In this age of social media how can I effectively explore new job opportunties without catching the attention on my current employer and co-workers?
How do I explore new Job Opportunities Under the Radar?
Answers
1. Confide only in those you trust; talk only to a few recruiters, use your private email and don't update your public profile
2. Watch what you say on social media - maybe don't say it
3. When you speak to a prospective company, remind them of your request for discretion. Don't use work email, work phone
4. Practice your script/reaction if someone calls you at "the wrong time"
Don't be such a chicken. Confide in your boss first and let him/her know that you're looking. It's a perfect time to share your candid feedback and potentially make your current situation better, obtain new responsibilities and (maybe) get a wage increase. Become part of the solution versus pulling the rip cord. Your open and honest feedback will be liberating and demonstrate your
If you are "always" in search mode ... with a strong, branded value proposition and visibility, then it never looks like you are in job search mode, you're just visible and always attracting opportunities.
That said, your network, used confidentially, and your Linkedin profile, branded visibility, are key to a successful stealth search.
1. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated and consider turning off notifications in LinkedIn. Your name will show up on the weekly LinkedIn email that John Smith made changes to his experience. Either that or have a good excuse for why you updated your information on LinkedIn. I just landed a new position myself but used the excuse that I was just looking to network more with other senior financial executives as the reasoning for updating my profile.
2. Be careful who you speak to about looking for a new role. Make absolutely sure they are someone you trust, especially if it is a colleague within the company you are working for right now.
It depends on how you perform your search. If you use Social Media to advertise your availability and interest in a new opportunity, then yes that is a high
The old fashion way by net working with friends, business associates and joining different net working groups, bussiness/professional associations for making new friends and contacts.
Cindy is correct that the best way is to continuously network yourself. If you have always been involved in professional organizations or local groups, then there are no alarm bells. I would also echo that you CANNOT use company hardware to do anything personal. I have always been super sensitive to this, and having a personal Blackberry/Droid/Iphone, means it is possible to stay active on your personal accounts without having to log on 'from the office.' I also dropped the bad habit of never taking a lunch, making it difficult to occaisionally disappear for a while during the day.
Any time you are looking for a position, you can request discretion, but ultimately you cannot control others. I was let go from a position a year ago after my boss found out I was looking. This was from the owner of a company I was applying to walking into a networking event and handing my resume to my boss and asking why I was looking. Character is something you can't change in a person. Looking for a new position has some risk to it. For me, the result was landing a much better position within 8 weeks. And now I am hearing that because the staff is aware of why I was let go, several are paralyzed with fear about looking, even though they desperately want out.
Best of Luck in your search!
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Excellent point about not using company hardware. I would go one step further and say do NOT use your company phone number OR email address in anything search related.
Not only can it come back to haunt you but it sends the wrong message to future potential companies.
Interesting that you boss fired you. It tells a lot about the company and the ownership (in that you were lucky that you severed that relationship).
Integrity is a big part of what makes our role important, and your boss obviously felt you were not an essential cog to the organization (otherwise s/he would have had a conversation about why you were looking).
I not say that the person who was let go was not viewed as a vital cog. Egos drive bad decisions including letting go a valuable person .
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Egos, it's a terrible thing to have; it breeds contempt, and skews the perspective.
It also tells you the type of person to whom you work for; and the ultimate direction the company will take. Sort of working for someone who not only knows everything but is closed minded as well...
As an added note on Cindy's spot on advice never to use company property during a search, it might also be smarter to use your personal e-mail account with LInkedIn, if this hasn't been mentioned previously.
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Human Capital