Tips for Business Owners Returning to the Workforce

Tips for Business Owners Returning to the WorkforceTips for Business Owners Returning to the WorkforceTips for Business Owners Returning to the WorkforceBeing your own boss is an almost-universal fantasy. Who doesnt dream of being self-employed, calling the shots, never having to ask permission for time off, or being able to fire anyone who pisses you off? Owning a small geschftliches miteinander can indeed be an exhilarating experience. But its no guarantee of happiness or success. About half of new businesses fail within their first four or five years, and others are sold once their owners discover that the entrepreneurial lifestyle has at least as many lows as highs.(Time off? Forget about it) Whatever the reason, many former business owners, myself included, decide to get the hell out and run back to those long-lost friends a steady paycheck and employer-paid benefits.And then comes the dilemma of how to apply for a non-executive position when your last job title was Owner, Opera tor, President, and CEO. Having launched, operated, and sold a small business several years ago, Id like to share what I learned out about the job search when youre transitioning back into the workforce after being self-employed. Your Cover Letter and InterviewsRemember how I mentioned that being your own boss is everyones fantasy? That probably includes your future hiring managers, who will likely wonder how you could ever be happy returning to work for someone else after you got to live the fantasy. (Ha) So its important to convey in your cover letter, and especially in your interviews, that you really do want to be back in the workforce, and specifically, that you want the job youre applying for.Present your business-owning past as a valuable experience that prepared you for the next job, rather than as some boss-free utopia youre sad to leave.A good way to do this is to prepare a story that communicates three thingsHow good you are at X X being a skill thats important in the job youre applying for. That owning a business prevented you from doing as much X as you would have liked.You really look forward to a role where you can get back to X.For example, lets say X = MarketingMarketing is one of my greatest strengths and favorite aspects of business, but I wasnt able to focus on marketing as much as I would have liked when I owned my business. There was always a shipping glitch or an accounts payable issue or some other crisis that pulled me away. So Im excited to get back to a role like this one, where I can apply my marketing expertise to help build your brand and your bottom line. What About Your Resume?While the job title President on your resumemay be accurate, its not helpful in communicating your value to your next employer. It might even get you rejected because you appear to be way overqualified.Since you were your own boss, you can retroactively (and truthfully) give yourself almost any job title, depending on where you want to be nextMarketing Com munications Specialist, Customer Support Supervisor, Accounting Manager, Purchasing Agent, Equipment Repairperson, Quality Assurance Specialist, HR Generalist, Event Planner... right on down to ChiefCook and Bottle Washer, as my Irish grandmother used to say.If youre applying for that marketing job, you could say something likeMarketing Communications Specialist Yourname Enterprises, Inc.April 2006 to July 2009Owned and operated a tafelgeschirr business, holding sole responsibilityfor marketing communications, branding, PR, advertising, search engine optimizationBuilt customer base from 0 to 70 clients, achieving annual gross sales of $150,000Established email marketing campaign that generated an average of 30 leads and 12 new customers a monthAs a job seeker, your goal is to demonstrate your value to your next employer, regardless of what your old business card might have said.These ideas worked for me, but Im sure there are plenty of others. If youve transitioned from business own ership back into the role of employee, or hired someone who did, what would you advise?