Resume - listing "own business"

A couple of years back I was working on getting a small startup off the ground for a year and a half with a small group of people. I basically led the project, did the documentation, set up the demo / prototype environment, etc.. A majority of my work was technical in nature, but of course this wasn't a paid position.

Is this something one would list on a resume, assuming the work is in line with my general career efforts? I don't recall reading resumes that had something similar before so I'm curious what others think. I basically want to convey that I did some kind of team-lead effort, even if it was unpaid work.

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Comments

dac303

I think it's important to list any experience which you feel could increase your chances of getting the job, regardless of whether you were paid or not. Just be honest about it and make sure you have someone who can vouch for you as a reference, such as a client, customer or business partner.

I would however be careful to list any ongoing freelance/consulting work as this could be a conflict of interest for your potential employer.

N2IT

You have to be very careful because it can look CHEEEEEEEEEEESY.

Example:

Experience

Helpdesk Tier 2 Tech date
bullet points

Helpdesk Tier 2 deskside tech date
bullet points.

CEO My company date (WEIRD)
Bullet points

Pizza Delivery for Dominos date (no offense to pizza drivers)

networker050184

I'd probably list it, but as N2IT pointed out I'd be careful with the wording. I'm really not sure what the best way to list it would be though.

Xcluziv

dac303 wrote: »

I think it's important to list any experience which you feel could increase your chances of getting the job, regardless of whether you were paid or not. Just be honest about it and make sure you have someone who can vouch for you as a reference, such as a client, customer or business partner.

I would however be careful to list any ongoing freelance/consulting work as this could be a conflict of interest for your potential employer.

I believe this is the most important because employers want to see you make strides towards employment and the only way for them to see that is to list experience. Even if you did thorough training yourself (in this regards you have to back it up) but nonetheless, it shows your initiative and passion for knowledge.

Reinerating as dac303 stated, make sure your references are dependable and can speak highly of you

PC509

Personally, I'm torn on the issue. I've been denied a couple jobs because of my self employment, mostly because they say that most self employed people do it "their way" instead of someone elses way. Point taken, though, but it is a generalization towards people.

On the other hand, my business was successful but I have just moved on (family runs the business now, still successful). I learned a lot, not only technical but managerial, business and customer service. I've also gained several certifications and awards during that time, which help.

3 years would be a huge gap in employment if I were to not list my self employment, which would also be a turnoff.

So, I am extremely interested in others thoughts to this as well.

Priston

how do you have it listed?

docrice

I will say for now that my startup project was a "second job" during nights / weekends / holidays while my primary is my "day job" that I've had for over 7 years. I don't refer to myself a CEO or anything, but more like a project coordinator / team lead. It's a relatively minor part of my working history, and given the date range information it clearly overlaps my first-job.