If you’re currently employed and don’t want your supervisor to know you’re searching, or you just need to keep your job hunt under wraps, it’s a challenge to put yourself out there while keeping it confidential. It isn’t easy to make it known you’re interested in new opportunities, or checking out possibilities, without it getting back to your boss and compromising your present position.
How do you keep it discreet? Here are some tips on stealthy seeking.
Keep it Out of Office
Do NOT perform your job search at your current job. This can endanger your current position. This includes sending your resume out using your work email address, giving out your office phone number, using your office for phone interviews, and searching job boards. Keep your job hunt separate from your present job.
Be honest with any potential employers, and let them know you need to speak outside of specific office hours. You’ll find most to be understanding and accommodating. Try to schedule interviews during lunch, before or after work; and don’t show up to your office in a suit when you have an interview if you normally wear jeans every day! This is a telltale sign of a job search in progress.
Put yourself in your supervisor’s position; you don’t want someone on your team performing a job search on your time, correct? Use your personal time for your job hunt, or take some vacation time. Use your time wisely, without jeopardizing your current situation.
Be Un-Sociable
If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t tell! Keep your job-hunting discussions out of your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn feeds. You never know whom your present boss is connected to, and they could see your status updates.
You definitely want to use LinkedIn to your advantage to aid in your job search, but use it sensibly. Reach out to connections through a private message or the InMail feature to avoid letting others see your conversation. When joining LinkedIn groups that may raise red flags, keep your membership private to avoid having it show up on your profile.
Your updated LinkedIn profile, full of keyword-rich content, will get you found on recruiter searches. However, when you perform revisions to your profile, these edits show up in your public feed. Avoid bringing attention to it by adjusting your Privacy & Settings. Find out how here: “Six Key Tips for LinkedIn Success”
Be Selective
Choose whom you network with carefully; you never know who’s in touch with your supervisor. This isn’t the topic for water cooler chats … unless you want to compromise your current position. Plus, you never know – you may need your colleagues to be references for you down the road – so you don’t want to strain relationships, or do anything that could result in a negative impact on how others perceive you.
Avoid putting your resume on job boards and public postings on the internet that raise awareness to a current job hunt. Some job sites allow limited viewing of your resume, which can help to hide your personal details. Make sure any recruiters you’re working with ask your permission first before they submit your resume to their client’s open job.
Keeping your job search discreet is definitely a challenge; but if you proceed wisely and are knowledgeable of how your information is being handled – both on and offline – you should have a successful process. Good luck in your stealthy job search!
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