Leading a company through bankruptcy can be an unexpected bright spot on the resume of CFOs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
After handling a bankruptcy, CFOs can come out with news skills gained from a crash course in crisis management, according to the report.
Those skills include producing high-stakes liquidity forecasts, negotiating with lenders, revamping a business model and navigating legal proceedings while managing daily responsibilities.
But executives looking for a new job after a bankruptcy will face "uncomfortable questions," including whether they were at fault and what they did to help prevent a downturn.
Employers will want to know if the insolvency resulted from macroeconomic events or a series of decisions made by the CFO, according to recruiters that spoke to the Journal.
"It's going to be the No. 1 question asked" in a job interview, Barry Toren, of the recruiting firm Korn Ferry, told the Journal.
Shawn Woessner, of recruiting firm Odgers Berndtson, told the Journal that CFOs who steered a company through bankruptcy are often attractive job candidates because they can plan for worst-case scenarios and can manage cash during a downturn.
"A person can be a much better, well-rounded CFO by virtue of being in a distressed or being in a bankruptcy situation," Mr. Woessner told the Journal. "You oftentimes learn more in a company that’s sinking versus one that's growing."