8 Ways to nail your professional affair
8 Ways To Nail Your Professional Affair
Our lives revolve around relationships, both personal and professional and whether you like it or not, you’re in a relationship with your employer (sorry for any horrific mental images which may have popped into your head).
Affairs are horrible and morally speaking, you shouldn’t look for a new relationship when you’re already in one, right? But professionally, affairs are a necessity. You need to be looking out for your next professional relationship whilst in your current one and you certainly don’t want to be caught red-handed with your metaphorical trousers down a la Shaggy.
With that in mind, how do you find a new job without alerting your current employer?
Express ABSOLUTE confidentiality
When speaking with recruiters or prospective employers, emphasise the need to operate in complete confidence.
Recruitment professionals are used to working in extreme confidence and would never want to damage a relationship with a candidate by making their current employers aware of their job search, so will be more than happy to oblige.
Your Linkedin profile IS your CV and Linkedin IS a job board!
Ensure your profile is up to date and don’t be shy about asking people you have PREVIOUSLY worked with to give you recommendations, as this will increase your credibility.
This will have the same effect as having your CV on a job site as Recruitment Consultants heavily rely on Linkedin, as they would a job board.
Changing your Linkedin profile to ‘open to new opportunities’ will again increase accessibility to you for Recruitment Consultants and hiring Managers alike. However, this can be a risky move especially if you work within the recruitment sector.
Connecting with Recruiters can be a great way to open up a dialogue and also keep up to date with all of the latest jobs and industry news. Though be aware that connecting with endless Recruiters in a short amount of time could arouse your employer’s suspicions. So be selective about which Recruiters you connect with.
Make the most of the ‘Jobs’ tab. This is a fantastic tool and incredibly user-friendly. Here, you are able to search through particular companies, types of positions, etc. which you’re interested in and you can apply using your profile.
Be cautious of job boards
The nature of job boards is that you have to upload your CV to apply for jobs, which is all very reasonable. The problem is having your CV on a job board also reveals the fact you’re looking for a new job to the wider world. It is there for everybody to see and you don’t know who is going to be looking at your profile. It’s like thinking about having an affair, uploading your dating profile to Ashley Madison and pairing with your partner. NOT IDEAL.
When you’re using a job board, make sure (particularly when you’re working within the recruitment sector) you utilise those which your company DO NOT USE. This will help you utilise job boards whilst doing so in an incognito manner.
Use a specialist Recruitment business
To keep the number of people aware you’re looking for a new job to a minimum, be selective about which recruitment consultancies you engage with. Who is the natural choice within your industry?
The advantage of using a specialist is they will know their industry inside out and therefore know exactly what is happening in your market. They will be able to give you invaluable insights into your sector, what openings are likely to be coming up in the near future and will be best placed to give you consultative career advice. Having a specialist recruitment company on your side will help finding your next professional relationship a smooth and efficient process.
Referees
In a hiring process, taking ‘off the record’ references are a more common practice than you may expect. Don’t use current colleagues as references. If one is contacted and they’re not aware you’re looking for a job, you will have some explaining to do!
Having positive references taken on your behalf is a great way to legitimise your application, but if you don’t want to run the risk of anybody you’re currently working with being contacted, you can leave references off your CV, so you don’t run this risk.
Time off/Scheduling Interviews
Having a number of ‘emergency doctors/dentist appointments’ in a short space of time will either cause concern for your well-being or make others aware you’re interviewing elsewhere. Save the ‘emergency doctors/dentist appointments’ for final interviews only. During the early stages of an interview process, book a day or two off in advance and arrange multiple interviews on the same day. Interviewing can be stressful and there is no need to add the extra stress of having to call your boss to pull a last-minute sickie.
Arrange interviews outside of your core working hours (you’d be surprised at the flexibility employers have if you’re the right candidate) or make the most of any flexible working hours you may have.
Tell nobody
Well, tell nobody you work with or that may interact with your workmates. All it takes is one slip of the tongue for your business to find out you’re trying to leave.
Don't use your work computer/phone!
This is incredibly obvious. Just don’t. Whilst most employers aren’t looking over your shoulder at every email or text you receive, people will glance and may notice. People are nosey; I’m constantly checking out my colleagues screens (sorry, not sorry).
Use a personal account. Creating a new email account specifically for job searching will help you remain organised in your search.
The number of CVs we come across with work email addresses will surprise you.
And now?
If you are looking for a new position and need to keep your job search confidential, contact Camino Partners today.
