Episode Notes

On the eighty-second entry of Tristan’s Tips, our amazing host Tristan Layfield talks about adding your business to your resume or LinkedIn profile. However, there’s no “right way” to do this – but there are several things that you should consider. Adding your business can have major pros and cons, so if you’re unsure, seek some guidance from a resume writer or career coach. Tristan also plugs our upcoming live interactive weekly webinar series The Access Point – check the link in the show notes for more information!

Click here to sign up for The Access Point! Our first live interactive weekly webinar takes place September 15th at 7pm CST.
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TRANSCRIPT
Tristan: What’s going on, Living Corporate? It’s Tristan, back again to bring you another career tip. Before we get into it, I want to take a moment to plug Living Corporate’s new weekly live, interactive webinar called The Access Point, designed to prepare Black and brown college students for the workforce.
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We’re bringing on corporate professionals, industry leaders, and top voices to cover topics from self-advocacy and personal branding to respectability politics and building allies, all things that will help aspiring professionals successfully transition from college to corporate.
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So join the hosts Tiffany Waddell Tate, Mike Yates, Brandon Gordon, and myself every Tuesday starting September 15th at 7 pm CST/8 pm EST. Sign up at the link in the description.

Okay, so now that the promo is out of the way, let’s talk about adding your business to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten quite a few questions about adding your business to your hiring documents. Unfortunately, there’s no clear cut answer to this question, it’s more of a matter of personal preference, but there are few things you should consider.

First, is there a conflict of interest? If you are doing or offering something in your business that is in direct competition with your potential employer, then you probably don’t want to include it in your resume or LinkedIn as this can blow your chances of landing the interview. But be mindful, if you get the role, the ethical thing to do is to disclose what you do in your business. This can have various outcomes from conversations discussing how to navigate any potential conflicts of interest all the way to the need for you to choose between your job and your business.

The other thing to consider is that even if it isn’t a conflict of interest, some companies and organizations may consider your business a distraction or competing priority, making them less likely to consider you for the role. For me, I think that’s a great screening tool. When I am looking for a new role, I want to show up fully as me, which includes being a business owner. If a company or organization doesn’t like that, then they more than likely wouldn’t be the right fit for me. Also, it’s highly likely that someone in the company will find out about your business at some point, so being upfront can reduce some of the stress on the backend of trying to hide it.

Another thing you might want to consider is, does your business showcase a skillset not already represented on your resume or LinkedIn? If the answer is yes, then it may be something you want to consider adding, but in doing so, make sure to focus solely on what’s relevant and leave the rest out.

As you can see, there is no one right answer. Adding your business can have major pros and cons, so if you’re unsure, seek some guidance from a resume writer or career coach.

This tip was brought to you by Tristan of Layfield Resume Consulting. Check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @LayfieldResume or connect with me, Tristan Layfield, on LinkedIn.

Find out more at https://living-corporate.pinecast.co