After the pandemic, 4 out of 10 job applicants spend part of their time on a venture, according to Cornerstone. In some situations this additional experience could be decisive in the selection process.

Starting a business has become easier thanks to digital tools and social networks. This activity, which provides an additional income to workers, can be interpreted in different ways by employers. While some see it as an experience that enhances their skills, others may consider it a distraction and even a conflict of interest for their company.

In an interview with Gestión, Víctor Tenorio, Cornerstone’s senior division manager, said that, in general terms, in personnel selection processes, the fact that an applicant has a business venture is not negative. However, this will depend on the line of business, the vacant position and the company.

“Having a business is neither good nor bad. It depends on many points of analysis, such as the time required, the type of business, and how much time the project has,” he said.

Selection processes

During the different stages of a personnel selection process, the activities that candidates carry out in their free time may come to light. While it is not an obligation to detail them, as an undertaking, candidates should be prepared to address this issue.

“You should not hide if you have an entrepreneurial venture. The idea is to be very transparent and know how to explain how you would reconcile your work duties with your free time activities without affecting your performance,” Tenorio said.

For her part, Silvia Rebaza, labor lawyer and senior associate of PPU, said that hiding an undertaking could be seen as dishonest, so she recommended being transparent with the information, especially if the vacant position is not supervised or is teleworking.

“There may be a bit of reluctance to hire people who have that status especially in some cases. For example, when the positions are not subject to immediate supervision and teleworking,” he said.

On some occasions, having a business could be a point in favor of the candidate, especially if it provides experience in their professional development. “It could be considered as long as they are ventures or projects that have had some reasonable duration, if they have been developed at a time of labor gap or if they were carried out in parallel to another job successfully,” said the Cornerstone spokesperson.

Conflict of interest

Companies will assess whether the candidate engages in activities outside of working hours that may represent a conflict of interest and potentially harm job performance or the organization.

“We evaluate whether the candidate’s line of business is within the competence of the company to which he or she is applying. For example, I could not apply for a head hunter position if in my spare time I provide human management consulting services,” he explained.

The labor lawyer said that another conflict scenario is the handling of sensitive information in the company to which the candidate is applying. If the candidate has access to confidential data, there is a risk that this information could be used to benefit his or her personal undertaking.

On the other hand, in the case of telecommuting positions or flexible schedules, he indicated that the company would consider the risk of the employee dedicating part of his working day to his venture, thus neglecting his functions and decreasing his productivity.

Contracts and clauses

In some companies, in addition to the employment contract and internal regulations, there are exclusivity and non-competition clauses to prevent later conflicts. For this reason, Silvia Rebaza stressed the importance of reading these documents carefully before signing and joining the organization.

“When reading the contract, you can ask whether the clauses apply to the undertakings. Some clauses state that no additional activities can be carried out outside working hours,” she said.

This is to avoid that, in the future, the worker starts a business venture without knowing whether or not he was allowed to do so under the guidelines of his contract. He also indicated that there are confidentiality agreements to prevent workers from using sensitive information for their business, and warned that incurring in this practice could constitute a crime and result in legal action.

In an interview with Gestión, Víctor Tenorio, senior division manager of Cornerstone, stated that, in general terms, in personnel selection processes, the fact that an applicant has a business venture is not negative.

However, this will depend on the type of business, the vacant position and the company.

“Having a business is neither good nor bad. It depends on many points of analysis, such as the time required, the type of business, and how much time the project has,” he said.

Selection processes In the different stages of a personnel selection process, the activities that the candidates carry out in their free time could come to light. While it is not an obligation to detail them, as ventures, candidates should be prepared to address this issue. “You should not hide if you have an entrepreneurial venture. The idea is to be very transparent and know how to explain how you would reconcile your job functions with your free time activities without affecting your performance,” Tenorio said.

For her part, Silvia Rebaza, labor lawyer and senior associate at PPU, said that hiding an undertaking could be seen as dishonest, so she recommended being transparent with the information, especially if the vacant position is not supervised or is teleworking.

“There may be a bit of reluctance to hire people who have that status especially in some cases. For example, when it comes to positions that are not subject to immediate supervision and teleworking,” he said.

On some occasions, having a business could be a point in favor of the candidate, especially if it provides experience in their professional development. “It could be considered as long as they are ventures or projects that have had a reasonable duration, if they have been developed in a time of labor gap or if they were carried out in parallel to another job successfully,” said the Cornerstone spokesperson.

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