Career experts state that it’s better to look for a new job whilst being employed.
However it’s important to be careful; remember that when looking for a new job, you hold a professional obligation to your existing employer. An obligation to conduct the activities you were employed to do.
The benefits of job searching whilst being employed are that when you’re part of an organisation, you’re also part of a professional and employee network. A network which can work in your favour during the search. These contacts are able to notify you about positions that you might ordinarily not be aware of.
Being employed can make you appealing to organisations. Unfortunately many hiring managers assume the best talent for a role is likely to already be employed. Also, since resigning from a job and moving to a new company holds great risk, organisations assume that someone currently employed is less likely accept a role they’re not competent in doing. The risk of losing the new job within the probation period is too great a risk.
Whilst unemployed, it can be difficult to remain in the line of sight of professionals who may be able to recommend new opportunities. This can reduce your visibility for being the first person who springs to mind when a opportunity arises.
This is not to say the above is true; in fact many of our team have hired professionals who’ve not been employed at the time.
The aim of this article is to provide you with the dos and don’ts of searching for a job whilst being employed.
Don’t inform your co-workers about your job searching activities.
Whatever you do, do not divulge information of your impending departure to your colleagues. If there is one person you should inform, it is your boss, however, that depends on the relationship you have with them.
Telling your colleagues about your employment search or impending departure could make it difficult for you to maintain a pleasant professional relationship, particularly if they are eyeing your job.
Never speak negatively concerning your current employer.
This is something you should never do. It does not matter if you find yourself in a terrible situation with a boss you’d rather never work for again. It is always best to stay impartial when asked about your current working environment. Showing some class by not burning any bridges may help you in the long run.
Your psyche and conversations should be concentrated on the positive aspects of the future, rather than focusing on any negative experiences you are attempting to leave behind.
Be sure that your potential employer understands that your search for employment is something that should remain confidential. You can do this by informing them that you do not want to inform your present employer of your activities and would greatly appreciate it if the news of your interview was kept to a minimum. This is especially important if the two organisations operate in the same industry.
You should refrain from using any of your present supervisors or colleagues as references. Should one of your references be contacted during your job search and they are not informed of your plans, not only could it be awkward. You could end up with a little bit of explaining to do, resulting in your remaining tenure in the company feeling a little uncomfortable.
Ensure that you continue to carry out the responsibilities of your existing job with the same diligent level of efficiency as you have been doing. Doing this shows your professionalism and respect for your current organisation.
Try not to fall into “autopilot”. While this might be a difficult task given that you’re ready to leave, it’s the perfect time to maintain your standards and create a long-lasting final impression to your existing employer. It also helps to preserve your reputation ensuring that when you do leave, you can do so with dignity.
The key to seamlessly finding a new job whilst being employed is to keep your productivity levels up at work.
When you miss work hours to attend interviews you do the opposite. Do not create a scenario where your loyalty is questioned because you have too many absences during operational hours.
What you should do is schedule your interviews prior to work, during lunch, on personal days, or after work. If you inform your prospective employer of your wish to remain confidential, they might attempt to help you by setting the interview during off-work hours.
Do not suddenly have a trend of ‘sick days’, only to return to the office half day, looking completely fine.
The majority of companies track their employees use of the internet, so anything that appears related to a job search is likely to raise suspicions.
If you have a company phone, refrain from using it for your search as your organisation might also track your official mobile phone usage.
Given there are so many people on the platform, 740+ million registered users to be exact, having a complete profile is the norm.
Linkedin is the first place most recruiters and hiring managers will use to read up on a candidate. This is why it’s important to ensure your profile remains updated at all times. Doing so saves you from rushing its completion when you are searching for a new role.
One thing you should refrain from doing, however, is indicating that you are searching for employment on your profile. This is just in case you work for an organisations whom frequently checks to see which of it’s employees may pose as a flight risk.
Try not to mention that you are searching for a job on your social media accounts.
This type of information tends to get back to employers. Additionally, any prospective employers would see this as you lacking discretion, not a great look and what you want to project when searching for a job.
You might believe your social media is private but you would be surprised concerning the people that have access to your profiles. If you have informed family members and close friends about your job search, you should remind them not to mention your current endeavour online as well.
Dressing differently than you normally do might have alarm bells ringing at your place of work.
If you are the type of individual to dress casually to work, wearing a 3 piece suit would draw attention and cause your boss to become suspicious as to your motives.
If you happen to have an interview later that day, it is always better to dress normally and bring your interview clothes along with you. You can change in your car, when you arrive at your destination, or stop off on the way to get changed.
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has always mattered to those from marginalised communities. Being the only person in a room that looks like you can sometimes make you feel excluded. For a black woman, something as simple as getting ready for work might cause a level of anxiety that in an ideal world, wouldn’t exist. […]
In a world driven by money, it is quite ironic that discussing a pay rise and asking for more of it is considered taboo. To break this very common stigma, it’s important to recognise the value of your work and observe any signs that you are being underpaid. Red flags may be things such […]
Annually, millions of students leave academic institutions, all with one question on their minds. How to secure a job after graduation? After you graduate, the hunt for a job starts and along with it comes graduate job anxiety. The moment you step into the job market, you begin to feel as though you’re just […]
Are you struggling with your CV, or simply unsure if your CV is the reason you’re not getting interviews? Many job seekers struggle when it comes to this, asking themselves ‘How to write my CV’. The most important, yet most challenging part of the job search process. As part of our 90 minute […]
To stay updated with new articles or interview tips, subscribe to our newsletter
At Invaprep we use cookies to provide you a better user experience and by analysing traffic to the website. To learn more, take a look at out our cookies policy.
At Invaprep we use cookies to help ensure that our website and services are able to function properly.
These cookies are necessary and so are set automatically.
You can block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our website.
We use the following cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies
These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.
These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.
To learn more about how we use cookies, visit our Cookie policy.