For many, the American dream involves home ownership and working for yourself. Whether working from home on your own or owning a business, there are many benefits as well as disadvantages that come along with self employment. But self-employed people make exceptional employees.
So what are you supposed to tell prospective interviewers when they ask you how are you going to be able to adjust from working for yourself to working for them? Most of the advantages and disadvantages listed below are all key points you’ll want to bring up in your interview as assets.
Being your own boss is hard and requires discipline. But when you are so well disciplined, you’ll be able to work for someone else and provide them with exceptional work. You are already used to long hours, responsibility, and risk. All of these traits make for exceptional employees.
Tips on how to interview for a job when you used to work for yourself
Here are some of the advantages to being your own boss that you can use to demonstrate why you’ll make an excellent employee.
1. Nobody to Answer To – Everyone has had a boss that they couldn’t stand at one time or another, and we’ve all thought that we could do things better than them on occasion. When you work for yourself, there’s nobody looking over your shoulder and barking orders.
2. The Hours – Working the hours that you want is often the case when you’re your own boss, at least when you work from home. If you run a store you’ll have to keep strict hours, but in many cases you can set your own schedule as needed. This demonstrates you will work late, which is something you’ll want to bring up to your interviewer.
3. The Pride – Knowing that you work for yourself and have created something that brings in income can give you a feeling of pride unlike anything else. It’s a good feeling to know that you’ve succeeded at being your own boss, something others have failed at.
4. The Pay – You can make a sizeable sum if you manage your business properly. While there are plenty of risks involved, the rewards can be massive if you play your cards right.
When you interview for a job, here are some disadvantages that come with being your own boss, but still these are advantages for you to bring up in the interview.
1. The Responsibility – Running your own business carries responsibilities that you wouldn’t deal with as a simple employee. You’ll have to handle many tasks such as payroll, taxes, overhead, stock, and much more if running a store. Working from home these responsibilities are a bit less, however, but still finding work and making income can be stressful.
2. The Hours – Yes, this is a benefit as well, but there will be days when the hours are much longer than you may like. When problems arise it will be on you to solve them no matter how long it can take. Also, you can’t let your freedom get away from you. You need to be disciplined and focus on your job before enjoying time off.
3. The Risk – If you end up taking out a loan or sinking money into your venture, than you’ll be taking a very real risk with that money. You could lose it all if you make poor decisions, which can cost you big in the long run. But without risk, there are no rewards.
When you interview for a job and they ask you how are you going to be able to adjust from working for yourself to working for them, all you have to tell them is a few examples of how well disciplined and responsible you are they should leap at the opportunity to hire someone like you – someone who is willing to take the bull by the horns and get things done is the kind of person businesses like to hire.
