The self employed - the new discrimination scandal!

19th Aug 2011

Having set up and run various businesses and operated as the Managing Director of The CV & Interview Advisors for several years; the self-employed, entrepreneur and business owner community is very dear to my heart.

David Cameron talks about SMEs as being the engine room of the economy; employed folk stand back in admiration of their friends who have set up their own businesses; and I would bet a good percentage of ‘employed’ people day dream about how great it would be to set-up their own business one day.

As attractive and rewarding as setting up your own business is, the skills and behaviours that are required to be successful are enormous and not to be underestimated. Now don’t get me wrong, the same applies to succeeding within the corporate world and I’m not suggesting that the self-employed, entrepreneur or business owner community is any more talented or attractive that the ‘employed’ community; however I am saying that they are not less attractive which seems to be the view of many UK employers.

Quite what it is that puts employers off those who have taken the plunge but now want to return to the employed world, escapes me. I hear recruiters suggest that employers are concerned that they will just up sticks and set up another business again, but surely this is absurd; a good stint running ones own business in my book would make that person much more worldly wise and rounded that if they hadn’t. Other employers / recruiters are turned off by failure, but in the current economic climate, some businesses were destined to fail regardless of how talented the owner was. Of course, those who are employed also fail but in most cases can move on; perhaps it is because if your own business fails, the consequences are much more visible than if you stuffed up someone else’s business (although you’ll probably get moved on before this happens).

I say those who have had the guts and determination to give it a go and not die wondering should be highly attractive to an employer and not bottom of the pile. Because of this, I am keen to offer those in this situation a little helping hand and that comes in the form of a 15% discount for previously self-employed individuals on career advice, job hunting advice, CV writing, and interview coaching services.