From self employment to working for somebody else

I've been self employed for the last 5 years fixing boats on the run, but I need to move for better work and need to find a, and i hate to say it.... a J O B.

As employers, managers, HR people out there. What conversations should a tastefully avoid/dance around when on interviews.
I know the first thing employers think is "I'll hire this guy and he'll bolt in 6 months, quite possibly to compete against me."

I do want to own my shop eventually, and get out of this mobile marine crap, But I don't believe i'll be ready until 3-5 years. Give or take the economy right.

Have any of you Iboaters gone from self employment to working for the man again? Any hurdles? All advice is appreciated.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

perhaps, enlarge,diversify your business into other recreation engines, snowmobiles,blowers,lawn equipment not the home owner throw away stuff.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

I have had the pleasure of interviewing hundreds of folks for various aviation jobs. Google Interview Help and you should get a lot of free online help. Here are some of the things to keep in mind:

1. Research the company and the role you are interviewing for.
2. When asked if you have any questions, please have at least one if not several ready.
3. Keep eye contact but don't stare!
4. Don't fidget
5. Practice with a friend or better half and have the grill you. Sit at a table.
6. If offered water, take it. It is okay to have something to drink.
7. Bring a not pad and take notes. Have a copy of your resume and any other info for the job.
8. Listen and pay attention. try to pick up n the style of interview and work within the style.
9. Don't bash previous jobs / employers.
10. Try to take your answers and make them apply to the company or job.
11. Make sure you have and understand your faults.

I always like to ask a logic/reason question such as: How many garden hoses will be purchased in the US this year?

I am not looking for an exact answer or even close. I am looking for how the answer is formulated. Something like. Well, there are about 90,000,000 homes in the US and about 10,000,000 business that use hoses. Most of them have hoses but some will need to replace. I imagine that hoses are good for 10 years and would say that 10% a year get replaced or upgraded. So there will 1,000,000 hoses purchased this year.

Again, I could care less of the answer, just how the person got to it. If it is just a guess, I will ask how they formulated their guess.

Here is a list of questions I have stolen from various websites and seminars I have been too. Some will apply to you and others will not.

Good Luck!!!!!


Tell me about yourself.
Why are you applying for this job?
What interests you most about this opportunity
Tell me what you know about this company?
Who is your current employer?
Are you still employed at the last department on your resume?
Tell me about your last three positions. Explain what you did, how you did it, the people you worked for, and the people you worked with.
Which one was your favorite job, and why?
Tell me about the best/worst boss you ever had
Looking back now, is there anything you could have done to improve your relationship with??..?
What do you think was your biggest impact at your last job?
What is the biggest challenge you?ve had to overcome in your career? What steps have you taken to make sure something like that doesn?t happen again?
Professionally speaking what areas would you like to improve upon
Tell me about the types of people you have trouble getting along with
Do you manage your time well? Give me a few examples._
How do you handle change? Give me an example._
Tell me about the last time pressure led you to indecision, a poor decision, or a mistake. What would you have done differently
Give me an example of how you went above and beyond to give your passengers great customer service
If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently
How do you get along with your supervisors? Co-workers
How do you generally handle conflict?
The successful candidate for this position will be working with some individuals who have been with the company for a long time. How will you mesh with them?

What are your long-term career objectives? What do you need to develop in terms of skill and knowledge to achieve those objectives?
Tell me about the last time you should have delegated but you didn?t? What happened? Would you do it that way again?
How do you go about making important decisions? Tell me about the last important decision you had to make, how you went about making it, and the results you achieved.

Have you been in charge of budgeting, approving expenses, and monitoring departmental progress against financial goals? __In your experience, what are the most common obstacles you?ve faced when completing assignments or projects on time and on budget? Give me one or two examples and how you dealt with them. _ How do you motivate people? Or, what is your leadership style? Give examples on how you practice what you are saying?
What approaches do you take to get people together to establish a common approach to a problem?
What approach do you take in getting people to accept your ideas or departmental goals?
ENDING QUESTIONS


What is your current base salary? What salary are you looking for? If high, why should you be paid that much?
May I contact your current employer? Your references?
I will be conducting a background investigation, credit, criminal, FAA, DMV, education and employment verification, is there anything I should be looking for?
Is there anything else that will inhibit you from taking this position if offered? Are you considering any other offers right now?
When would you be available to start?
Is there anything I didn?t ask that you would like to share with me?
Do you have any final questions to ask me?

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

Oh, if you are real serious about it, feel free to PM me and we can get on a call and I can run through with you and provide feedback. that could be overkill, but I don't know how the interview process works for marine job.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

Well I wish you luck,I went from running my own company for 10 years sold it (piece meal) went and worked for a large company (5 years) went to a smaller company for a couple more and realized there is no place like home,now back running my very small business,since I did stay in the same field I did learn a lot from both of my jobs.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

Be prepared to answer 'why' the company should hire you. I've done tons of interviews & that's the question most applicants aren't prepared to answer. Have something better to say than "I'm a hard worker". Let them know how your skills could benefit the company.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

I've been self employed for the last 5 years fixing boats on the run, but I need to move for better work and need to find a, and i hate to say it.... a J O B.

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man, what a bummer. i'm self employed too. and i'm not doing the greatest either in these times. but man, i just can't hardly imagine going back to work for someone else and being their f'in yes man. the thought makes me cringe. there ain't no way for you to pick yerself up by the bootstraps and continue being self employed? personally, i've holding my boat straps up, but there starting to get away and i'm trying my best to think of ways to increase biz. perhaps diversify like someone else said. it don't even have to be in the same field. i worked for a place the other day. an adult book store/shop. their other line of biz was construction, remodeling. off sale beer. and something else, can't remember what it was. but geez i thought to myself. all these company's under the same name and owner. the book store seemed like it was the main bread and butter for them, but they sure were diversified in the other lines of work..... good luck jj..

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

ziggy said:

man, what a bummer. i'm self employed too. and i'm not doing the greatest either in these times. but man, i just can't hardly imagine going back to work for someone else and being their f'in yes man. the thought makes me cringe. there ain't no way for you to pick yerself up by the bootstraps and continue being self employed? personally, i've holding my boat straps up, but there starting to get away and i'm trying my best to think of ways to increase biz. perhaps diversify like someone else said. it don't even have to be in the same field. i worked for a place the other day. an adult book store/shop. their other line of biz was construction, remodeling. off sale beer. and something else, can't remember what it was. but geez i thought to myself. all these company's under the same name and owner. the book store seemed like it was the main bread and butter for them, but they sure were diversified in the other lines of work..... good luck jj..

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Adult shop/ Construction/ Beer....... That would of been my dream job 25 years ago!!!!!

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

If your plan is to open your own shop (with employees) in 3-5 years, I say now is a great time to get a job. You can learn how other employers work and use that knowledge to run your own thing and attract better employees (maybe even their better employees) by being one notch better than how they treat their employees.

You're going to need the skills to run your own full-blown shop, so consider this as an "I'm using you" period, maybe even a multi-year make-connections in the industry and make a friend with a local shop owner period. I think getting a job isn't too tough after being self employed, as there are tons of reasons people hate being self employed, and touting them as carrots to a prospective employer makes them feel at ease that you won't bolt right away. Coming from self-employment means you are self motivated (some may jab and say not enough if you need a job, but ask how many businesses fail 1st year.. motivation isn't always the crux), you are reliable, and you are already a leader, because you took the initiative to start making the money your employer made before you broke off into your own work.

No worries, you'll do fine, just sell yourself in an honest way. It's very easy to spot someone making up a (bogus) answer on the spot. You'll be out the door in minutes (or have your time wasted) if you try to sand bag them. Just ease their fears of loyalty. I think that would be my #1 fear as an employer. Training is expensive, even done in-house, and you want to know you will get you money back.

I hope you get back in the self-route soon enough!

Cheers

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

Many employers actually like candidates who have run their own business. Much of the reason why is that they know these folks have had to think in the bigger picture and be responsible for all aspects of the business, not just a narrow portion of it.

As a business owner, you have had to market yourself, schedule the jobs and make decisions about which would maximise your profit potential. You have had to manage your inventory of tools and parts, or have had to set up a system which allowed you to obtain parts quickly, as you performed each job. You have also had to maintain relationships with vendors of parts and supplies that you have needed to perform the jobs. You've also had to manage the business aspects of your enterprise. This includes receiving payment, paying the bills, taking care of the banking and accounting, getting the taxes paid, etc. Most of all, you have had to have an understanding of time management and customer satisfaction, as a self employed person.

Take some to think about how to best present all of these things (and more) to a prospective employer. As you do that, you can impress upon them that you understand that they have more things to think about than a specific issue on a repair job, and that you will work diligently every day to be a problem solver who minimizes the need for assistance on their part. As part of this, also impress upon them that you understand that there may be boundaries to your authority, but that you would strive to bring solutions with a problem that requires management particpation. Bosses usually like an employee who knows when to consult them, but doesn't just dump a problem in their lap. Another aspect of this presentation, is that you will impress them that you will not try to be a loner, who doesn't want anyone else's advice.

Remember also, that given the state of the current economy, employers understand how tough it is for a small business to survive. They know that, while they may have entered this situation with significant cash reserves, you probably didn't. They also know that they have a much larger customer base and potential to make up for lost revenue in various ways. Basically what I am getting at here, is that lots of prospective employers will completely understand your need to seek employment right now.

So, figure out how to make your qualities as a self employed person attractive to employers, and present yourself accordingly. You may find that your situation is less of a negative than you think it is.

Re: From self employment to working for somebody else

JustJason said:

I've been self employed for the last 5 years fixing boats on the run, but I need to move for better work and need to find a, and i hate to say it.... a J O B.

As employers, managers, HR people out there. What conversations should a tastefully avoid/dance around when on interviews.
I know the first thing employers think is "I'll hire this guy and he'll bolt in 6 months, quite possibly to compete against me."

I do want to own my shop eventually, and get out of this mobile marine crap, But I don't believe i'll be ready until 3-5 years. Give or take the economy right.

Have any of you Iboaters gone from self employment to working for the man again? Any hurdles? All advice is appreciated.

Click to expand...

Jason you need a kick in the rear.
Hey, you're self employed , make your own economy.
If you trade freedom for security you end up with neither.

I've been in biz almost 30 yrs, last yr saw a major fall off, so I switched gears and started supplying other businesses, wholesale is less profitable and requires more effort but theres always demand somewhere in any business.

Just figga it out, I didn't look for the work that I WANT to do,
I looked at where the work is that no-one else wanted to do.
In less than 3 months I caught up with back rent and $3K utility bills.

I see a couple of guys offering to paint any 20' hull for $300 on Boston craigslist(plus paint), those guys are working. Good for them.
So what are YOU doing, waiting for the phone to ring?

Heres a question would you rather clean bilges in your own business or play master tech at the lahdedah dealership ?

The guy willing to do anything will be capable of greater heights than the "employee".

bah.!