A History of Entrepreneurship Can Hurt Your Job Prospects

July 26, 2013 HBR's The Daily Stat Employers and recruiting agencies sent 63% fewer positive replies to fictitious candidates whose CVs showed they had owned and managed small HR consulting companies, in comparison with equally qualified candidates whose CVs showed they had been project managers in corporate HR consulting divisions, according to research in the UK led by Philipp D. Koellinger of Erasmus University in the Netherlands. Among the female candidates alone, the gap was even wider, at 75%. Thus it appears that starting a business has consequences for entrepreneurs' job prospects: Self-employment sends a "negative signal" to the job market, the researchers say. SOURCE: Self-Employment Dims Chances of Landing a Company Job, Study Finds