Advice please - Looking for a job while on the job

[radaro]

This is a struggle for me and a difficult decision.  I really like my current boss and the organization that I work for.  The offices are also close to my home, where my kids go to school, and to my gym (when I make it there).

However, for a couple of reasons it is now time for me to move on:

First of all, my boss will be working at least half time from our offices down in the States, thereby reducing my duties significantly.

Secondly, I have just passed my HR certificate.  I want to work in HR and it is unlikely that a position will become available with this organization in the next little while.

So, with mixed feelings, I will have to begin my search outside this organization.

Now I need your help - how do you look for a job while you are still on the job?  How do you schedule interviews without being obvious?  How can you post your resume on-line so that your company doesn't spot it? etc.

Any and all tips will be greatly appreciated!

[Jackie G]

Hmm, hard one!

ok, the easy stuff first.  How to post your CV online without your company noticing? - do you have a computer and internet access at home?  I guess by the question you possibly don't.  In that case, find an internet cafe, take your CV on a disk and post it through something like hotmail or yahoo where you can get an email address very quickly.  (You will either then need to return to read your email unless you can find some privacy to read it at work - for responses)

Right - you want to move from what you're doing now to a different field.  Your boss presumably knows that you've passed your HR certificate - did it occur to him that you weren't just doing this for fun, but would probably want to move into HR when it was completed?  Is it worth discussing this with him?

Also, in the light of the fact that he'll be more States-based, thus reducing your duties, you should perhaps be talking to him anyway about what your job is going to be like in future (just suppose you didn't have your HR certificate!!!)

Obviously you need to be exploratory in any discussions, without being clear you are actually going to be leaving (You don't want to jeopardise an existing job) - however, if your boss is anyway decent, he will realise why you're starting to ask the questions, and this may indeed make it easier if you want to go for interviews - as long as he authorises the time away (you could use lunch time - extended a little? - leave earlier - arrive later - then you don't have to answer to anyone else about where you are.

That's all I can think of just now - no doubt everyone else will have their tuppenceworth of a say - keep us posted - as ever - with how you get on!

Jackie
www.iqps.org
Peer Moderator

[radaro]

Actually, my boss is fully aware of my desire to move to HR.  The company paid for all my courses after he signed off on the approval sheets.  Over a year ago he had worked out a deal with the guy who was VP of HR at that time for me to move into HR for a one year contract.  Unfortunately, the VP HR welched on the deal so it never went through - but that's a whole other story.  

In the mean time, I have met with the new VP HR (a really nice woman) but as I said, there is nothing available there right now and probably not for a while especially since they just had to let someone go.

If you think about it, I'm sure the company would like me to stay.  I'm not saying this out of vanity but rather since they paid for all my course work they likely want to get their money's worth.

I guess my biggest concern is how to deal with the calls and interviews - when they come.  Now that you mention it, I can always use my dad's or brother's computer to post my resume on the various job sites.

[radaro]

I just had my year end review and my boss told me that he was fully aware of my desire to move to HR.  He said he would not take it personally if I left the company because he was well aware that there were no HR positions here.  He also said that if it was him, he wouldn't take an HR position here because of some issues with the current VP of HR.

So that, thankfully, takes care of my boss and looking for a job while on the job.  But now, I need another perspective.  As a potential employer, how would you feel about an applicant that allows you to contact them at work?  So far, I have left only my home contact information with my resume.  Do I give my work phone number, too?  As a potential employer would I be more concerned about a potential employee who uses the company phone to look for a job? Or should I be worried about delays in contacting an applicant (having to use the home contact information)?

[raindance]

Most potential employers would understand the need to be discreet when phoning a candidate at their current employment.  It depends a bit on your company's policy on receiving personal calls.  My last employers didn't allow personal calls, but such a rule is difficult to police, and people's lives don't stop just because they are at work.  You might consider obtaining a mobile phone and only giving that number out - you can then pick up voicemail messages when convenient.  

Raindance

[radaro]

I guess I wasn't clear.  I'm not concerned about the company who is contacting me being discreet.  I am more concerned about what they would think about me using my current employer's phone and time to contact someone about my next job.

[akara]

Don't know how things work in the US, but over here in the UK, companies are normally happier about interviewing people who are already employed.  The general attitude is the 'best' people are employable.  If a company interviews someone who's not got a job, they start to wonder why this person hasn't got a job - perhaps they're a problem employee.  And most companies understand the need to be discreet when phoning a potential candidate at work, and will ask if it's OK to speak.  So, don't worry about putting your work number down.

I an assuming you don't have a cell phone?  Most people in the UK do, and often give that number out if they don't want to use the work one - it also means you can be contacted any time, no matter where you are.  It's useful when you're arranging interviews.

THey will ask you why you want to leave your current position, but it sounds like you've got valid reasons, so that's OK.

Getting a hotmail address or yahoo address is a good idea, too - you can access these email addresses from any computer, so if you have friends and relatives who will let you borrow their PC, you can check your emails regularly, without having to do it at work.

Akara

[radaro]

Thanks.  I do have a cell phone but it is company issue as well.  However, your response has given me some good advice!