Navigating Job Interviews: Should I Mention Working for My Husband's Start-Up?

Hello, I am an HR professional. I was not working after my marriage. About a year back, after my kids started going to school, I began working for my husband's company. He is the owner of the company, and it is a start-up. Now, I would like to look for a job in another company.

Should I mention working for my own company in interviews?

When I go for interviews, should I mention that I worked for our own company? How should I approach this situation? I have Form 16, salary slips, and a bank statement of salary. I am asking this question because I want to build a career independently. Please guide me.

Dear Priya, when candidates apply for jobs, they send their CVs. In their CVs, candidates mention the list of companies where they have worked in the past. The list only includes the name of the company and the time period, for example, "from ____ to ____." It does not include the name of the Managing Director (MD) of that company. Interviewers may or may not ask for the name of the MD of a particular company. Therefore, I recommend that you disclose the name of the MD only if it is specifically asked of you.

Your selection will be based on your competence as an HR professional. The more challenging aspect is getting selected on this basis.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you, Dinesh Divekar, for spending your valuable time to answer my humble question. I would like to clarify my question.

Clarification on Interview Responses

Is it okay during an interview, while answering the question "Tell me about yourself," to mention that I was working for a specific company from this date to that date? Then, is it okay if I don't mention that I was working for my husband's company? Can I just state the company name and other details? This is the part I would like to clarify. Could you give me a suggestion on how to present this in a better way? Thanks in advance.

When the interviewer asks, "Tell me about yourself," you can walk them through your career, detailing the duties you have handled in the past and what you have learned from previous employments. There is no need to voluntarily disclose that the Managing Director of the current company is your spouse.

On a more personal note, why do you wish to stop assisting your spouse and join a different organization? For a Managing Director, their spouse is often considered a trusted resource. As the spouse, you could potentially hold a Director position within the company, enabling you to be involved in activities across all departments, not limited to HR. This is a common scenario I have observed in various organizations.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

The reason is I would like to have a career on my own. Here, though I have a job in the company, I am always at home. But of course, whenever I need to do things, I can do it from home. When I need to take interviews or something like that, I go to the office, rarely. I don't get the feeling that I am working. I do not have any growth career-wise. As you said, I get to be involved in all the activities. But I want to do something on my own. I joined our company with the intention that my career gap shouldn't be a problem if I ever want to look for another job. I mean, just to show that I am already at work so that I don't need to start my job hunt from scratch.

Dear Priya, I appreciate your reasons for securing a job elsewhere. A professional first needs to be loyal to his or her profession. As long as you remain an employee in your husband's organization, the sense of "ours" cannot be separated from your mind. It may create a greater degree of dependence on one or the other, ultimately affecting both the growth of the organization and the individuals as well. That's the basic reason underlying your statement "I would like to have a career on my own," for a career is distinctly different from a job. The career experience you gain from outside can also contribute to the growth of your family business.

Agreement with Mr. Dinesh

Coming to your question, I am in complete agreement with Mr. Dinesh. Mere mention of the name of your husband's organization as your previous employer is sufficient to show that you have recent working experience after the inevitable break due to marriage to keep yourself abreast of current HR practices. It is not necessary to mention your matrimonial relationship with the M.D. of the organization.