3 Mistakes of Secret Job Searching

***3 Mistakes of Secret Job Searching***

Taking smart precautions can help you keep your professional relationships intact. In our age of access to unlimited information and fluctuating privacy settings for popular websites, it’s worth going the extra mile to ensure privacy. Wrong impressions or hard feelings can cost you future recommendations, opportunities and connections.

This article covers the biggest mistakes folks make when job searching while employed. However, you have the right to conduct your job search privately.

Make sure your job search is discreet. Read the biggest mistakes of secret job searching below:

 
1. Forgetting to Manage Your LinkedIn Privacy Settings

In case, you are changing your job title to your target job title rather than your current job title, LinkedIn will automatically publish this update in your entire network’s newsfeed and possibly even email them. One of LinkedIn’s latest updates includes a privacy setting that could announce your job searching intentions.

LinkedIn sends out an automated email message to your entire network encouraging them to congratulate --- “Congratulate Mr. ABC on the new job” and also slams their LinkedIn activity feeds with ---- “Say congrats on the new job!” message.

Many of you might have experienced it more recently. This can be awkward, especially if people assume you got a promotion or a new job!

HELP AT HAND --- To prevent this from happening to you, go to:

Privacy & Settings >> Turn on/off your activity broadcasts

Make sure the box is NOT checked! This is the safest bet while you make changes you wouldn’t want everyone in your network to see. 

2.  Taking Appointments, Phone Calls or Submitting Documents at Work

Why risk it? Using company time and resources for your personal job search just adds another layer of disrespect on top of the existing bad news that you’re looking for another job.

You never know when your boss or IT team may be monitoring your work devices. Beware, because you current employers have every right to monitor what you’re doing on company-owned equipment & of course in office hours.

Since most of your time is spent at work, it can be tempting to take that phone screening interview during lunch. Better yet, it’s more fruitful to keep bridges intact and stay amicable with your team by respecting company time and resources.

3. Publicizing Your Resume and Job Search Online  

Be incredibly careful about what you say online. Also, if you post your resume on public job boards, you risk the possibility of your current boss stumbling upon it. If you know your boss looks at dozens of resumes all the time, you might consider concealing your name and company name on your resume.

However, if the role is a more general role (i.e. HR Manager or Director) we wouldn't recommend you listing yourselves as a confidential candidate because no recruiter is going to reach out to you if you don't have the basic information listed.

The more niche your job is, the more willing hiring managers will be of checking out your resume without basic name info.

Bonus: Not Taking Advantage of Job Alerts

Well, this point isn’t exactly a mistake—it’s more like a missed opportunity if you don’t take advantage of it. As an alternative to No. 3, rather than posting your resume online publically, you can sign up for job alerts and let new, relevant job openings come to you. If you’re interested, you can apply specifically to the jobs you love.

Create as many job alerts for similar jobs as possible so that you don’t miss a beat!

 Happy NEW JOB finding to you!!!