(c) Can Stock Photo / Nevenova
So, you are making the switch from full-time entrepreneur to working for someone else. The move might seem as though it is a daunting one but the truth is, you are an entrepreneur with a lot to offer. You have experience, transferable skills and an insight into what it takes to run a business, all of these factors are something that employers are seeking.
You are clearly a committed individual, you understand the hard work that goes into making a business work which means that you will appreciate that chance to make a difference for someone else. On the surface, it might seem like a strange move but scratch beneath the surface and the change is one that will benefit you in so many ways. Of course, if you want to get noticed by a potential employer then you are going to need to have a CV that stands out. If this is something that you are slightly out of touch with then you should certainly make use of a professional CV writing service. Selling your skills and engaging with a potential employer is all about standing out from the crowd.
Focus on the Positives
Running your own business puts you in an advantageous position but you have to show that you still have the ability to listen to others and operate as part of a team. There are some elements of being self-employed that could put prospective employers off and that makes it even more important for you to turn everything into a positive.
The fact that you had the confidence and belief to start your own business shows that you have a certain determination to succeed and you also love to embrace new challenges. These are positive attributes and characteristics that employers love to work with.
You Experience is Valuable
Being self-employed does not mean that you lose touch with the kind of experience required by employers. In fact, it is the opposite because everything that you have to deal with as a business owner provides you with a vast amount of experience that covers many different areas. You will have experience of working many different roles as an entrepreneur which could give you an advantage over other candidates.
Despite moving from being an entrepreneur to looking for a new role, you should highlight all the successes you had as well as the challenges you overcame. You should also focus on the way in which you managed employees and how you became a success in your own right.
One significant aspect of being self-employed is the need to build healthy relationships. You will have experience of working with clients, suppliers and staff. This ability to build relationships is a transferable skill that is highly regarded and will certainly resonate with employers.
Quantify your Achievements
It is vital that your CV demonstrates your achievements in a way that can be quantified. The aim is to make it possible for employers to visualise your achievements and then relate that to their business needs. You are an entrepreneur with a lot of success and now is the time to show them off by being clever with the way in which you do it. Give employers numbers that they can work with and that will impress them more that you realise.
Did you increase the turnover of your business by introducing a new sales strategy? If so, how much did you increase turnover by?
Did you market your services or products in a way that increased customer numbers? If so, how many more customers did you attract?
When you provide numbers, you provide employers with the chance to understand how successful you have been.
Teamwork is of Significant Importance
Any business relies on a solid team ethic and the ability to work together. As an entrepreneur, you have experience of running a business that relied on the same kind of teamwork. Therefore, you need to emphasise the importance of teamwork and how it something that you are more than familiar with. From projects you run to strategies you introduced, they all would have required teamwork and collaboration. The aim here is to to ensure that the hiring manager is fully aware that you understand the importance of teamwork and have no issues with being a part of a team.
Going from an entrepreneur to a job-hunter is an experience that you need to embrace. Get your CV back on track, showcase your skills and the transferable skills that you obtained from being self-employed and you will soon realise that employers will find you an attractive prospect.
