How to Hunt for a Job Without Letting Your Current Employer Know You're Doing So

Kiplinger has 12 dos and don'ts for job searching discreetly when you're employed. Their list:

1. DO tell your boss if you're interested in advancing.
2. DON'T tell your boss you're looking elsewhere.
3. DON'T job hunt at the office.
4. DO use an appropriate e-mail address.
5. DO hand out your cell phone number.
6. DON'T post your résumé online for all to see.
7. DO time your interviews well.
8. DON'T badmouth your current employer.
9. DO mind your attire.
10. DO handle references with care.
11. DO give plenty of notice before you quit.
12. DO keep in touch.

This is a pretty good list IMO. Many of the same issues were covered in my post titled How to Interview for a Job Without Raising Suspicions. On that post, we debated a bit on whether or not it was a good idea to tell your boss that you were looking for a new position. Here's what Kiplinger advises under their point #2 listed above:

If you're ready to move on, it's generally best not to tell anyone at work that you're sniffing around before you have a new job lined up -- you might find yourself prematurely unemployed.

The company knows it has to replace you, and it could find your replacement before you're ready to go. Or your boss may see you as disloyal and make your life difficult until you leave. The average job hunt takes four months, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, so take care not to jump the gun.

I'm in agreement with this position. Others thought that it was good to tell your boss about the fact that you're looking and maybe she'd work things out (higher pay, better hours, more responsibility -- depending on what you're looking for) to help you stay.

The times I've decided to move on, I'd already exhausted what I considered all the reasonable alternatives for changing the job to where I'd like it. I've asked for more pay, more/different responsibilities, a different reporting structure, and the like. If I tried all I could and still didn't get satisfaction, then I decided to leave. And no, I didn't tell them I was going. Why? I don't think it would have helped and it likely could have hurt me. As I noted in What I'd Do with a High-Paying, Unrewarding Job, I took two-years to find a couple of jobs. If I'd told them upfront that I was leaving, they could have easily replaced me within six months and let me go. Then I would have probably had to take whatever reasonable job I could find -- likely something that paid less and wasn't as good as my current position. No, I don't mess with my greatest financial asset that way -- that's like quitting a job without having another one lined up. Just one mistake like this in my career and my income would probably be much smaller today as a result.

What's your take on the issue -- tell your boss you're looking or not tell him?

Comments

[No Debt Plan]

I agree with not job hunting at the office, although I am guilty of it. You never know who is watching.

I disagree with not posting your resume online. I guess this is on there because your current company could find it online. This is true... but at least with Monster, you can block who can search your resume (not just hiding your personal information, actually blocking who sees it).

[Rhea]

And most important, don't leave your resume in the Xerox machine or scanner. So many people I know have done this!

[oimcherry]

Definitely don't tell your boss you even thinking of moving on or looking for other work. This almost always will backfire.
I agree with FMF other options to rise in the company and/or make your current position more fruitful should have already been exhausted, so there's really no need to mention looking for another job.

[Foobarista]

The clothes question is actually more tricky than it may seem; in many offices, one interviews in a suit but never wears one to work (especially in Silicon Valley, where only lawyers and job applicants wear ties). In such places, someone interviewing for jobs would need to change clothes after an interview but before going back to work. And don't change clothes in a company restroom...

[LotharBot]

A friend of mine got a new job just a couple weeks ago. When he gave his 2 weeks notice, his old boss told him to get his stuff and be gone by the end of the day.

Telling your boss you're looking elsewhere is a good way to get fired, replaced, etc.

One exception is if you're planning to move to a different part of the country for non-work-related reasons, and your company has a presence both places. Then it makes sense to let your boss know that you plan to move at such-and-such time, and see if the other branch of your company has openings.

[Anitra]

Foobarista: When interviewing, I either stopped for a snack after an interview (to calm my stomach) and changed my clothes then, or I simply wore a button-down shirt and black pants to work, and threw on my black suit jacket before heading in to an interview.

Also, I did tell my first boss that I was looking, once I was fairly sure I would be leaving in the next month. I had a good relationship with her and the company needed me - I wanted to give her more notice so that she could prepare; I didn't tell my coworkers until I had given my two-week notice, however.

[Retire]

I made the mistake of telling my boss I thought I could do better being self employed. I was 22 years old at the time and my boss called my bluff. He said go ahead and try it and you will be sorry. He didn't fire me, but I think he understood that I was a cocky 22 year old kid out of college. I did become self employed later on and have never looked back and my old boss is my best mentor.