Job Hunting On The Sly
Author: Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC

So you want to look around for your next career step but you
are concerned that your current employer will find out and give
you an early exit? Confidentiality in your job search is a
reasonable concern and makes the way you approach finding your
next position all the more important. Confidentiality and
privacy issues in today's hyper-informative world are issues
that should be taken seriously.

Keeping your intentions of changing jobs a secret is a
challenge but secrecy is in your best interest. Case in point:
Hilda was a highly paid pharmacist working for an independent
pharmacy in Atlanta. She was approached by a new independent
pharmacy who was a direct competitor of her current employer.
The word leaked out that she was considering taking a directly
competing position and her employer terminated her employment
out of concern for operational security. As
pharmacist-in-charge, she had full access to retail/wholesale
pricing, future plans, insurance reimbursement rates and
customer information – all data that would be highly desirable
by the competitor. Hilda's employer just could not take the
chance that she would leave and take all that information with
her so they terminated her. Unfortunately, the competitor did
not make an offer of employment to Hilda and she was left out
in the cold – not hired, and fired. If she had taken greater
pains to keep her options confidential, she may not have ended
up in the predicament of suddenly being unemployed.

On the flip side, it may be tempting to let slip to your
current employer that you are looking around for new
opportunities to provide some leverage for a raise or a
promotion. Fishing for a counter-offer is a no-win situation.
In a survey by the Wall Street Journal, 93 percent of employees
who accept counter-offers to remain with an employer leave
anyway after 18 months. If you are unhappy enough to spend
months hunting for a new position, dealing with recruiters, and
going on interviews, the true value of a counter offer should be
questioned. Employers make counter-offers for their best
interest – not the employees'. Employers need to make sure
projects are completed, that deadlines are met, and that
production does not lag. An employee who accepts a
counter-offer has branded himself as disloyal and possibly a
gold-digger and will forever more be viewed as such by
superiors.

Common sense rules when going about a confidential job search.
Do not use your work phone, email, or company cell phone to
conduct any job search activities. Do not surf the job sites
during your lunch hour or at anytime on your work PC. Be
careful of the conversations you have within earshot of other
co-workers. Do not leave your resume lying on your desk at
work. Keep your plans and intentions quiet, even from close
office friends whom you feel you can trust. Request
confidentiality from all potential employers until an offer is
made.

Beyond the obvious, consider the following tips for keeping
your job search hush-hush:

Remove identifying information from your online resume. Replace
your name with a generic title such as "Senior Marketing
Executive". Use only your cell phone number and a web-based
email address that can be dropped after your job search. City
and state is sufficient for address – no need for street
address or zip code. Remove your current employer's name and
replace it with something that is descriptive, yet
unidentifiable such as "Major Manhattan-based Financial
Organization".

Be careful in your networking. Networking is essential to an
effective job search, but indiscrete networking can breach your
wish for confidentiality. Networking carefully can be even more
difficult in closed industries or highly-specialized fields.
Ask more questions than you answer in group settings; talk
about possible employment options with decision-makers only;
and provide your resume only to someone in a position to assist
you confidentially.

Protect your references. References should only be provided in
an interview, and preferably not at a first interview. You
don't want your colleagues getting wind of your intentions
before an offer is imminent.

Consider a confidential job search agent. If you have an annual
salary of greater than $500,000 and/or you are well-known in
your industry, hiring an agent to conduct your job search might
be a good idea. The agent can extend inquiries without breaching
confidentiality. An agent is not a recruiter, but rather someone
who works for you individually to act as your liaison with
potential employers.

In addition to confidentiality in a job search, everyone should
be concerned about protection of privacy. Never, ever give out
your social security number, driver's license number, or bank
account numbers to anyone during the job search process. There
are scam artists out there who will take advantage of your
vulnerability as a job seeker to steal your identity, your
money, and your reputation. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has
some helpful tips for protecting your privacy during your job
search at
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs25-JobSeekerPriv.htm.

The World Privacy Forum has an excellent article about an
Internet job scam that is a must-read for anyone considering
using the Internet for their job search. This particular job
scam involved 23 Internet job boards including Monster.com,
CareerBuilder.com, and PreferredJobs.com. The scam involved a
posting that required the new hire to transfer money into their
personal bank account and then transfer it back out to an
account overseas via Western Union, keeping a percentage of the
total amount for their work. According to victims of the scam
who responded to the article, the interview and application
process for the position was extremely convincing and they were
totally taken in. The article can be found at
http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/jobscamreportpt1.html.

The bottom line is that confidentiality starts with you. A
secret shared is no longer a secret and cannot be controlled.
If you are serious about keeping your career ladder climb
quiet, you must take the precautions that are necessary.
Employers have a great deal to lose when they lose employees –
human capital investment, corporate information, competitive
data – so keeping your intentions to leave might well be in
your best interests until the time is right.


About The Author: Published in 25 career books, Alesia has been
cited by Jist Publications as one of the "best resume writers in
North America" and quoted as a Career Expert in the Wall Street
Journal. Serving as the Resume Expert for over 50+
organizations, she has numerous media appearances to her credit
and is a frequent keynote speaker. http://getinterviews.com