'How a problem can lead to a new opportunity and creating a modern approach to thrive in today's world of work.'

Take A Chance On You is joined this week by ⁠VERSA⁠ co-founders ⁠Rachel Poole⁠and ⁠Koosje Eatenton⁠ exploring the founding story of Versa, their passion for building a platform that elevates women not just professionally, but personally, through their latest feature where women can invite their own trusted friends and pass on great roles they think they would love.

During the episode, Rachel and Koosje shared how they met, the value of self-acceptance, and how making the co-founder journey fun and fulfilling has been central to their success.

Taking a step back - as we celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week and Month in May, Koosje and Rachel describe their passion and excitement for Versa and helping working women in their early careers and overcoming challenges in motherhood. 

Koosje and Rachel first met on the street during COVID (socially distanced of course), and decided to connect. A gentle reminder that it is In the most unlikely times of life, you can build relationships and combat loneliness together, especially being mothers wanting to return to work, or freelance workers finding new projects. 

Versa is a platform for women returning to work, or wanting to work part-time, fractional / freelance, looking for purposeful career opportunities and inspiration. 

Driven by women and their desires is the key mission for Versa, making sure users have optimal experiences. 

Addressing Pain Points: 

• Feeling out of the loop in the community after taking a career break, 
• Overwhelmed by the huge jump in content online and digesting the right information, 
• Time consuming job search and identifying the right kind of opportunities.

Leadership is also a topic that is growing in interest from high-ranking women wanting to contribute cross-industry, identifying skills and connecting them to the right types of roles is crucial for growth. 

The idea and concept of staying with one company and one project is dwindling as people look for jobs that align with their passions and values. Why can't we create new roles for employees and ask them questions on what they want - roadmap career trajectory utilising all skills, providing a modern approach? 

Bringing your 'whole self' to work, challenging the status quo, modernising outreach and speaking up for yourself brings about change, an area Versa are keen to explore alongside the 'human' approach and desire to bring the 'heart' back to life, wellness, technology, community and individuals.