Navigating Job Search After Closing a Business: How Do Employers View Entrepreneurial Gaps?

Hi folks,

I come from a background of HR generalist experience of 8 years, and I also have 5 years of entrepreneurial experience. Due to some reasons, my spouse and I decided to shut down the business, and now I am back looking for HR jobs. My experience after applying to jobs and interviews is that people are not considering my entrepreneurial experience at all. They view it as a career break, which is not considered as valid as a maternity break, I guess. I am in a fix on how to approach this or understand the recent norms on hiring someone looking for a job after a long time. I am confident in my story regarding the break as they call it and am concerned that I may leave my job again to set up another business. If you have been in a similar situation, how did you deal with it, and what are people looking for? Any advice, suggestions, or help in this regard are appreciated.

Dear member,

Closing a business is a setback. Now, the distrust by HR professionals to take you back into their fold is another setback. This is quite unfortunate.

However, just because you have an HR background does not mean you should look for a job in the HR field only. You may explore opportunities in retail operations. Nowadays, many warehouses are emerging, so you could also search for jobs in warehousing.

Alternatively, there are newer job roles like Data Analyst, Business Analyst, etc. You may consider looking for positions in those fields as well.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you, Dinesh, for your response and suggestion. This is something I have also considered exploring, but it will take time for me to learn new skills and then apply for jobs. With HR skills, I am ready to start where I left off, and I believe it will take less time. Another reason is the financial situation, and I can't spend money on anything extra except my household expenses. Hence, I am sticking to HR, and even if I get a job at a salary matching my previous one, I can still afford it. However, with a job in a new area, it would require me to spend first on learning the skills and then start as a fresh employee, which may not pay me much. This is my concern. If you have any thoughts, please share them to help me find opportunities. Thank you.

You have not mentioned whether your entrepreneurship was in HR or any other field. If it was in HR, then there has been an enrichment of your skills in the field, and I am sure that with patience, you will find something suitable. Even if the remuneration is not as good as your expectations, you will soon get into the groove and can always look for better opportunities after some time.

Even if your business was not related to HR, you have definitely developed some new skills. Based on your interest, you can look for a job either in HR or anything related to the skills you have developed in the past 5 years. Have faith in yourself and don't lose your confidence. It is just a matter of getting a break, and you will be back and running in no time. By the way, I am talking from experience!