Getting bored at the current role in your company or not being able to achieve your goals; in either case, ideally, you would never wish to leave your job without having another one in hand. This is why you should learn at art to search for a job while still employed. However, you cannot run rampant with your new job search.
How to search for a job while still employed?
So how do you search for a job while still employed? Here’s a brief list to get you started:
Don’t be obvious. The last thing you want to do is alert your current boss that you are job hunting. Even if you already have one foot out the door, don’t be too obvious about your job searching efforts. Schedule your interviews before or after work, or if you have to, take a day off and try to bundle them together. After all, if you show up to work in a three-piece suit (and your normal attire is jeans and a tee shirt), you’re going to attract some very unnecessary attention at the office.
Don’t tell your coworkers. You might be tempted to tell your colleagues and work bestie about your job search. But sharing the news, even with a couple of close office friends, could potentially result in your boss finding out about your plans a lot sooner than you’d like. Some companies can even let you go if they find out that you’re seeking employment elsewhere. And at the very least, your boss can make your life miserable while you’re still there, forcing you to quit before you’re ready.
Don’t use office equipment. After a brutal meeting with your boss, you might be tempted to storm back to your cubicle and openly — and passive aggressively — troll job boards. Not a good idea. Your company most likely has tracking programs built into your computer or can search your history to see the sites you’ve been on. So save your job searching — and applying — for after work.
Review your references. It’s important to tell the hiring managers at the beginning of your job interviews that you’re currently employed. You definitely don’t want them to reach out to your boss for a reference or background check, so find a few previous bosses or colleagues who are not directly connected to your company to provide references for you. Above all else, be sure that your prospective employer knows that you would like to keep your job search confidential.
Excel in your current job. Between searching through job ads, constructing meaningful cover letters and interviewing, your full focus is on finding a job. Don’t let your job performance suffer as a result, though. If you’ve been an exemplary employee in your current job, you don’t want the last few weeks before you resign to reflect poorly on your overall performance with the company. Even though job hunting can be a second job in and of itself, you want to make sure that you give your job 100% each day. That way, you can use the job as a reference in the future.
Be Ethical in your job search:
Apart from the above, it’s very important to be ‘ethical’ when you search for a job while still employed. You neither want to mess up your reputation with your current employer nor create a air of mistrust with the management.
A few highlights on being ethical by Hcareers are mentioned below,
Don’t job search on the company dime.
Don’t do it if you hate your boss. Don’t do it if you finish the big project early. Don’t do it if everyone else is in a meeting. Stay off job boards while you’re on the clock. Don’t send job search-related emails from your office email address. Don’t use the company fax machine to send out resumes. Don’t mail thank you notes from the office. It almost goes without saying, but if your current employer catches you engaging in any of these activities, you may find yourself with a lot more free time.
Schedule interviews around your current work hours.
Be honest with potential employers about the need for an interview before or after regular business hours. They’ll appreciate the integrity you show by continuing to take your present employment seriously. If they must interview you mid-day, suggest your lunch hour. If that will not work, take a personal or vacation day.
Honesty is the best policy.
The professionals who interview you are going to ask if your current employer knows of your job search. Be honest and tell them no. Ask them to contact former employers for references because you’re keeping your job search confidential at this time. This should not rule you out as a potential employee. Lying could result in your current boss learning of your job search through a reference check. This is not a situation you want to deal with.
Do not forget to read up on the dos and donts to search for a job while still employed put together by Jacquelyn Smith at Forbes before you start hunting! We’re sure this will give you a head start and if you think there’s something else that should be kept in mind, then drop us a comment below! Happy Hunting!