Putting self-employment on a CV

linuxlover

So far my research has taught me it's a big no-no. Recruiters generally look at it as non-employment and employers are worried that you might have problems taking orders and what happens if your business/economy picks up, are you going to leave the company and other fears like that. Even though my logic dictates this should've been looked as a positive thing, it most certainly isn't. Truth be told I haven't found much on the IT-related field, they were all general discussions, but how do you feel about that? I have a hobby project turned business few months ago, I would like to put that on my CV to show my potential employer that I'm hardworking but I'm afraid it would do me more damage than good.

Steve202

I had the same problem as you, decided against it in the end. Plus I decided to jack 90% of my business in as I was putting an awful lot of working into it for very little return. Now I concentrate on the bit of my business that makes me money and also hold down a full time job as well.

Danielm7

Compared to no experience at all? Sure, why not list it? For what it's worth, I do know what you mean about how people might feel towards it, I have a few years of running my own business smack in the middle of my experience and I wonder how some of the companies I'm applying to now feel about it.
I think in the end it really depends on the company, for example, I got my current job because the owner of the business was impressed I had been working for myself for a few years since he wanted someone that didn't need a lot of management and could make decisions without a ton of guidance.

dsgm

I have it on mine or i would have a big patch of doing nothing on my resume, which i would think is worse than self employed.I still get calls from jobs and recruiters haven't gotten a job as yet but that's another story

White Wizard

I definitely have it listed on my resume as I run my own business and have over 5 years experience from it. I also listed some of the companies I have provided support for just in case they want to follow up with them.

I dont know about other areas, but in this part of KY IT jobs are hard to come by and I am not about to get a job in retail when I could be running an IT business. I dont make much but I am actively involved in IT which is better then not working in IT at all.

Xyro

White Wizard wrote: »

I dont make much but I am actively involved in IT which is better then not working in IT at all.

I fully agree with the logic behind this statement.

Also, self-employment would be preferable to having a large window on your resume. There are both positive and negative aspects to a person who has run their own company. I guess some whom hire focus more on the negative, but it should not be this way.

shodown

Yes this is a concern. This is why you create a company under a LLC that can be looked up. If they ask tell them the truth its a company that you owned, but if not just let it ride.