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Maybe I wasn't clear. This doesn't have to be a real company in the sense that it actually generates profit. All you need to do is file for DBA and start accep

Maybe I wasn't clear. This doesn't have to be a real company in the sense that it actually generates profit. All you need to do is file for DBA and start accepting really low-paid gigs off a site like elancer. And yes, you can literally just snap your fingers to get those. The point is you're not starting the company to actually succeed. You're just starting it to list something besides unemployment on your resume and hence get a real job.

mgkimsal 13y ago
I get your point, but it really isn't as easy as that. "All you need to do is file for DBA and start accepting really low-paid gigs off a site like elancer." If you're going to bother to be on elance/odesk/etc, you'll have a public profile. To get any decent work there, you'll have to have a good public profile, which can be tarnished by any one of the people you work for making extremely outlandish and ever-changing demands, with the threat of a 'bad review' hanging over your head. Furthermore, there are always dozens (at least) people vying for the $100 gigs - you can't just 'snap your fingers' and get one (or several). And again, even if you could get one, it's not really the sort of work you want to do (in many cases). Your point about labeling yourself an independent contractor is, in itself, not bad, but it's partially just a smoke screen - doesn't really help pay the bills on day 1. And even more to the point, there are a number of companies that won't hire people who've been freelance/contract for any period of time - they see it as the person being too willing to be 'disloyal' or 'job hop away' at a moment's notice. Labelling yourself as a contractor or independent business during unemployment period is definitely one way to explain a long gap, but it's not a silver bullet.
- johnjlocke 13y ago
  People have a different perspective on life when they are 20 years old as opposed to 30, 40, or 50. Elance is definitely not a way to make a living or be taken seriously by a potential employer.
sokoloff 13y ago
You don't give hiring managers much credit there. You don't think most hiring managers (or their in-house recruiters) will at least google what "FooBar Associates" is, whether it's an on-going concern, whether the registered address is your home address, whether the filing date is during a time of your unemployment, etc? It takes minutes on Google to do it if you're at all suspicious. If it's from 10 years ago, I don't care. If it's your current "gig", you can be certain I'll look into it before the interview and be prepared to ask you about it in person. Nothing wrong with consulting, and IMO nothing wrong with trying and failing to go it yourself, but if I think you're being intentionally deceitful on your CV, you'll be dropped like a rock as soon as I'm reasonably sure of that point. I realize you only need to fool one firm to get a job, but it's not a trivial couple hour exercise to implement.
- learc83 13y ago
  Why do you care that the registered address is a home address? Most freelancers/consultants work from home. >whether the filing date is during a time of your unemployment, etc? Why does this mater? Isn't the most likely time to start a consulting company during a time of unemployment?
  - sokoloff 13y ago
    I care only if I think the candidate was actually unemployed, not working, and trying to cover it up with a fake business. I've actually come across that situation. It speaks to character. If you genuinely were consulting, or even trying to form a consultancy or freelance business, but ultimately failed, that's one thing. Making a fake business and doing the minimal paperwork to "make it legit" so you don't have a paper gap on your CV is quite another.
DavidWoof 13y ago
I think what you're missing here is that this article isn't about the tech industry, even though it's been cross-posted here. If you're an HR manager or a compliance officer with 20 years of industry-specific experience, there simply aren't any freelance gigs you can pick up, no matter how low-paid. And the experience you have isn't general experience at all. It's often not even industry experience. It's often experience specific to a single enterprise's internal functions. And having a non-executive position on your resume in that world is worse than LTU.
001sky 13y ago
The point is you're not starting the company to actually succeed. You're just starting it to list something besides unemployment on your resume and hence get a real job. > Priceless Career Advice.

mgkimsal 13y ago

I get your point, but it really isn't as easy as that. "All you need to do is file for DBA and start accepting really low-paid gigs off a site like elancer." If you're going to bother to be on elance/odesk/etc, you'll have a public profile. To get any decent work there, you'll have to have a good public profile, which can be tarnished by any one of the people you work for making extremely outlandish and ever-changing demands, with the threat of a 'bad review' hanging over your head. Furthermore, there are always dozens (at least) people vying for the $100 gigs - you can't just 'snap your fingers' and get one (or several). And again, even if you could get one, it's not really the sort of work you want to do (in many cases). Your point about labeling yourself an independent contractor is, in itself, not bad, but it's partially just a smoke screen - doesn't really help pay the bills on day 1. And even more to the point, there are a number of companies that won't hire people who've been freelance/contract for any period of time - they see it as the person being too willing to be 'disloyal' or 'job hop away' at a moment's notice. Labelling yourself as a contractor or independent business during unemployment period is definitely one way to explain a long gap, but it's not a silver bullet.

johnjlocke 13y ago
People have a different perspective on life when they are 20 years old as opposed to 30, 40, or 50. Elance is definitely not a way to make a living or be taken seriously by a potential employer.

sokoloff 13y ago

You don't give hiring managers much credit there. You don't think most hiring managers (or their in-house recruiters) will at least google what "FooBar Associates" is, whether it's an on-going concern, whether the registered address is your home address, whether the filing date is during a time of your unemployment, etc? It takes minutes on Google to do it if you're at all suspicious. If it's from 10 years ago, I don't care. If it's your current "gig", you can be certain I'll look into it before the interview and be prepared to ask you about it in person. Nothing wrong with consulting, and IMO nothing wrong with trying and failing to go it yourself, but if I think you're being intentionally deceitful on your CV, you'll be dropped like a rock as soon as I'm reasonably sure of that point. I realize you only need to fool one firm to get a job, but it's not a trivial couple hour exercise to implement.

learc83 13y ago
Why do you care that the registered address is a home address? Most freelancers/consultants work from home. >whether the filing date is during a time of your unemployment, etc? Why does this mater? Isn't the most likely time to start a consulting company during a time of unemployment?
- sokoloff 13y ago
  I care only if I think the candidate was actually unemployed, not working, and trying to cover it up with a fake business. I've actually come across that situation. It speaks to character. If you genuinely were consulting, or even trying to form a consultancy or freelance business, but ultimately failed, that's one thing. Making a fake business and doing the minimal paperwork to "make it legit" so you don't have a paper gap on your CV is quite another.

DavidWoof 13y ago

I think what you're missing here is that this article isn't about the tech industry, even though it's been cross-posted here. If you're an HR manager or a compliance officer with 20 years of industry-specific experience, there simply aren't any freelance gigs you can pick up, no matter how low-paid. And the experience you have isn't general experience at all. It's often not even industry experience. It's often experience specific to a single enterprise's internal functions. And having a non-executive position on your resume in that world is worse than LTU.

001sky 13y ago

The point is you're not starting the company to actually succeed. You're just starting it to list something besides unemployment on your resume and hence get a real job. > Priceless Career Advice.