It’s no secret that job hunting is much easier when you’re already employed. Yet starting to look for new opportunities when you’re still at your current 9-5 can be risky. One false step and you can send up a red flag to your current employer that you’re looking to move elsewhere. In order to check out other options successfully, consider these tips:
Don’t be blatant
Some people assume that their managers aren’t paying that much attention to them, so they have no problem browsing job websites during the middle of the work day. The truth is, if you’re doing this kind of hunting on a company computer, you’re basically setting yourself up to get caught. Assume that all activity on your work computer can become public knowledge, including job searching. Save the browsing for when you get home and can work from the privacy of your laptop.
The devil’s in the details
You would be surprised how many people blow their cover by sending their resume to a potential employer from their current work e-mail address. Call it carelessness or lack of attention to detail, but this kind of mistake is a big one that you must avoid. As soon as you know that you’ll begin a job hunt soon, make sure that all correspondence is coming from your own email account. If you don’t have one, now’s a great time to set one up.
Don’t tell anyone at work
Regardless of how close you think you are to your colleagues, it’s best not to tell them that you’re searching. Even a casual slip during a conversation that they have with someone else can wind up getting you busted. Assume that if you tell that one person, they will tell others and it will eventually get back to your boss.
Be careful with your LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a useful tool during the job hunt process, so you’ll want to make sure that yours is up to date. However, be careful that any job hunt activity that you participate in on the site is private. Also make sure that you don’t get too obvious about the fact that you are searching for new opportunities on your profile. An employer probably won’t be suspicious if your profile is thorough, but they will get suspicious if you blatantly advertise that you’re open to new options.
Let a potential employer know that your job search is confidential
If you’re interviewing elsewhere, make it known to the person you’re interviewing with that the discussion must be confidential. This lets the prospective employer know that they should be discreet when it comes to having a dialogue with you about a potential opportunity. While most hiring managers will assume that a person is trying to be discreet with their job search, it is always beneficial to reinforce this point.
Discretion is key when it comes to navigating a job search while you’re still employed. Always assume that your current boss is managing your social media platforms, and that any talk of job hunting to co-workers will find its way to your manager.
How did you navigate a job search while you were still employed? Tell us in the comments!
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