Addressing the entrepreneur in the room: Entrepreneurial exit and impression management tactics in the employment interview context

• Published in: Journal of Business Venturing Insights Vol. 19; p. e00370
• Main Authors: Waddingham, Jacob A., Hamrick, Alexander B., Zachary, Miles A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Career transitions; Entrepreneurial exit; Hiring decisions; Impression management; Hiring decisions; Career transitions; Entrepreneurial exit; Impression management
• ISSN: 2352-6734; 2352-6734
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2022.e00370

Despite the recent scholarly attention to the challenges entrepreneurs may face when attempting to rejoin the traditional workforce, we do not have a clear understanding of how recruiters respond to the various impression management (IM) tactics former entrepreneurs might use during employment interviews. This is important because IM tactics shape how former entrepreneurs are viewed by recruiters and ultimately impact their employment prospects. We examine the effects of IM tactics in an online survey experiment with professional recruiters, finding support for most of our hypotheses. Specifically, we show that former entrepreneurs who exit by selling their venture can benefit from using tactical-assertive IM tactics to positively influence recruiters’ hiring recommendations. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial career transitions and hiring decision-making. •Former entrepreneurs should control the narrative during a job interview.•However, it does not always benefit former entrepreneurs who sold their business venture to immediately address their prior experience.•Former entrepreneurs' assertive IM tactics can lead to more favorable hiring recommendations by recruiters.