Conducting a Job Search in Secret

At some point in your professional life you may find that you are not quite where you want to be and you may therefore decide that you need to conduct a job search in order to find a better opportunity for yourself. The problem is that you don’t want anyone to find out about your job search for fear that you may lose the position that you currently hold. Really then you find yourself in the position of finding a new job but doing so in secret.

This may sound like it is impossible to accomplish, but if you go about just the right way it can be done. No you can’t go about looking for a new job in the traditional sense such as posting your resume online for fear that your employer might see it o look through the classifieds on your lunch break, but there a number of strategies that you can implement that should keep your name out of the boss’ office such as:

• Use Personal Contacts: Many professional jobs are found through personal contacts lending credit to the term, ‘It’s all about who you know.’ If you are seeking a new job and want to keep it on the down low then dig deep into your network. You will of course need to be sure that who you are contacting is not going to let your current employer know that you are seeking employment elsewhere and if you aren’t sure if they will or not, then use someone else.
• Work with Recruiters: Working with job recruiters can take a lot of hassle and worry out of your secret job search. Because a recruiter represents certain companies they will have insights on positions that may fit your skills perfectly. Additionally you can supply the recruiter with all of your information instead of posting it online for the world, and perhaps your boss, to see. Recruiters can also do much of the leg work for you as far as finding positions and setting up interviews goes, which is good because if you are seeking a job in secret you can’t be doing this yourself while you are at work. Just be sure that the recruiter you are working with doesn’t represent the company you are trying to leave.
• Post an Ad: Instead of posting your resume with your name smattered all over it, try posting an ad instead. This may not garish as many interviews as some processes, but it does help to get the word out covertly that you are looking for a job and it lets any potential employers know exactly what you are looking for. To start you can place a ‘position wanted’ ad in your local newspaper but you shouldn’t stop there. Find a trade magazine or two within your industry and post the same ad there for increased exposure. Again, be sure that any publications that you post ads in are not in your current place of business.

While finding a job without it being a secret is hard enough, doing it stealth like is even harder. However, with a little finesses and some determination you can conduct a job search in secret and still be successful doing so.