How do you Secretly Look for a New Job?

By Lucie Yeomans
CEO of Your Career Ally
Published Oct. 14, 2016, LinkedIn Pulse

You have made the important decision to move on from your current job, but you don’t want management or the rumor mill to find out. You hear that networking is the best way to find a job, but how do you do that without the wrong people finding out? Let me tell you a story….

Meet Janell. Janell is a rock star at work. She has been building world-class sales teams and exceeding goals YOY for the past 10 years.  But Janell is unhappy with her job. Her EVP continues to increase sales quotas, often doubling them, but doesn’t increase compensation for her or her team.  Janell feels taken advantage of and frustrated.

Janell wants to find a new job and everyone around her knows it. No, she hasn’t told anyone directly, but the rumor mill has been very busy.

“Janell sure has had a lot of ‘doctor appointments’ lately.”

“Yeah, she sure dresses nicely for her doctor visits, too.”

“She has to be looking for a new job. She keeps talking about how much she could make more money working somewhere else.”

“I overheard her on the phone yesterday telling one of her clients that she is open to new opportunities and actually asked him if he knew of anything for her!”

Well, it didn’t take long for HR to figure it out, either. Janell made one of the biggest mistakes a confidential job seeker can make. She applied for a job online using a public resume. HR stumbled upon her resume posted earlier in the week when they were searching for a candidate to fill a recent vacancy.

You won’t believe what happened next. HR marched immediately into Janell’s office with Janell’s boss. After a rather heated and emotional discussion, Janell was escorted out of the building. Janell got her wish. She will be working for someone else; she got fired that day. Not only was she looking for a new job, she was looking for a new job on company time.

Meanwhile Janell’s peer, Jack, has been feeling the same way, but taking a much different approach in conducting his confidential job search – but what, if any, mistakes did he make? Stay tuned for Jack’s story in this continuing series.

Have you made one or more of these mistakes in your job search? I would love to help you avoid the mistakes that raise red flags in your confidential job search. Contact me at Lucie@yourcareerally.com to learn more about how I can help you maneuver through obstacles and avoid making costly mistakes.

Lucie Yeomans is the founder and CEO of Your Career Ally.com and Sick Resumes and specializes in helping confidential job seekers and college grads effectively market themselves and ace interviews. She recently won 2 out of only 4 ROAR awards for outstanding resumes from The National Resume Writers’ Association. She holds a B.A. in Journalism, M.A.T., and has earned several professional certifications in resume writing, career coaching, and job search strategy. She has shared her expertise with thousands through podcast, workshops, speaking engagements, and coaching. You can reach Lucie at Lucie@yourcareerally.com.