Looking for a new job can be stressful when you’re trying to keep your search quiet at your current job. You want to maintain connections with your current employer and strengthen your professional relationships, but you also want to find a new position. How do you navigate this terrain successfully?
Here are seven “best practices” for carrying out a discreet job search:
- Start with yourself. The first step is one it’s easy to keep discreet: Be clear on what you’re good at and what you want to do. What’s your ideal job? What are the strongest abilities you offer a new employer?
- Look around. Start looking at employers and job postings to see what’s available, and whose postings and workplaces match what you’re looking for in an employer. This will help you target your search. The less time you spend searching, the less chance your secret will get out before you are ready to share it.
- Update LinkedIn gradually. Not all companies monitor employees’ LinkedIn profiles, but those that do might notice if yours gets a total makeover all at once. Update gradually over the course of a few weeks so your profile is fresh, but the changes are harder to spot.
- Network discreetly. Start with professional or personal contacts who aren’t related to your current job and aren’t likely to “spill the beans” with anyone who is. Friends, colleagues at volunteer opportunities and other professionals can help here.
- Prepare to interview on your own time. Use vacations or personal time to interview, or schedule interviews for non-work hours. If you invent excuses to interview on the clock, you run the risk of discovery; ruining your chances with the new employer and your reputation with your current employer.
- Partner with a recruiter. Staffing firms specialize in helping currently employed professionals find new jobs without alerting everyone in the industry. If you need help finding potential employers or preparing materials, work with a recruiter who can help keep your search confidential.
Law firms, just like job applicants, are sometimes passively seeking to hire candidates and don’t publicly post an opening. The only way to hear about these openings are by partnering with a recruitment firm, and for that reason, working with a trusted recruiter should be a top priority for you in your job search.
At Kent Legal, our recruiters can help you find your next career step in a discreet, thoughtful manner. Contact us today to learn more about our legal job opportunities in Toronto and beyond.
