Not so rare situation: the former owner of the business is looking for a job. And he is faced with a problem - they are wary of his candidacy: he will not stay in the company for a long time and it is difficult to manage him. How do employers really treat such applicants? "Work for you" asked HR managers of well-known companies about this.

Lyudmila Popova, Head of Human Resources, Coffeeshop Company chain in Moscow:
Finding a job for a former entrepreneur is really difficult. I can say this from the experience of my husband and friends who had their own business, and then they were looking for a job for a long time. There is a whole generation of 40-year-old men who were in business in the 90s and now face a similar problem. Many employers treat them with distrust: what kind of entrepreneur is this that goes to work for hire? Why isn't he in business anymore?
There can be several ways out of this situation. The first and most common is a job search by acquaintance. In this case, you are hired by people who know what you are capable of and appreciate your merits. The second way out is to find a job where you need experience in making independent decisions, where you can develop your own direction. For example, it can be a job in the real estate market. Or the third option is to take a loan and organize your business again.

Elena Borisova, director of the training center LLC "Zepter International" Russia:
In our company, we ourselves develop an entrepreneurial spirit in all our employees, so we are always especially glad to people who already have experience in running an independent business!
Applicants with entrepreneurial experience will be indispensable in those positions where such qualities as independence, initiative, the ability to make decisions in a short time, and take responsibility are important. These people make good project managers, salespeople, and administrators.
People who take the risk of starting a business have certain psychological characteristics that distinguish them from ordinary performers. They are more enterprising and responsible, but they are not accustomed to obey. Such people need a special approach, and then they will surprise everyone with their results!

Marina Kostrykina, director children's center Leisure and entertainment "Sedora":
I was hiring an entrepreneur and he really left pretty soon. I understood that he would leave, but I hoped that this would happen later. However, this did not negatively affect my attitude towards applicants - former entrepreneurs. Any employee can leave. The main thing here is to correctly identify the candidate's motivation during the interview. What is he interested in? If your own business independent activity, then it is likely to work for a short time. And if at the interview it became clear that the applicant no longer has a desire to do business, then he can be taken for the future.

Mikhail Balakin, member of the board of the Ratepp company:
The experience of entrepreneurial activity leaves an imprint that makes it difficult to work in a company. Entrepreneurs have developed certain competencies, they have their own views, they are passionate people, and all this may not coincide with what the company needs. Another point - you need to understand how ready a person is and wants to stay in the company. Does he just want to sit out the bad weather or decided to give up business? And much depends on the position for which he claims. For example, for salespeople - entrepreneurship, independence will be a plus, and it’s a completely different matter if we are talking about the position where performance is required.

Elena Kanatchikova, HR Director, Kristall Lefortovo Group of Companies:
Quite right - employers are wary of former entrepreneurs. The first reason is that the consciousness of an employee and an entrepreneur are strikingly different. The second - losers go back to hired workers. The recruiter needs to understand: does the candidate want to build a career or still be a freelancer? And this decision requires a logical justification for the interview.
This year, a lot of candidates come to me for senior positions who have played in their own business and for various reasons they did not succeed. They are like downed pilots, but, of course, they keep their faces. They say: "Take me, I'm ready." And you look at him and think: how will you integrate him into the company, is he really ready, will he leave in a year?

Read the answers of other HR managers in the upcoming issues of Work for You, which will be released on June 23 and 26. All issues of the newspaper are available online.

Many employers treat former individual entrepreneurs with special attention and even apprehension, consider them “spoiled”, perhaps they are afraid that they will show excessive initiative, will not be able to work under someone else’s supervision, etc. And therefore they are in no hurry take them to work. And yet, often the experience of independent work is indispensable.

Why are there problems?

To the question "Why did you decide to become employee" majority former entrepreneurs they answer like this: the business did not go, the project failed. However, it should be remembered that they did not create their business by chance. Most likely, they were driven by the desire to organize efficient business in accordance with their own ideas; be responsible for all areas of work, and not for any particular segment; have absolute full powers; manage your time; finally get more high income and move to a new social level.

The motives for such a decision often include latent dissatisfaction with the organization of business in the employing company (usually not in one), a feeling of incomplete realization of one's strengths and talents. For a person who once set off "into free swimming", such personal qualities as ambition, determination, enterprise, initiative, independence, and often authoritarianism are characteristic.

When such a person sends a resume to the company for the position of an ordinary employee, employers are wary. They believe that managing a person who has had experience in own business, not easy. Building relationships on the principle of "boss - subordinate" with those who recently stood "at the helm" is a difficult task, the solution of which requires certain sacrifices on both sides.

An individual entrepreneur often has no one to delegate authority, so he knows how to do everything and a little. As a rule, he understands the widest range of issues, such as recruitment, management and accounting, planning, understands cost structures and financial management, knows how to organize a sales and supply system. Hiring such a person to work in a small company sometimes means getting someone to constantly evaluate and possibly criticize your work.

Employers are also worried that, after working in their company, the former individual worker will return to entrepreneurship and create a competing company, where he will drag clients and best employees.

How to motivate?

It is possible to influence the loyalty of such a person, but it is expensive. In order for a former entrepreneur to stay with the company after he understands what mistakes he made in the past and how he could avoid them, he needs to be paid what he would never have earned working alone. And it's expensive. Or he should admire your team, see himself as an indispensable member of it. And this is also rare.

At the same time, among the former individual entrepreneurs there are also candidates who have lost heart, broken morally by their “failure”. They may never risk repeating their experience. Perhaps such a person will avoid responsibility - he was too fussy when running his business, and now he will only do what they say.

Possible pluses

And yet you should not refuse a person who has experience in running his own business. If he could not establish his own business, this does not mean that he is not talented.

Just lacked organizational skills, financial resources, business knowledge may have suffered due to external factors and state intervention (introduction of licenses, changes in sanitary and fire regulations). In these cases, he can become a good ordinary employee of your company. And employers should not refuse such people. A person who can admit to himself that independent business not for him, no more risk.

A former entrepreneur can be indispensable in those areas of work where complete independence of action is necessary. He is determined to make money, which means that he may be of interest to companies that need employees who are focused on the result, and not on the process. He himself can set goals and he himself will effectively achieve them. Such experience may be of interest to employers looking for specialists in business development, customer acquisition, and project management.

A person is happy to join the work, where you need to apply all organizational skills and prove to yourself that if “then and there” you did not achieve success, here is a second chance - to rehabilitate yourself in your own eyes and become successful.

Former self-employed people may be in demand in professions such as sales representative or purveyor where the ability to work autonomously is required. The former self-employed person has accumulated vast experience as a specialist in a particular field and therefore will be highly desirable in specialized companies. For example, a former individual entrepreneur supplied small stalls and shops with dairy products. This means that they are always ready to talk with him about working in the state of large dealers supplying chains with products. Also, this person will be in great demand as an account manager (sales manager) in this area. After all, he had to negotiate every day with both buyers and suppliers. Former IP will feel good in the consulting field. And, of course, a former entrepreneur who had several employees is likely to become a good leader of a small department.

Tips for Former Entrepreneurs

In any case, it is necessary for the applicant to note the fact of doing business, this will help attract potential employers from those areas where such experience is interesting for the company and will indicate the openness and honesty of the candidate.

Another thing is the ability to present information about yourself. The applicant should emphasize the benefits of his entrepreneurial experience, highlighting the achievements and difficulties he has encountered. It will also be useful to talk about the mistakes made and the conclusions that he made for himself.

To successfully pass the interview, such an applicant must clearly articulate the reason why he wants to work in the company in the position in question, as he sees himself further development, to achieve what goals he strives to achieve when he comes to work in the company. Understand yourself: will he be able to obey the instructions of other people, especially if he does not agree with them? Is he able to adapt and work in a team? And the main question - how long does he plan to be an ordinary soldier?

When in doubt, it is better to try to restart your business, raise funds, find opportunities, attract sponsors, or go to study business, rather than frame your employer.

If there is no doubt, you need to justify the hopes of the employer. During the passage probationary period and further, the employee must moderate his desire to “steer himself”, actively study the methods of work, organizational structure, forms of interaction within the company, to be part of a single and well-coordinated mechanism to achieve common goals.

It is very important to understand and accept the fact that no matter how difficult and responsible area you are entrusted with, no matter what authority you are given, the management is engaged in the development of a common strategy, and you implement it at a high professional level.

Did not work out. The business had to close down and you want to go back to work. In a short period of time, you have delved into many processes: you want to implement a versatile experience, even if it is within the framework of a foreign company. How to convince employers that you are not a loser, but a candidate with rare experience in different fields?

Former entrepreneurs are treated with caution: there is almost always a risk that they will not be loyal to the company and return to their business. As a rule, the ambitions of such employees are much higher and not everyone succeeds in working under someone else's guidance. All these are risks for the employer, which he diligently avoids. Service expert "" Anastasia Zhukova shared tips on how to look for work for former entrepreneurs.

Soberly evaluate the offer

Former entrepreneurs are not liked in companies with well-established processes: after returning from “free swimming”, people feel uncomfortable within job descriptions and rigorous working arrangements. But in places where decisive, responsible and independent employees are needed, former businessmen and startups are really welcome. This is confirmed by the story of one of the applicants whom I hired.

His shipping business went bust and he had to sell off a large part of his property to cover his debts. He decided to get a job as a driver to support his family. Our production company I just needed someone with a car. At the interview, it turned out that he was well versed in procurement, and we offered to deal with them as well.

The employee performed excellently, and he was gradually entrusted with conducting big deals. And after some time, the position of the head of the production and economic part of the company was vacated. The owner carefully chose people for this position: not everyone could cope with a large amount of work, and they were looking for a suitable person for a long time.

By that time, our candidate had been working in the company for about six months. Everyone agreed that he should be given the opportunity to show his skills and abilities in this position. Now he is in charge of the logistics, procurement and production block, having taken the position of deputy director.

Conclusion: do not lose faith in your strengths and skills. You have a significant advantage over other candidates: you look at the processes and the work itself differently, as the experience of entrepreneurship expands consciousness and perception. This is your forte: you know what it's like to make decisions, right or wrong, and be responsible for them.

Describe entrepreneurial experience

There are a few tips that will help you not scare off the recruiter at the first stage.

In the employer's office, responses are displayed in a list with a brief excerpt from the resume. Recruiters set up the list type themselves - usually there are work experience, desired salary and names of companies in which the candidate worked. If this information is of interest to the employer, then he opens the resume and views it in full.

List of interviewees

Therefore, if you had an individual entrepreneur, in the last place of work it is better to write not “IP Ivanov Stepan Semenovich”, but simply “Entrepreneurial activity” - it sounds better and is easier to perceive. Be sure to indicate the industry and direction of your activity.

If you do not apply for leadership position, avoid the words "owner" or "owner": they may suggest that it is difficult for a former businessman to work under another manager.

Think carefully about choosing a position, especially if the direction of your business and previous experience diverge. You can develop further in a new industry or return to the profession: both are absolutely acceptable.

If the business did not last long, apply for the position level that was before it was opened, or a little higher. A common problem is high expectations: former businessmen hope to get a managerial position, although previous place work did not rise above the ordinary specialist. Going straight to a leadership position will be difficult. But fast career also possible in this situation.

Describe responsibilities based on job requirements. Move relevant functions to the beginning of the description. Formulate everything in detail: brevity is not an assistant here. Specify the number of employees of the company, if any, especially if you have not previously held leadership positions.

The most common mistake I've seen on resumes is short listing of responsibilities: "Company management, procurement, customer service, development, market promotion." Everything was laid out in a couple of lines, without details. It is clear that I had to deal with absolutely everything, but the details are important here.

For example:

• company management, development of a strategy and setting goals for employees (10 subordinates);
• work with suppliers (you can name key ones if they are large and well-known, or list product groups);
• negotiating with key clients(again, if there were large ones, name them); development of a strategy for promoting products / services / services and so on.

Do not forget about the results of work in the period of entrepreneurship. If financial indicators your business weren't spectacular, just don't list them. But information about establishing relationships, getting even small discounts on purchases, and successful experience in finding partners is worth pointing out.

Prepare for the interview

In addition to the standard questions, former entrepreneurs at the interview like to ask the following.

"Why did you decide to return to hire?"

Do not take this as an attempt to humiliate or insult you. It is really important for an employer to know what your motivation is.

The answer must be honest. A perfectly acceptable option is this: “I decided that I was ready to start my own business, because I did not see the prospects for growth in my previous job. Collected necessary information and chose the direction of activity (explain why this is so). Organized the process. But at a certain point, difficulties arose, ”and to tell what exactly went wrong.

Your task is to convince the employer that you did not come to get the missing experience or temporarily wait out an unsuccessful period in the country's economy, but are ready to develop within the framework of a new company and use all the experience gained for its benefit.

"Are you planning to get back into business?"

You came to get a job, and your goal is to grow within the new company. That is exactly what you should answer.

“You have failed in your business. Why do you think that things will go better in a new place?”

Describe the situation honestly, tell about the reasons why the business “did not work”. Emphasize that you have gained this experience in your own company and will be able to prevent similar mistakes in another organization. Indicate that you will be able to implement complex tasks and hope to be part of a successful team - of course, if you really want to.

For those who doubt that they described their entrepreneurial experience correctly, there is the “Successful Resume” service. Experts from HR and recruitment will look at the resume through the eyes of the employer and help make it more attractive for the company of your dreams.

September 28, 2015 Independent research agency JUST FOR BUSY.

Should you hire ex-entrepreneurs?

I often advise job seekers on how to conduct interviews, how to write a resume, and how to build your career in general. And lately, apparently not the last role and the crisis has played in this, a lot of requests for help from people who had their own small business, but now, for various reasons, decided to go to work for hire.

And these people, for the most part, are very adequate, alive. Not stupid office plankton, who only knows how to write business plans and drink coffee in "coffee breaks", but those who are not afraid to make decisions, bear responsibility for them, those who have a lively mind.

And here is the problem, the majority of not only managers, but also business owners, are afraid to hire such people. Many HRs have a strict mindset - just not former businessmen!

So the question was born to those who are engaged in the selection.

1. Do you have similar restrictions?

2. If yes, do you think they are correct? If yes, why?

3. Have you ever hired such people and what is the result.

Well, a similar question to the leaders, if they read these materials.

It all depends on the corporate culture of the company. Eat business forms corporate culture, in such companies IPeshnikov are willingly taken, and then they create adequate working conditions.
In hierarchical cultures, by contrast, ex-entrepreneurs feel uncomfortable, which is why they try to get more benefits for themselves and leave.

Faced. The customer initially set the conditions to exclude IP. The motive is obvious. His business is not big, it is very easy to copy and leave with clients. This is what he feared.

But in real estate, IPs, both former and present, are only welcome

My opinion is that there are no "former entrepreneurs" if we are talking about a real natural (according to the totality of qualities) entrepreneur. If such a person tried to make a business and it did not work out and he is looking for a place in the company, then if he is a real entrepreneur, then either he will be interested in a share or he goes to the company in order to study the specifics and later start his own business or maintain his financial position while contemplating a new business.

There is another category of former entrepreneurs - these are just those who got into something other than their own business for various reasons (read books, parents pressured / imposed, friends, etc. in a word, under the influence of external factors) and naturally failed in practice. Not because they are not experienced (although this is also), but because it is not their nature, well, they are not created in order to pull, move the process and people, take responsibility for other people. They do not burn with their idea, in the end they simply do not have enough energy and strength for this. BUT! But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be hired. They can just be great specialists in a certain profession or good leaders / managers. Real entrepreneurs are few and far between.
The task of HR is precisely to discern a real entrepreneur in this "former" and, depending on the answer to this question, make appropriate decisions in a conversation with the customer.

Thinking out loud:
- it will be difficult to keep the former owner of the business on the motivation system existing in the company.
- the owner, who "killed" his business (I'm not talking about the crisis), is afraid to let a division in the company steer. This means that he is not well versed in the market or in people.

This is just my negative experience.
I took a friend, the former owner, as my deputy.
It seems to work, the ideas are brilliant, the performance is wow! And in the end, the direction died. We have been raising it for more than a year, trying to raise it.

I have a friend. Former leader KA. Who is currently employed by a fairly good company. So, in reality, a person suffers due to the fact that there is little independence. Little responsibility for decision making. So I think that this is the mistake of HR, who took her to the position of the performer. This is precisely the main quality of HR, to select the right employee for the right place. For the team to work effectively.

I consider such candidates on an equal footing with others. It all depends on the position, if it is a leadership position that the former business owner responds to, then this is quite normal, but if sales representative, then you need to understand the motivation. I have examples in my practice when the owners of the KA got a job in the leading international companies in positions from HR BP.

Rather, I check the competencies necessary for the customer, it is necessary to clarify the manageability, both work under someone's guidance, and the understanding that there will not be such freedom of movement (in the literal sense).

I agree with Oleg, people who can work independently and take responsibility for their work are much more useful, especially in this moment, in times of crisis, when it is very important to have a great team. When selecting, I try to convey to the customer and show best qualities a person who will take his business to the next level. And you will agree that this is not the most important and valuable thing now, when both parties are satisfied?

Oleg, there are different positions and different working conditions, one position requires this very independence, and the other does not. And managers build their work in different ways - someone clearly defines the task and gives free rein to accomplishment, the main thing is the result. But there are those who prefer to delve into each stage of the work.

If our IP is too freedom-loving and used to being his own boss, then he will be completely uncomfortable with a manager who delves into all stages. And it is unlikely that his work will bring pleasure.

But with such a manager who sets a task and is waiting for the result, Ipeshnik can be successful.

A small summary of what I read in the responses of colleagues.
"Former entrepreneurs are difficult to manage" Is it really easy to manage ordinary employees, not entrepreneurs? And isn't it easier to use strengths such people, such as the ability to work independently and take responsibility for decisions made?

I am wary of such candidates. My company has very strict standards, and initiative in some things is simply not welcome - you need to complete tasks in accordance with procedures.

Entrepreneurs are usually personal qualities exactly what I'm looking for - leaders with a clear understanding of how to build relationships in a team and how to create a real team in general. They do a good job of motivating staff.

The main question that I ask myself when selecting such a candidate is whether he is ready to work according to other rules? And also how he can be a subordinate.

I clarify this point with projective questions - for example, I ask you to come up with an idea how to improve the climate in the team. When a person offers, I say: "ok, you tried it 2 weeks have passed, you see - it does not work, what will be your actions?"

Yes, such questions help to understand whether a person is ready to adjust his behavior and mode of action to our requirements. If a person has a really lively mind, then he will be able to work according to our standards.

Individual entrepreneur has a legal right to use hired labor. In this case, an employment relationship arises between the employer and the employee, which must be formalized on the basis of current legislation. Working for an individual entrepreneur without registration is a violation of the rules labor code and threatens both parties with administrative penalties. What are the consequences of working with an individual entrepreneur without registration labor relations? What are the penalties and who is threatened for it? Let's figure it out.

The nuances of working with IP

An individual entrepreneur, acting as an employer, has the following responsibilities:

• drafting employment contract with all its employees;
• registration of insurance documents for pension insurance (applies to employees who got a job for the first time in their life);
• timely payment of insurance premiums for their employees and other payments provided by law;
• provision of working conditions that do not contradict the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (payment for vacations, sick leave and lunch time).

If a person did not conclude an employment contract with an entrepreneur, then the punishment for working without registering an IP is provided for both parties. A businessman - for violation of the Labor Code, and an employee - for conducting work activities without paying taxes.

Getting a job with an individual entrepreneur, a person may encounter some features that differ from working conditions in budget organizations:

1. Working hours and rest periods are specified in the employment contract. At the same time, the general work time per week should not exceed the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The amount of paid leave can be changed down and broken into small segments (for example, one week per quarter).
2. Termination of an employment contract - the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for a specific list of reasons for which an employment relationship may be terminated. An individual entrepreneur has the right to draw up an agreement at his own discretion and to include certain clauses in it that may become reasons for dismissal.
3. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for the deadlines during which the employer must notify the employee of the dismissal (2 weeks). The amount of severance pay is also determined depending on the reason for dismissal. When working for an entrepreneur, an employee may not receive material support if there were no such clauses in the contract. A notice of dismissal 2 weeks in advance is also not the responsibility of the employer, unless it is agreed in the contract.

An entrepreneur is not required to register employment contracts with local authorities.

If you work for an individual entrepreneur without official registration

The legislation provides for a period of 3 days of working time without registration of labor relations. To continue the activity, it is necessary to draw up an employment contract. Otherwise, fines are provided for work without registration of IP:

• absence of an employment contract - 5-10 thousand rubles;
• incorrect registration of labor relations - 5-10 thousand rubles;
• the use of civil relations instead of labor relations - 5-10 thousand rubles;
• repeated violations - 30-40 thousand rubles.

The main reason why entrepreneurs do not formalize labor relations with their employees is the unwillingness to pay pension contributions and taxes for them. However, the responsibility for working without registering an IP is becoming tougher every year, so it has become unprofitable for both parties to work unofficially.

There is a category of people who deliberately refuse official registration. The reasons for this can be various, ranging from personal beliefs to the lack of registration and permission to engage in work activities. Such citizens are specifically looking for a list of works without registration of IP. In fact, such a list does not exist, since each person must be employed on the basis of current legislation. People should understand that the absence of formalized labor relations deprives them of any social guarantees (vacation, sick leave, pension), and they are not legally protected in the event of material disputes.