AT WORK
Ex-boss wants to wear worker's hat

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

It's not that she doesn't like being her own boss. But Carol, a small-business owner, wants to work for someone else at this point in life.

Having owned her graphic design business for 15 years, Carol is closing shop as she and her family move from Florida to North Carolina — and she's looking for a job.

Employers have reservations. Can you blame them? After doing things her way for so long, they are worried she may not be easy to manage. In interviews, she's been asked, point blank, "How do you feel about taking direction from others?"

"I suspect they think I'm too set in my own way of doing things," she writes.

Bingo.

Carol is smart to anticipate an employer's concern. So she should not only be prepared to address the concern but, in some situations, bring it up before it becomes an issue. She should look for ways to minimize the scary parts of her experience — scary to future employers, that is — and build on her past that matters most to them.

If you are calling it quits after being on your own, there are three ways you can market yourself:

• In your resume. Think about how you want the employer to see you. In Carol's case, she wants to take the focus off her role as a business owner who's used to calling the shots but make sure someone sees the value she brings.

She wants employers to see her as a talented business communications professional with expertise in managing projects from concept to delivery of a finished product.

Everything on her resume should support that. She should use language that identifies her strengths and interest in managing projects rather than the whole business. She wants to highlight ways she worked on teams with designers and copywriters and focus on managing accounts and how she brought in new business.

• Your cover letter and initial phone conversations. Again, focus on how you want employers to see you. You can tell them that although you've managed your own small business, the skills you honed and knowledge you acquired will add value to their business.

Specify the skills that make you desirable — the ability to be decisive, develop budgets, manage others, build relationships and see the big picture while handling details.

Help them see how these skills transfer well into a role in which you might manage parts of a related business. And be sure to point out that at this time in your life, you want to learn from others and bring your skills and value to a business that wants to grow.

• In interviews. Early on, tell the employer your situation. Think like the employer — figure out what he'd be worried about.

You could say: "It has crossed my mind that you might be concerned about the fact that I've been on my own for the last 15 years. I have given a lot of thought to this step. While I have enjoyed having my own business, I'm clear I want to bring my knowledge and expertise to someone else's business now."

Yes, anticipate, acknowledge and help the employer overcome any concerns. But stop seeing self-employment as a liability and start seeing yourself as a bundle of skills, knowledge and experience that someone can't wait to get their hands on.