Blog Post: Career Liabilities - Career Changes Entrepreneur to Corporate

If you think about the large number of merger and acquisitions over the past few years, you will realize that many of those companies were run by entrepreneurs who then became corporate executives. However, many company managers will be hesitant to hire someone who has been running their own business. Even though many large organizations have started to form entrepreneurial business units within the corporation, when they come face-to-face with a real entrepreneur, they back down. You can expect resistance to your risk orientation and decisiveness from some corporate interviewers.

Redirect

The book on the entrepreneur is that he or she is an independent, quick-draw maverick used to making unilateral decisions and shifting focus and attention rapidly from one subject to another. The perception is that you can not be a team player or work within a structure to accomplish common goals.

Qualifying

Your presentation needs to tone down the entrepreneurial image. Practice a little humility and make an extra effort to listen closely to questions. Remember that job hunting puts you in the role of the seller and that the buyer in this case is the company. If you have experience in sales, try to adopt a consultative role where you work with the interviewer to determine how you can solve the problems associated with the position. Emphasize your commitment to professional management and human values to tone down the “tough guy” image. CABs (Accomplishment based stories) which point to working out viable compromises or developing subordinates are good choices, along with those related to maximizing results or creating innovations.

Additional Concerns

It might be helpful to cultivate some references that can help you convince people that you know how to work as part of a team. If you have community activities or outside group interests where you are not the primary leader, you might use these as examples of your ability to work in a cooperative role.