Job Hunting While Employed
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 3:24PM By Alesia Benedict CVGetInterviews.co.uk
So you want to look around for your next career step but you are concerned that your current employer will find out and give you an early exit? Confidentiality in your job search is a reasonable concern and makes the way you approach finding your next position all the more important. Confidentiality and privacy issues in today’s hyper-informative world are issues that should be taken seriously.
Keeping your intentions of changing jobs a secret is a challenge but secrecy is in your best interest. It may be tempting to let slip to your current employer that you are looking around for new opportunities to provide some leverage for a raise or a promotion but fishing for a counter-offer is a no-win situation. In a recent survey conducted by recruitment firms, 93% of employees who accept counter-offers to remain with an employer leave anyway after 18 months.
Common sense rules when going about a confidential job search. Do not use your work phone, email, or company cell phone to conduct any job search activities. Do not surf the job sites during your lunch hour or at any time on your work PC. Be careful of the conversations you have within earshot of other co-workers. Do not leave your CV lying on your desk at work. Keep your plans and intentions quiet, even from close office friends whom you feel you can trust. Request confidentiality from all potential employers until an offer is made.
Beyond the obvious, consider the following tips for keeping your job search hush-hush:
Remove identifying information from your online CV. Replace your name with a generic title such as “Marketing Professional”. Use only your cell phone number and a web-based email address that can be dropped after your job search. City and state is sufficient for address – no need for street address or zip code. Remove your current employer’s name and replace it with something that is descriptive, yet unidentifiable such as “Major London-based Financial Organisation”.
Be careful in your networking. Networking is essential to an effective job search, but indiscrete networking can breach your wish for confidentiality. Networking carefully can be even more difficult in closed industries or highly-specialised fields. Ask more questions than you answer in group settings. Make use of safe networking sites like LinkedIn with a strong branding profile.
Protect your references. References should only be provided in an interview, and preferably not at a first interview. You don’t want your colleagues getting wind of your intentions before an offer is imminent.
The bottom line is that confidentiality starts with you. A secret shared is no longer a secret and cannot be controlled. If you are serious about keeping your career ladder climb quiet, you must take the precautions that are necessary. Employers have a great deal to lose when they lose employees – human capital investment, corporate information, competitive data – so keeping your intentions to leave might well be in your best interests until the time is right.
About the Author
Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional CV Writer and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of CVGetInterviews.co.uk, a CV writing firm that provides job seekers with customised, branded CVs and career marketing documents. The staff’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best CV writers”, honoured by the PARW as the #1 CV Writer, and published in 25+ career books. All CV writers are certified writers and have the insight needed to develop successful CVs. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 95,000 job seekers to date. Alesia is a former executive recruiter and an internationally recognised expert on CVs and job search for the new millennium workplace. The firm offers a free CV critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee -- interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free!
Alesia Benedict, CV, Job Hunting in CV 
Reader Comments (4)
Good post. I wrote a post recently on the topic of linkedin and how you can easily spot if someone is looking around, well worth a read.
...and the link ;-)
http://www.bravenewme.com/2009/09/linkedin-job-hunting-symptoms/
Job Hunting Symptoms on LinkedIn
...please moderate above as necessary, I really should have read the instructions below prior to posting
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