Looking for a new job can be stressful enough; if you’re currently in employment, it can be quite an uneasy time as you attempt to hide your job search from your existing employer.

While it’s important to keep your job search quiet, you also want to maintain your integrity and remain on good terms with your current employer. As such, it’s important not to be dishonest, sneaky or deceitful.

Webrecruit has put together a list of our top tips to help you search for a new role while already in employment:

 

Don’t search for roles on company time

Don’t raise suspicion by looking for a new role whilst in work. If your manager catches you looking at career sites at 10:30am on a Monday, it doesn’t look great.

If you do get contacted by a recruiter during the working day, make sure that you take the call outside, away from your colleagues or, even better, on your lunch break so no-one gets suspicious of your sudden disappearance.

Perhaps most obviously, don’t use your company email address to apply for a new job! Imagine turning on your auto-forward before going on annual leave to have your recruiter’s emails forwarded to your manager.

 

Don’t start slacking in your current role

You have three interviews lined up and you’re feeling cocky; a new job is surely within your grasp? Not necessarily. So don’t start relaxing in your current role.

If you decide to chill out and slack off in your current position, this will raise alarm bells, especially if you’re usually a top performer. Your manager will probably start to ask questions; is anything wrong? What’s changed? There’s a good chance that they will start to investigate further.

Just because you have interviews lined up, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a new job. If your performance starts to go downhill, you might not even have your old job to fall back on. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot; make sure that your performance is strong and consistent in your existing role.

 

Be careful who you tell that you’re job hunting

We’re not just talking about your colleagues; keep it quiet amongst your friends and family too. You have no idea who they might tell or that they might accidentally ask you about your job search in front of your colleagues.

Don’t put anything related to job hunting on social media. Update your LinkedIn profile, by all means, but don’t make it clear from your profile that you’re open to new opportunities – there’s a much more subtle way of doing it.

On the ‘Jobs’ page of LinkedIn, go and update your ‘Career Interests’ – at the top of the page there’s an option to let recruiters know that you’re open to new opportunities, which you can turn off and on.

 

Use your annual leave or arrange interviews outside of working hours

Suddenly taking unexplained periods of time out of the office will cause suspicion. Where you can, always use your annual leave or ask to take an extended lunch break.

Try not to be dishonest whenever possible; job searching is stressful enough without having to feel bad about lying to your existing employer.

 

Do you have any further tips about how to look for a job when you’re already employed? If so, leave them in the comments below!

Looking for a new position? Check out our job list (make sure you’re not in the office though!)