I could fill a book on all the misconceptions that employers and employees operate under – and maybe I will some day. But for now, I want to give my take on why many managers in conventional, well-established companies are skeptical of hiring former entrepreneurs and independent workers and offer a few ideas how independent workers can allay these fears and become productive, content workers in the conventional employment sense.
Some of the most common reasons employers look askance at non-traditional workers follow.
1.
The best and brightest employees choose to work for highly successful
companies. They plan their careers carefully, from the schools that
they attend to the companies that they work for as well as the
positions they will accept. Who would work for themselves or start
their own company and take on all that work and uncertainty if they
were good enough to get a job?
2. The employees we want on our team
don’t take jobs strictly for money, they aren’t overly concerned with
work/life balance, having control of their own destiny and they don’t
take unconventional risks such as choosing to work for themselves or as
contractors/free agents.
3. Corporations value loyalty, teamwork,
and conformance to many rules, regulations, and customs – most
unwritten but certainly firmly in place. People who work for themselves
are believed to be free wielding renegades who are unaccustomed to
working within the confines typical companies have in place. And
companies fear they can cause dissension in the ranks.
4. What is this person hiding? Why have they been working on their own – by choice or because no one would hire them.
5.
What have they been doing out there on their own? Am I going to be able
to verify their reliability, productivity, and competence since there
is no personnel department to check with?
6. Why is this person
now looking to go back to work for someone else after being on their
own? Once the current situation is resolved, or they become eligible
for COBRA health benefits or the economy improves they are going to go
out on their own again and my company, my team and myself will have
wasted all the time and resources that go along with bringing a new
person on board. This will ultimately be bad for the career of the
person that brought them in to the organization.
7. If they were
competent and successful as a self- employed person, they wouldn’t need
my job because they would still be successful as an
entrepreneur/contractor.
These are not the questions, concerns and doubts of bad people out to get you – these are simply the questions of people who may not necessarily understand why anyone would want to be on their own any more than many independent workers understand why someone would want to be chained to an employer. Your job, if you seriously want to join the ranks of the conventionally employed, is not to argue with these perceptions, but to be aware that they are prevalent among the conventionally employed population. Once you understand that these are the stereotypes that you are fighting – you can set about developing a marketing plan that will get you the job you want.
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