Tips for Job Searching While Employed
If you’re unhappy in your current job, it’s not easy to keep going. Making the decision to look for a new job while you’re still employed can be difficult and unnerving—and depending on your current employer, you could jeopardize your position.
Looking for a new job before you’ve left the old one must be handled carefully. Even if you really hate where you’re working right now and don’t care whether your employer finds out you’re ready to jump ship, taking a blatant approach to your search can damage your reputation and reduce your chances of being hired elsewhere.
These tips will help you become a savvy searcher and conduct your job search thoroughly, with the integrity you need to land the job of your dreams.
Don’t use your current company’s resources to look for another job
This one should be obvious, but many job seekers who are still employed continue to list company email as their contact information, use work phones to make job-related calls, or even leave work numbers for new prospective employers to call.
Even if you’ve lost respect for your current employer, this is a bad idea. Reaching out to prospective employers with a company-specific email address suggests that you’re not really available or interested, or that you might start looking for a different job once you’re hired at the new company—using their branded email address.
The same applies to calling about jobs from your work phone. Reserve job search-related phone calls for your lunch break or after hours, and call from your personal phone.
Refrain from telling everyone and anyone that you’re job hunting
Spreading the word that you’re in the market for a new job is a good networking strategy to use when you’re unemployed. However, if you currently have a job, aggressively communicating your intentions to look for something else can backfire. It’s important to remember that not everyone will keep your information confidential—and it’s easy for word of your job search to reach the wrong person.
Contain discussions about your job search to immediate family and direct contacts with prospective employers. No one else really needs to know, and this way you’ll mitigate the risks of having your coworkers—and your bosses—finding out your plans to leave.
It’s especially essential to keep this in mind for any online job search activities you perform. Nothing online is truly private, and it’s fairly easy for recruiters to follow your trail and learn where you’re currently working, unless you remain discreet in your online inquiries. Limit yourself to email as much as possible, and avoid posting on social networks about your job search.
Resist “short-timer syndrome”
When you know you’re going to be leaving a job, there is a strong temptation to slack off and let your work performance drift. After all, your efforts to contribute to the current company will no longer benefit you—and if your job situation is unpleasant, you probably no longer care whether the business does well.
By far, the better strategy here is to finish strong, even if you’ve come to dislike the company. You’re still being paid to perform a job, and if you undermine that performance, you’ll look lazy—to your current employer, and to potential new employers.
If you persevere and continue striving for top results, you can demonstrate qualities other employers look for, such as a willingness to work hard and the ability to overcome challenges. When you’re ready to look for that new opportunity, contact the experts at PsychPros.