Leaving Your Job What Smart Jobseekers Need to Know - Part 2 in 5 Part Series - Sterling Career Concepts

Leaving Your Job What Smart Jobseekers Need to Know - Part 2 in 5 Part Series Leaving Your Job? What Smart Jobseekers Need to Know Part 2 in 5 Part Series One of the most often questions asked by clients is “How do I conduct a job search while I’m still working?” There’s a delicate balance that needs to be achieved in order to maintain your current job duties and job search at the same time. Emails, creating career documents, updating social media profiles, networking, phone calls and interviews can take up as much time as a full time job. It can seem impossible to do both well at the same time! Since research shows it’s easier to find a job when you have a job, there are special considerations you must take into account when conducting a job search while you’re still employed. Conducting a Job Search While Still Employed In correspondence with prospective employers or recruiters, mention that you are conducting a “confidential” job search, such as “I am contacting you in confidence about this position.” However, keep in mind that prospective employers are under no obligation to respect your wishes. Also be careful when replying to blind advertisements (ones that do not provide a name for the prospective employer). More than one jobseeker has accidentally submitted a résumé to his or her current employer this way. In one instance I know of, when a recruiter found out that the VP of Sales was looking for a position and wanted to leave a company, he went straight to the CEO and tried to get the job order to replace the VP of Sales before the existing VP of Sales had even secured another position or gave notice! A few cautionary don’ts: Don’t conduct your job search on the company’s time â€" or dime. Reserve your job seeking activities to before work, on your lunch hour, or after work. If necessary, take personal leave (not sick time) to go on interviews. (You can simply say you have an appointment.) Don’t use your company computer (including accessing your personal email account) for your job search. Don’t take employment-related phone calls during your work time; allow these messages to go to your voice mail, and return the calls during breaks or before or after work. Don’t list your business phone number or email address on your job search documents or leave it in any messages. Words of advice on three potentially sensitive areas: interview attire, professional references, and LinkedIn: Plan appropriately for wardrobe changes. If you work in a “casual” workplace, wearing “interview attire” to work can be a red flag that something is up. You may want to change into your more formal clothes before an interview (don’t change at work!) â€" or schedule job interviews on a day when you’re not working. Be ready with job references from outside of your current employer. Even if you’ve told the prospective employer that your current employer doesn’t know that you’re looking, you may still want to mention that you do not want the company to contact your current employer for a reference until they are ready to extend a job offer, so as not to jeopardize your current position. In this situation, you may need to provide several references outside of your company who can speak to your credentials and expertise. Put your LinkedIn profile up sooner rather than later. Developing a comprehensive LinkedIn profile â€" and building up your network of contacts â€" is something to do right away. If you create one before you start your job search, you can honestly say that you’re doing it to create a network of contacts to assist you in being more effective in your current position. Having a newly-minted LinkedIn profile (especially one that mentions you’re open to “new opportunities”) can tip off your supervisor (or co-workers) that you’re looking for a new position. Routinely updating an existing profile, however, is not as suspicious. *** Up next, the third post in this series will cover how and when to tell your supervisor you are leaving, with tips on how to write a straight-forward, professional resignation letter.