jobs, job search, careers, and employment links and information ...your objective source * of the Web's Best Job Search Resources
 On this page: Steps to protect your privacy - and your current or future job.
Job Search Resources Center
Getting Started
Job Search Advice & Tips
Protecting Your Privacy
Starting Your Online Job Search
Finding Jobs Online
Choosing a Job Site
Using Web Job Sites
Creating an Internet Resume
The Dirty Dozen Online Job Search Mistakes
The Online Job Search Guide - more articles
Pick Your Employer
Recommended Reading - books and news
Networking Resources
Networking & Support Groups
Company Alumni Groups
Associations & Societies

Job Sites & Career Resources
Job Resources by Location
Jobs by State ( U.S.A.)
State Employment Offices
International Jobs
Specialized Job Sites
Academia and Education
Computers & Technology
Engineering Jobs
Entry Level, Internships, and Seasonal Jobs
Finance, Accounting, and Banking
Government Jobs
Law and Law Enforcement
Marketing and Sales
Medicine, Biotech, and Pharmaceutical
Science

 
Other Job Sites & Career Resources
Employment Super Sites
General
Classified Ads
Resumes
Newsgroup Searches
Recruiting Agencies
Job Fairs
Other Link Lists
Reference Material

For Employers
Human Resources
Recruiting Resources

  Back to  «  Home  «  Online Job Search Guide   «
9 Tips for a Stealthy - but Successful - Job Search

Your boss probably doesn't want your to leave, so, when you want to find a job with a different employer, you unfortunately need to be cautious about how you approach that job search. It is not unusual to hear of someone being fired for job hunting, an attitude that pre-dates the Internet.

 Sponsor:
what where
job title, keywords or company
Employers: post your jobs
city, state or zip jobs by Indeed

Following these steps will not only protect your job, they will protect your identity, too.

  1. Do your job search at home.
    You have no guarantee of privacy - even during your "personal time" - at work. Your employer may monitor your use of e-mail, your Web surfing habits, and even the voicemail messages left for you, assuming that you aren't an independent contractor using your own assets.

  2. Raise your personal visibility.
    Join local professional and business organizations, and be an active member. Having a good network of people who know you is the best insurance you can have against a long, painful job search after a job loss. This is a lifelong project, and it should make you more valuable to your employers, too.

  3. Keep a low electronic profile of your job search.
    Don't announce your job search in your blog, your MySpace page, or in an e-mail sent to the general world. Don't hire a resume distribution service to post your resume at dozens of job sites or e-mail it to thousands of employers and recruiters. It could so easily end up in the wrong hands.


  4. Let Google track employers and opportunities for you.
    Develop a list of potential employers where you would like to work, and sign up for free Google Alerts (google.com/alerts) for jobs posted on the organizations' Websites or when related news about the employer is picked up by Google. Have the alerts sent to your personal (not your work!) e-mail address! See Job-Hunt's Using Google Alerts article for tips and detailed information.


  5. Be careful posting your resume at a job site.
    Don't openly post your resume at any job sites, unless you can post it as "private" or "confidential" and delete it when your job search is over. Sign up for the job alerts, but don't have them sent to your work e-mail address where your current employer could find them.


  6. Use your personal cell phone number on your resume.
    Using your employer's name, address, and phone numbers as your contact information is a very good way to blow your cover, and makes it impossible for you to stay in touch if you leave or lose your job. Just think how awkward it would be if your boss answered your phone and a recruiter was calling, or a co-worker picked up your messages and there was one from a recruiter!


  7. Use your home or other non-work e-mail address to for your job search.
    See # 1, above, for the reason. In addition, if you lose your job, you'll lose access to your work e-mail account, so avoid the problem by not using it.

  8. Disguise your current employer's name.
    You don't want your job search to be "outed" by your boss or a recruiter accidentally (or on purpose) stumbling over your resume on Monster or CareerBuilder, etc. So, don't put your current employer's name (e.g. IBM or Acme Widgets, etc.) on your resume. [And, if your job title is unique to your employer, replace that, too.] Substitute a description in place of your employer's name - so, assuming you work for IBM, in place of "IBM" on your resume put "Multi-National Fortune 50 Information Technology Company."

  9. Add an "effective date" at the bottom of your resume.
    Hopefully this will help you from being haunted by an old resume, if your current employer finds it online. If they see the date is before you started working for them, they should be less concerned.

Not unnaturally, employers tend to view job seeking employees as "disloyal" and a threat to company secrets, customer lists, etc. So maintaining a low profile is the smart thing to do, even though it makes your job search a bit trickier.

See Job-Hunt's articles on Choosing Job Sites, Using Job Sites, Cyber-Safe Resumes, Dirty Dozen Online Job Search Mistakes, and Tapping the Hidden Job Market for more information and tips. To help you with your networking, check out the articles by Liz Ryan, Job-Hunt's Job Search Networking Pro.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article by Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt's editor and senior job hunter

Return to Job-Hunt Home.


Our Sponsors
Career Resources & Jobs from The Wall St. Journal
Find a Job
Post a Job
Virtual Career Fair

Over 50? Want work?
Real employers who value your experience are looking for you here.
Workforce50

New resume > New job
Ready-Made Resumes
by resume guru for you. Download and use now.
ReadyMadeResume.com

The Site for Executives Reach the real retained executive recruiters
RiteSite.com

Find Jobs
what
job title, keywords
where
city, state, zip
jobs by job search
Employers: post a job.

Job-Hunt's Sponsors
are carefully chosen.
Does your company
or site qualify?


Share
Support the Troops
USO's "Operation Phone Home"


Smile! -- indicates a site we particularly liked when we reviewed it, an award based on merit, not money.
New! -- added to Job-Hunt within the last 30 days.

To Top
Job-Hunt Home    About Job-Hunt    Privacy Policy    Disclaimer    Feedback    Contact Us

Job Search

  Job-Hunt.org, Marlborough, MA. U.S.A.
©
Copyright NETability, Inc. 1998 - 2008. All rights reserved.
Use without written permission is prohibited by international copyright law.


Hosted by: AVIA! high performance web hosting