Several headhunters have confirmed in interviews that usually the candidates that they hire need to be ‘currently’ employed in regular 9-5 jobs. Candidates in ‘self-employed’ but perhaps less gainful businesses (in monetary terms of course) often fall through the cracks here. Considering that those professionals possibly need the help of a headhunter even more, this does seem rather paradoxical. However, being in a non-functional business does not make you less attractive for companies or headhunters.
Last year, we shared a post on how even getting out of a state of being fired is purely a matter of attitude. So there is no reason to feel you have failed, as you approach things positively and constructively. Here are a few tips for you, on how to get your 9-5 career rolling again.
1. Prepare yourself- ask yourself the right questions!
First make a list. What potential 9-5 jobs are you interested in? Are there specific titles that you dig in, or is it more about the work-content that you wished for? Do you want to work in a great new ‘start-up’ or a big firm with thousands of employees? Where do you see yourself in the next 3 years?
Is job security the key reason for which you are in the market or is it just that you want to be working with big teams? Based on how your thought-list shapes up, follow it up not only with a fundamental review of your application documents but also how you present yourself to the company or a headhunter in an interview. Never show that you are dependent on a job and be confident. Try to remain quite flexible. Prepare for potential stumbling blocks before by considering the answers to some expected questions- like why are you getting back to a regular 9-5 job.
Also, be aware of your body language, because it allows you to convince anyone. If you have been off the market for quite some time, then also check your salary benchmarks.
2. Be open to the new work areas (even)
You’re not a stranger to new things having been self-employed. Think about if you now want to move to another work area. Maybe you can open up entirely new possibilities when you break away from the idea that you need to be doing exactly the same things again. This can also be an opportunity to step back and check your status-quo.
While being self-employed, did you end up having the career run that you wished for (keeping the monetary aspects apart but focusing on the work content here)
3. Collect feedback. Get your clients and partners to endorse you online
Depending on what business you had, you perhaps already invested in an online presence. The trick here could be to focus on getting some endorsements and feedback from partners, clients and everyone that you worked with. Showcase these on your online profiles. Talk about all the new skills you learned and give examples of the most creative work that you engaged in.
Focus on informative and current professional experiences. Use careers platforms such Experteer that are used by companies and headhunters and make sure that there is no ambiguous information found about you on the internet. Your comments on Twitter or Facebook should be career-friendly, if you understand what I mean. Do not write bad social media posts about companies you wish to apply for.
4. Build self-confidence. What did you learn in your stint?
Who will believe in you, if you don’t yourself? Think about it once, what your strengths are, what did you learn during your self-employment phase and then focus on the key aspects. Far too many people think that they need to change- because the self-employment may not have worked as per plan and then they focus far too often on weaknesses. That’s sure not helping.
5. Check the learnings during lean work periods
Whether for personal or professional reasons, a gap in your resume need not be a disaster. We have a few tips for you on how to fill these gaps cleverly. If your self-employment led no clients for a couple of months- did you spend that time on research or filling up a client pipeline (check- business development)? Or learning a new language (check- new experiences and skills)? Did everything fail and you realized you had neglected a few key aspects (check- risk management) ? Work on a strength-based approach. Force yourself to think what you learned in your lean and weak work periods.
6. Start with speculative applications also to headhunters
Meanwhile, it is customary to show a lot of initiative. But formalities apart it is important and can work. Of course Headhunters are perhaps receiving many unsolicited applications. That is not a problem. Sending an un-solicited application has several advantages and provide you more room for your application. You do not have to compete with other applicants, or be restricted to what the vacancy is limiting you to- because the place is not advertised. Also you can showcase initiative, motivation and focus. Companies and headhunters will appreciate it.
So what are you waiting for? We wish you much success.
