u/Key-Ad2972

Hi

I have 10 years of experience in finance (FP&A, reporting, multi-entity accounting, audits) across well-known companies. Think large, established brands (multi-country, high revenue scale).

Previously, when I was applying casually, I would get 1–2 interviews per month without much effort. But 1 yr back, I left my last role and worked on my own small registered e-commerce startup.

My role there was mixed:

~30% finance (accounting, cash flow, reconciliations, profitability tracking)

~70% operations (inventory, fulfillment, day-to-day business ops)

Now I’m applying seriously again to big orgs (150+ applications in the last 1–2 months) and I haven’t received a single interview.

The only major change in my CV is this startup experience, where I have put only finance experience but job title is founder/finance lead

Right now I’m unsure how to position it:

Option 1:

List it in main experience as: Finance Manager – [ My Startup Name]

Option 2:

Move it to an “Other Experience” section Finance Manager – [ My Startup Name]

Option 3:

Remove it completely and show a gap

My concerns:

• “Founder” or startup experience might be viewed negatively by recruiters, hence maybe they are ignoring it
• But a 1 year gap might also be an easy rejection 🥲
• The work was real, but it’s not comparable in scale & brand name to my previous roles, so not sure if it would look off to the recruiter compared to my other experience.

I’m targeting Finance Manager / Controlling roles. Based in Dubai if that context matters

Would appreciate direct feedback on how to show this

Thanks

Hey everyone

I have around 10 years of experience in Dubai in finance across corporate roles including reporting, budgeting, multi entity accounting and audits

Recently I left my last role and worked on my own small e commerce project where I also handled the finance side like cash flow, inventory and profitability. I am applying for finance manager and controlling roles, targeting big orgs.

I am confused about how to show this on my CV

Option 1

Leave 1 year gap after my last corporate role and explain it in interviews

Option 2

Include this experience as Finance Manager at my own business

Right now I have applied to around 150 roles and my title was Founder/finance lead and got zero calls in 3 months, and this is giving me anxiety as previously before this startup i used to have 2-3 interviews a month from casually applying 🥺 so trying to understand what is better from a recruiter perspective. I have heard HR are judgemental towards founder title

Hey everyone

I have around 10 years of experience in finance across corporate roles including reporting, budgeting, multi entity accounting and audits

Recently I left my last role and worked on my own small e commerce project where I also handled the finance side like cash flow, inventory and profitability

I am applying for finance manager and controlling roles, targeting big orgs.

I am confused about how to show this on my CV

Option 1

Leave 1 year gap after my last corporate role and explain it in interviews

Option 2

Include this experience as Finance Manager at my own business

Right now I have applied to around 150 roles and my title was Founder/finance lead and got zero calls so trying to understand what is better from a recruiter perspective

Hey everyone

I have around 10 years of experience in Dubai in finance across corporate roles including reporting, budgeting, multi entity accounting and audits

Recently I left my last role and worked on my own small e commerce project where I also handled the finance side like cash flow, inventory and profitability. I am applying for finance manager and controlling roles, targeting big orgs.

I am confused about how to show this on my CV

Option 1

Leave 1 year gap after my last corporate role and explain it in interviews

Option 2

Include this experience as Finance Manager at my own business

Right now I have applied to around 150 roles and my title was Founder/finance lead and got zero calls in 3 months, and this is giving me anxiety as previously before this startup i used to have 2-3 interviews a month from casually applying 🥺 so trying to understand what is better from a recruiter perspective. I have heard HR are judgemental towards founder title

Hey everyone

I have around 10 years of experience in finance in dubai, mostly in corporate roles across retail and tech. I have a couple of well known companies on my CV, so I never really struggled too much with getting interviews before. I used to get around 1 to 2 interviews a month even when applying casually once a week.

Recently, I left my last role and started working on my own small e commerce business. On my CV, I’ve listed it as:

Founder / Finance Lead

The work itself is very finance heavy, including accounting, reconciliations, cash flow, inventory, and profitability tracking. So it’s not like I just tried a startup, I’m actually doing real finance work and have included that in my CV.

But now I’ve applied to around 100 jobs this month and about 100 more in the past 3 months, and I haven’t received a single interview.

This is making me panic a bit.

I’m starting to wonder:

- Is it because I have “Founder” on my CV - Do recruiters see it as instability or assume I won’t stick to a corporate role?

I haven’t changed much else in my CV apart from adding this recent experience.

Would really appreciate honest feedback:

- Should I remove “Founder” and position it purely as finance experience?

- remove it entirely and keep 1 yr Gap lol

Thanks in advance, feeling a bit stuck.

Hey everyone

I have around 10 years of experience in finance, mostly in corporate roles across retail and tech. I have a couple of well known companies on my CV, so I never really struggled too much with getting interviews before. I used to get around 1 to 2 interviews a month even when applying casually once a week.

Recently, I left my last role and started working on my own small e commerce business. On my CV, I’ve listed it as:

Founder / Finance Lead

The work itself is very finance heavy, including accounting, reconciliations, cash flow, inventory, and profitability tracking. So it’s not like I just tried a startup, I’m actually doing real finance work and have included that in my CV.

But now I’ve applied to around 100 jobs this month and about 60 more in the past 2 months, and I haven’t received a single interview.

This is making me panic a bit.

I’m starting to wonder:

- Is it because I have “Founder” on my CV?

- Do recruiters see it as instability or assume I won’t stick to a corporate role?

I haven’t changed much else in my CV apart from adding this recent experience.

Would really appreciate honest feedback:

- Should I remove “Founder” and position it purely as finance experience?

- Should I move it to a separate section in CV?

Thanks in advance, feeling a bit stuck.

Hey, so I have been speaking to a potential partner. We both are based out of india and his father unfortunately passed away when he was 10 and his mother is in India. Career wise we both are aligned and we worked in good MNCs and also had similar kind of upbringing.

My only issue is when I said this to a friend she said me to consider that he doesn't have a father and his mother is dependent on him, so more than likely his mother will try to be with him after marriage. I never considered this issue tbh as his relationship seems normal. He visits india max twice a year. He just told me he prefers a family oriented person as his family depends on him after his father passed away and that his mom would stay with him in future just in case she needs him in case of any health issue. I am just not sure if i am missing something in this kind of setup. Would prefer advice from people who are married into such setup or someone they know of who's married into something similar.