From Kitchen to Cubicle

Nov. 12, 2009 — -- After a decade of running his own e-commerce business, Brian Leleux from Lafayette, La., realized it was time to do the unthinkable: get a job.

"It's weird putting what I've done on a resume and wondering if it will all be discounted because I worked for myself," said Leleux, who decided to look for full-time work after his sales dwindled to half of what they were three years ago. "Will recruiters and hiring managers discard my resume because it's not, in their eyes, a legitimate job with genuine experience?"

Experts say Leleux is right to question how those in the hiring seat may regard his entrepreneurial background.

"With employers, a red flag does go up," said resume writer and personal branding expert Abby Locke of Premier Writing Solutions, based in Washington, D.C.

"They think, 'Is the person going to be really committed? Are they going to be hard to manage because they have an entrepreneurial spirit? Are they just applying because business is slow but planning to leave the second the economy picks up?'"

That's not to say business owners returning to the corporate womb will find themselves in a hopeless situation. You'll just have to be a tad more strategic about the positions and companies you target, the way you craft your resume and how you discuss your experience in interviews.

A big mistake transitioning entrepreneurs make is using beefy titles like "CEO," "president" or "owner" on their resumes, said Locke. If you're applying for a lesser position, you risk looking overqualified.

Instead, Locke suggests choosing a job title that best describes your day-to-day contributions to the company.

"Look at what your tasks were," she said. "Did you have to raise money to start the business? Did you build the business from the ground up? Did you go from zero clients to 100 in a year, and is that beyond the industry standard?"

In doing so, you may find a title like "VP of business development," "director of human resources" or "director of sales" more fitting.