How to look for another job while you are employed
7 December 2010
Read by 1975 persons
Whether you are looking for something new or want a raise, it is legitimate to want to change jobs. But be careful not to burn your bridges!
More than half of executives who change jobs also increase their salary, according to a study conducted last year by the HR firms Altedia and Syntec Recruitment. But money is certainly not the only motivation. Choosing professional mobility is also a way to give new impetus to a stagnating career or to escape the boredom of a routine job.
The problem is that looking for a job is almost a full-time activity: carrying out this mission in addition to your job, in a way that is both discreet and effective, is therefore a challenge. Here's how to do it without getting caught.
Write your CV and cover letters from home
Trying to job hunt between meetings? This stressful and unproductive method should be avoided. To preserve your nervous energy, adopt this basic rule: CVs and cover letters should be written at home. Be sure to specify that, since you are already employed, you wish your application to be treated with the utmost discretion.
Also create a dashboard to record all the elements relating to your application: the job title you applied for, the exact name and function of the HR contact, and the date you sent your letters to make your follow-ups at the right time. Equally essential at this stage: remember to ask your former employers to send you letters of recommendation.
Make your profile anonymous online
If you want to put your CV online, be careful like Jade. This training manager put her CV on CadresOnline and Cadremploi, but not on the Apec website, because she knew her boss consulted it. Another option: make your profile anonymous or restrict access to certain people.
Use social networks like Viadeo, LinkedIn or Xing sparingly, especially if you count members of your company among your contacts. For example, avoid specifying that you want to move! Recruiters don't hesitate to contact someone whose profile interests them, even if nothing on their profile indicates that they want to leave their job.
Take advantage of the quiet times at the office
An employee does not have the right to use the tools provided by the company (email, fax or telephone) for personal purposes. Only occasional use is tolerated. Beyond ten minutes a day, the employee can theoretically be dismissed for misconduct. It is only in the case of resignation or dismissal that they are authorized, within the notice period, to dedicate two hours a day to a job search.
However, nothing prevents you from using quiet times to check responses to your applications in your personal email inbox. Don't change your schedule: pretending to have a lot of work to stay late every evening will only convince your colleagues for a short time... Finally, if you need to store documents on your computer, group them in a folder called "personal": your employer does not legally have the right to open it.
Use your network cautiously
The best recruitment agency? Your network. Cooptation is one of the main recruitment channels, so don't neglect your network. Didier André, deputy general manager of Century 21, assures that most of the managers he hired were recommended to him by members of his team. But don't limit yourself to the "inner circle" of your relationships. During meetings with clients or suppliers, let them know that you're open to moving and that their company interests you.
Stay cautious: avoid confiding in recent contacts, stick to those with whom you have built strong relationships. Without a good understanding of the issues on the part of your contact, a mistake can quickly happen. With your colleagues, keep quiet. Unless, of course, it's a "false start", a rumour you spread to encourage the company to keep you with a promotion or a raise...
Discreetly organize your meetings
When a recruiter contacts you on your mobile phone (you should obviously never give your work number), avoid taking the call at the office, even if you can isolate yourself. Frequent trips to an empty meeting room would eventually look suspicious. It's best to suggest to your contact that you call them back in the evening, when you're free (recruiters don't mind if you shorten the conversation, they know it's difficult to talk freely about another job at your workplace).
For interviews, ask to be received early in the morning or late in the evening. Otherwise, try to group them on a day off or RTT. Unexplained repeated lateness or absences are likely to attract attention. On interview days, be careful about your outfit! If you work in a suit or tailored clothing every day, no problem. Otherwise, you will have to be clever, like Sophie, a "property manager" in a large bank. Usually dressed casually, she takes a suit with her and changes in a café before going to an interview so that her colleagues don't ask any questions.
Anticipate your departure conditions
It's best to consider the notice period question early on, as the recruiter will ask you about it from the first interview. The duration is generally three months for executives. In the event of dismissal and sometimes resignation (it depends on collective agreements), you can cumulate the two hours of daily absence you are entitled to and reduce the notice period accordingly.
But most of the time, this arrangement is negotiated with the employer, who may or may not accept it. Find out (always discreetly) about your company's policy on this matter. Otherwise, rest assured: if they really want you, your future employer will be willing to wait a few weeks.
Published November 29, 2010
Online December 7, 2010
capital.fr
More than half of executives who change jobs also increase their salary, according to a study conducted last year by the HR firms Altedia and Syntec Recruitment. But money is certainly not the only motivation. Choosing professional mobility is also a way to give new impetus to a stagnating career or to escape the boredom of a routine job.
The problem is that looking for a job is almost a full-time activity: carrying out this mission in addition to your job, in a way that is both discreet and effective, is therefore a challenge. Here's how to do it without getting caught.
Write your CV and cover letters from home
Trying to job hunt between meetings? This stressful and unproductive method should be avoided. To preserve your nervous energy, adopt this basic rule: CVs and cover letters should be written at home. Be sure to specify that, since you are already employed, you wish your application to be treated with the utmost discretion.
Also create a dashboard to record all the elements relating to your application: the job title you applied for, the exact name and function of the HR contact, and the date you sent your letters to make your follow-ups at the right time. Equally essential at this stage: remember to ask your former employers to send you letters of recommendation.
Make your profile anonymous online
If you want to put your CV online, be careful like Jade. This training manager put her CV on CadresOnline and Cadremploi, but not on the Apec website, because she knew her boss consulted it. Another option: make your profile anonymous or restrict access to certain people.
Use social networks like Viadeo, LinkedIn or Xing sparingly, especially if you count members of your company among your contacts. For example, avoid specifying that you want to move! Recruiters don't hesitate to contact someone whose profile interests them, even if nothing on their profile indicates that they want to leave their job.
Take advantage of the quiet times at the office
An employee does not have the right to use the tools provided by the company (email, fax or telephone) for personal purposes. Only occasional use is tolerated. Beyond ten minutes a day, the employee can theoretically be dismissed for misconduct. It is only in the case of resignation or dismissal that they are authorized, within the notice period, to dedicate two hours a day to a job search.
However, nothing prevents you from using quiet times to check responses to your applications in your personal email inbox. Don't change your schedule: pretending to have a lot of work to stay late every evening will only convince your colleagues for a short time... Finally, if you need to store documents on your computer, group them in a folder called "personal": your employer does not legally have the right to open it.
Use your network cautiously
The best recruitment agency? Your network. Cooptation is one of the main recruitment channels, so don't neglect your network. Didier André, deputy general manager of Century 21, assures that most of the managers he hired were recommended to him by members of his team. But don't limit yourself to the "inner circle" of your relationships. During meetings with clients or suppliers, let them know that you're open to moving and that their company interests you.
Stay cautious: avoid confiding in recent contacts, stick to those with whom you have built strong relationships. Without a good understanding of the issues on the part of your contact, a mistake can quickly happen. With your colleagues, keep quiet. Unless, of course, it's a "false start", a rumour you spread to encourage the company to keep you with a promotion or a raise...
Discreetly organize your meetings
When a recruiter contacts you on your mobile phone (you should obviously never give your work number), avoid taking the call at the office, even if you can isolate yourself. Frequent trips to an empty meeting room would eventually look suspicious. It's best to suggest to your contact that you call them back in the evening, when you're free (recruiters don't mind if you shorten the conversation, they know it's difficult to talk freely about another job at your workplace).
For interviews, ask to be received early in the morning or late in the evening. Otherwise, try to group them on a day off or RTT. Unexplained repeated lateness or absences are likely to attract attention. On interview days, be careful about your outfit! If you work in a suit or tailored clothing every day, no problem. Otherwise, you will have to be clever, like Sophie, a "property manager" in a large bank. Usually dressed casually, she takes a suit with her and changes in a café before going to an interview so that her colleagues don't ask any questions.
Anticipate your departure conditions
It's best to consider the notice period question early on, as the recruiter will ask you about it from the first interview. The duration is generally three months for executives. In the event of dismissal and sometimes resignation (it depends on collective agreements), you can cumulate the two hours of daily absence you are entitled to and reduce the notice period accordingly.
But most of the time, this arrangement is negotiated with the employer, who may or may not accept it. Find out (always discreetly) about your company's policy on this matter. Otherwise, rest assured: if they really want you, your future employer will be willing to wait a few weeks.
Published November 29, 2010
Online December 7, 2010
capital.fr
