I remember reading an article a while back that was talking about how to successfully find and interview for a job without alerting your current coworkers and, obviously and most importantly, your boss. While many “tips” in these article seem obvious, I wonder if those in the WSO community can share some success stories as well as some failures to illustrate for all of us some “best practices” both to pursue and those to avoid.
This is something that comes up fairly often in sidebar conversations with a lot of people in my network. Everyone seems to have the same reaction of, “I’m happy where I am but am always keeping an eye out for a better situation.” And why not right? Or is this a curse of always seeing greener grass?
I’ll illustrate with one particular story of a guy I know that has moved from investment banking at a BB to a PE fund. Since then, they have moved from that PE fund to corporate development, and now onto a strategy team at another corporate firm. They have been looking for opportunities to get back into PE for some time now but are cursed with a dreaded “job hopper” stigma on their resume since they’ve held three different positions at different companies over the past four years. So what are you supposed to do? Have they been out of the game too long? What would you do in this situation?
I’m also sure that many people are on the email chains when firms are hiring. Is it always a best practice to go directly to a contact at that firm if you have one or go through the normal channels just like everyone else? My hunch is to clearly leverage any direct contact you have but at the same time, that person might not want to deal with it. That’s just my opinion though. I’ve received some unsolicited inquiries on jobs at my firm and tend to simply forward along to whoever is handling the recruiting process since I don’t feel like dealing with it. Another option might be to reference a meeting with that person in your cover letter to draw some attention to pre-existing relationships.
Some will obviously say to tap into the network but how can you effectively do this without whoring yourself for any lead on a potential opportunity that you hear about? Is it safe to apply for job postings on LinkedIn without alerting some people? Do you contact headhunters?
To be frank, I don’t have an answer to this dilemma but I thought the story and situation many people may currently be involved at the moment would spark some good conversation that could lead to many finding some really great transitional career changes.
I’ll add a side note that sometimes it might be viewed in bad form to really access your network because it could look poorly on your current job and therefore devalue your chances of finding and successfully landing the potential position. Are there any stories from the masses to share both on the successful and unsuccessful side? I’m assuming many here would really appreciate what you’re willing to share.
Key things:
I think that most recruiters/HR people know that if you currently have a job, to make the process very discrete and also to allow for flexibility. But this also depends in which industry you work. If its a small knit community/specialized area, and everyone knows everyone, it may be difficult to execute the process without being detected.
Good luck.
Great points - SB for you
Great advice. Wish i had a SB
interested
I actually recently went through this (from RE to IB) and it was not too bad a process to manage. You and , idragmazda, make some salient points.
It's safe to assume that they are monitoring your work computer. But I was doing something job search related 60% of the time I was on my work computer. But I still wouldn't recommend it. Yes contact head hunters, and it is safe to reply to them on linkedIn. It's in the head hunters best interest to keep everything confidential.
Leverage any contact you can when applying a job. It has incredible weight if that person is respected at that firm. The hard part is getting that person to go out of his way to put that resume in the correct channels and not just forwarding it to HR. Of course, this will only get you into the interview but that's half The battle. Also, The key is also not to look like you're being fake or desperate.
Keep networking to learn and understand the industry you're in (or not in). Opportunities will open if positive impressions are made and you will also learn more about which career path you want to take.
Great posts so far. Anyone have stories about being busted searching at work? I remember an older guy at my firm a few years back left his laptop unlocked with his résumé up and of course the MD walked by and saw. Suffice it to say, he was managed out about 3-4 months later. Not sure if he was ever called out on it but everyone knew why he left.
An exception (possibly, depending on your firm / group) is during your analyst stint at an IB. I consistently job searched, sent / received recruiting emails, updated resume, etc at work my first year. People in my group were fairly supportive. Just BE SURE to:
I don't know why someone through sh.t at you. That second advise is absolutely key. DO NOT let it affect your work! As sometimes you won't get the job you were hoping for, and if your work has suffered in the meantime you are going to have to play catch up... Taking days off as well, you are taking on your holiday, make sure you schedule your interviews AFTER work. The whole sick day thing I would not do, you can get caught on that and it's not worth it. Just meet after work, the people you are interviewing with will respect you more for prioritising your current job... Don't go in conf room and speak on your cell phone a lot, that's a given (although I used to do that a lot :)
If you are good head hunters will call you, don't need to reach out. You are desperate when you are reaching out to HH. Maybe your network if you are that desperate. HHs will find you if there is a job for you..
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