After a successful 20-year career as a corporate manager, George Hoffman spent the past five years running -- and eventually selling -- two small companies. Now, he wants to return to the challenge and resources of a larger company. Will the corporate world embrace him?

Certainly, many people find themselves in Mr. Hoffman's shoes -- or ones like them -- these days. From the re-engineering era to the dot-com craze, the 1990s saw managers and executives streaming out of the corporate world to be their own boss. But the majority of small, entrepreneurial ventures eventually fail, or are sold. And outside of that all-too-brief dot-com bubble, most of these small-business owners haven't wound up with millions in the bank. "I have to work," Mr. Hoffman says. "These days, to be financially independent, you've got to have $7 million to $8 million in the bank, and I haven't achieved that yet."

I've written before about disillusioned dot-commers trying to climb back into the comforting corporate womb. Most were young, tech-savvy foot soldiers, whose advanced technological skills were still in high demand by corporations in those talent-short days.

Mr. Hoffman's case is different. He was a small-business owner and before that, a general manager at the corporate level with broad skills and varied experiences that are impressive, but sometimes confusing to hiring managers. So how does he market himself to corporations, at a time when many are in cutback mode?

Mr. Hoffman e-mailed recently asking for advice on his job search. So we talked for nearly three hours last week to identify the concerns that will inevitably arise and to devise strategies for countering them. After his job search ends, we'll revisit Mr. Hoffman to see how he fared.

An accountant by trade, Mr. Hoffman joined a small apparel-supplies company in 1980. In 17 years, he held management positions with steadily increasing authority in operations, manufacturing and sales. By 1996, he'd risen to vice president and general manager of a division in Greensboro, N.C. By then, the company had grown to $600 million in sales annually from $25 million when he started, and management offered him an opportunity to move to its New York headquarters for a senior executive position.

But Mr. Hoffman was loath to leave Greensboro and uproot his teenage children. So he gave the company a full year's notice and decided to go into business for himself. "I had a couple of friends who had their own businesses," he says. "I felt I had the ability, since I had been through all the disciplines."

He bought a small emergency medical-services company out of bankruptcy proceedings in 1997 and turned it around sufficiently by the end of 1999 to take advantage of the consolidation that industry was undergoing.

He then invested in a struggling banking-software start-up, and became the company's head of strategic alliances. Within a year, though, he took over as chief executive officer. He quickly arranged desperately needed funding from a corporate investor and eventually sold the company last August to that investor. The two sales have left Mr. Hoffman, at age 51, with satisfying, though relatively modest, gains to his bank account and a major career decision to make.

He's reluctant, he says, to abandon the excitement of the entrepreneurial world, with its atmosphere of lean staffs and rapid growth. He liked the fact that, with few management layers, he could quickly see the results of his business decisions. But he also missed the benefits of big companies: the instant credibility you had with clients and suppliers, the diverse network of colleagues you could build and the ability to throw far more resources at any project.

He hopes to combine both worlds in his next job, perhaps as the head of a growing division within a larger corporation. "At a company with $2 million in sales, you're wearing all the hats," he says. "At a big company, you can get people to do the financials, and you can focus on strategic issues."

He brings a wealth of experience to the table, having worked in several industries and in a broad range of positions. He has shown the ability to grow new companies and revive older ones. And along the way, he has picked up degrees in engineering and accounting, along with an M.B.A., C.P.A. and C.M.A. (certified management accountant). Currently, he is studying for a C.T.P. (certified turnaround professional) credential.

Still, he has found that his job search is no slam-dunk.

·         Concern: Why did you leave the corporate life after 20 years and why do you now want to come back? Who's to say you won't get happy feet again in a year or two?

This is the question that comes up most often, he says. It's natural for managers to wonder. Why did he leave such a cushy gig? Is there something here I don't know? Was he fired? And now, why would he come back? "They see all these guys from Pets.com and the like running back to corporations in droves," he says. "I think there's a perception that you just want to get out of the fire."

Counter: Mr. Hoffman can point out that he's not running from a failure, but is coming off a string of successes in both large and small organizations. And with each new experience, he picked up skills that would benefit any employer. Now, he's made the conscious decision that his skills and temperament are best suited to a large-company environment. "I tell people that you can't really make a good decision about which culture you like best until you've done both," Mr. Hoffman says. "I have."

·         Concern: Will you now fit into our culture?

"They look at my resume and say, you've been president of your own company, why do you want to do this?"

Counter: Mr. Hoffman can demonstrate that he's thrived in all kinds of organizations, big and small, and shown a strong ability to work with different groups and cultures within organizations. His broad experience has given him the objectivity he needs to operate within a sizeable organization.

When he was running the division at the apparel-supplies company, a machine product line was garnering complaints from customers, and the sales and engineering departments were pointing fingers at each other. Was the machine faulty, or did salesmen just not know how to peddle it? With no preconceived notions, Mr. Hoffman spent three weeks on the road, visiting customers using the machines. Turns out the only people who could operate the complex machinery were the Ph.D. engineers who designed it. He ordered the entire line re-engineered, and sales took off. "You can't have a bias up front," he says.

·         Concern: How can we use you?

Mr. Hoffman senses that with his broad background, people are a little confused about what to do with him. "Anything that's confusing is a distraction," he says. Several interviewers have asked him to define the job he wants

Counter: That question can be a trap. Be too specific, you may talk your way out of good opportunities. Be too general, and the company may never figure out what to do with you. Do your homework. Find out the company's biggest needs and slant your presentation to stress the experiences and accomplishments in your background that address those needs.

You also can point out that your diverse background enables you to be a commando, parachuting in anywhere and being able to do that job. After all, what did Louis Gerstner know about mainframes when he went from RJR Nabisco to IBM? "What I bring to the table," Mr. Hoffman says, "is management discipline across all areas. I know the right questions to ask and I know how to put the right people in the right positions." This versatility, he can point out, is especially valuable during a time of cutbacks.

·         Concern: How do we pay you?

Some managers have difficulty figuring out his pay, given the differences between pay at big and small companies. "Try to explain to someone that you were making $40,000 less [at the small company] but got the benefit of a capital gain from the stock when you sold it," he says. "By the time you do all the math, you've lost them.

Counter: Construct a pay package filled with performance incentives. "I'm interested in a heavily performance-based package, so the company doesn't have much risk," he says. "But if I grow the operation, I want a compensation package that reflects that."

·         Concern: Is this guy just looking for a soft spot to land until he retires?

Counter: Fill the room with your energy. Mr. Hoffman is clearly a high-energy person, and when he starts talking about his desire for a high-growth situation, the need for change in organizations, his philosophy of getting out and seeing operations firsthand to see where the problems and opportunities are, it's clear he's looking for a challenge and not just a place to retire early.

As he talks about going into places that are stagnating and shaking things up, however, I caution him not to come on too strong. It's one thing to bring new energy to a job; it's another to repudiate everything existing management has done.

He concurs. A more appropriate approach, he says, is to stress your ability to identify problems and devise solutions. Talk about your process for doing this and illustrate how you've done it in the past. "I can't go in and say I'm the savior," he says. "I try to interview them, find out what's the job and what are they looking for."

Finally, I advise him, take charge of the interview by anticipating concerns and working responses into casual conversation with your interviewers, so that as many questions as possible are answered before they're even asked. Mr. Hoffman, for example, notes that with his kids now grown, he has more flexibility and is even looking forward to opportunity to travel more on the job. Mentioning that up front will answer one question that many will have, even if they don't ask it.

And those who might have questions about his commitment on the job might be impressed by this statement: "I just don't see myself retiring anytime soon," he says. "I enjoy the adrenaline rush, breaking in new accounts."

Overall, Mr. Hoffman has what I think is a very sound approach to his job search. Now let's see what happens.