What to do When Your Employer Finds Out That You Are Looking For a New Job

Here's the scenario. Your boss asks you if you could step into their office for a quick word. You have no idea why, but you readily agree. As soon as you step into his office, he closes the door, asks you to sit down, and casually asks you, "So, are you happy here?"

"Why?" you ask.

"Because," he says, "I just heard that you had applied to a similar position at Melvin Motor Company."

Oh, crud. Now, it all comes rushing back to you. You applied on their website a few weeks back to a tantalizing position at MelMoCo, then spoke briefly with the company recruiter. You're not quite sure how your boss found out, but it may have something to do with the fact that Fred over in the Operations department used to work there, and somebody called him to ask about you.

It doesn't really matter how your fat landed in the fire. But now you have to explain to your boss your alleged act of treason.

What do you do?

• Before saying anything else, cool off evaluate your situation. Don't let your emotions be the spark in what can be an electrically-charged situation. Try to think through your position.

• Apologize for how your manager found out. True, almost nobody tells their manager that they're looking for a new job, but that can't help that they probably feel betrayed. So, make sure that they know you regret that they heard about your application through the grapevine rather than from you.

• Turn the conversation into a career discussion. Hopefully, prior to this point you've been having meetings with your manager about your career aspirations and your opportunities for personal development, so the groundwork would already be in place. Regardless, something sparked you to look at another role - a new challenge, a promotion opportunity, or some other career factor. Let your boss know you truly enjoy working for him and the company, but that you were looking to stretch yourself in the direction you identified, and would love to continue to do so here. Hopefully, this can be the basis for a constructive conversation about where you'd like your career to go.

• Don't make any rash statements. Your manager may be looking for a promise that you are going to stay - and he may be desperate enough not to lose you that he'll toss out some promises of his own (promotions, raises, corner office, etc.). Resist the urge to tell him you'll stay for eternity, or to beg to keep your job - but make sure that he knows you appreciate the opportunity to work at the company, and that your strong desire is to stay at your current company.

• Prepare for the consequences. Depending upon how deftly you handled the conversation, and how valued you are as an employee in the organization, you could face either the carrot (incentive to stay through career development) or the stick (a stalled career or, worse, fired). Pray for the former, but you may need to accept the latter.

Incidentally, make sure that you document the discussion you have with your manager. Any promises by you - or them - about the future should be honored by both sides, and you don't want to forget what was said.

One last word about confidentiality. Keeping the interview process mum can be tricky and unreliable, no matter how hard you or a company try to keep things quiet. Besides the gossip mill, other leaks do occur - it's entirely possible (and not entirely unlikely) that you may run into a coworker at your prospective new employer, interviewing for the same job. And in case this didn't occur to you, your current employer keeps track of what web sites you visit, so applying to the MelMoCo job portal at work may not be such a great idea.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Effectively Manage Your Time to a New Job

Following is a guest post by Laurie Turner, an employment and career counselor with Jewish Community Services of South Florida, a social services agency which is the largest non-profit [501(c)(3)] Jewish social service agency in South Florida, JCS provides critical help in the community, such as care management for frail seniors; counseling for families in crisis; and employment skills for developmentally disabled adults. Laurie also works with JworksMiami, an employment service which helps match job-seekers and employers.

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Looking for a new job? Not getting paid to do it? If you take your job search seriously, you may realize sooner or later that you have a new full time job for which you are not getting paid.   There may be a direct correlation between the amount of effort you put into searching for a new position and how long it takes you to find one!  So, how do you approach your job search?  Do you wake up in the morning, get dressed, have breakfast and hit the ground running?  Consider planning your day’s activities to include some time at your computer searching for postings, time attending networking events and some time with friends and family to let them know what you are seeking.  Make sure you have developed your “elevator pitch” so you can articulate, in a concise manner, the type of position you are seeking whenever you have the opportunity.

Applying to 100 positions per week? It is probably impossible to do a thorough job of applying to this quantity of jobs. Consider applying to less than 10 and do it properly.  You can research the company or look on linked in to see if anyone you are connected to has a connection with the company.  If you find a possible connection and a position that is a good fit, reach out to see if the person can refer you to Human Resources. Many companies offer their employees an incentive if someone they refer is hired.  You could be doing the employee a favor and helping your own cause at the same time.  Submit a version of your resume and cover letter that best markets you for the position you are applying for.  If you are invited for an interview, prepare, prepare, prepare.

Figure out how to distinguish yourself from the pack. Prepare to answer standard interview questions but also take the opportunity to reveal a little about yourself that will make the interviewer remember you.  Email and snail mail a thank you note.  You will certainly be noticed! Use the thank you note to tell anything you may have forgotten to share during the interview.   There are sample resumes, cover letters and thank you notes on the internet.   Don’t take shortcuts!  Go through the above steps for a week or two and see if you are able to jump-start your job search.  If you are stuck, get unstuck!  Keep a positive attitude, try to relax, exercise, take care of yourself (i.e. eat well and get enough sleep)!  Hopefully, sooner or later, you will get the results you are looking for!

Three Weekly Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Job Hunting Tips – June 22, 2015

Lemon Squeezy

Here are three simple job hunting tips for you to begin your week!

1. Any time you prepare a paper résumé (yes, these still exist) to give to anybody, print it up on your printer. DO NOT make photocopies - the copier glass tends to get filthy and shows all sorts of residue, lines, and other grossness. Don't believe me? Compare for yourself. And, yes, people will notice the lines and dots that are copier artifacts.
2. Treat an internal job application (i.e., an application for a position inside your current employer) with the same level of respect you'd treat one on the outside. This means: apply in a timely manner; dress professionally for the interview; and send thank-you notes to everyone you meet with; and should you not be selected for the job, handle the defeat with graciousness and dignity. Keeping doors open applies in your current job, too.
3. After the interview, if you don't hear anything after repeated attempts to find out your status, know when to stop asking for feedback. It's crappy for an employer to not get back to you after an interview, but you need to recognize the line between persistence and stalking.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.