Owning your own business is exhilarating, but also exhausting. Many owners consider transitioning from business owner to employee, especially when a vital partner leaves the business, the economy shifts, or the overall strain of ownership grows too great.
Here are some tips for creating a resume that helps spur the transition from business owner to employee:
- Emphasize your teamwork and relationship building skills. Employers may worry that as a former business owner you are used to running the show and will not fit into a corporate culture. Your resume should emphasize your ability to build relationships and, when necessary, act as a member of a team rather than the leader. Often, volunteer and board experience can help position you as a team player.
- Enjoy the freedom of choice. As a business owner, you have probably handled everything from painting the walls to hiring and firing employees and from balancing the checkbook to negotiating an acquisition. Because you have such varied experience, you now have a certain amount of choice in the jobs you look for. What did you consider your greatest talent and what you enjoy most: marketing, finance, negotiations, sales, project management, proposal generation? Create a resume that reflects your first choice of careers.
- Focus your resume on the job you want. The point of your resume is not to list everything you can do, but to show that you can do everything the employer requires for a specific position. Read job postings and advertisements carefully and frame your resume, LinkedIn summary, or other online presence to emphasize the most important skills, accomplishments, education, and experience for the job you want.
- Be open about the transition. In your cover letter and resume, make sure you convey that you are serious about transitioning from business owner to employee: You are not looking for a temporary position before founding your next company. It is important to allay the fears of potential employers.
- Do not apologize if you lost your business. You honed a lot of skills even in a failed business and are bringing an “intrapreneurial” mindset to the employer.
- Use your network. Whether your network consists of people you worked with in former employee situations or people who know you from your time as a business owner, they are all potential sources for job leads. They are also a great source of testimonials about your ability to work in a corporate environment, and they may be able to smooth the way with a potential employer by emphasizing how ready you are for this transition.
If you are transitioning from business owner to employee, please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help creating a resume that shows off your value while reassuring potential employers.