“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Working hard in the executive position that you hold now has proven itself rewarding, right? There can be no doubt about that, but like many, you might feel that you have to move on, that it is the right time for a new challenge. If so, it can be extremely hard to walk that fine line between what to tell your current company or if they need to know anything at all.
Then when drafting resumes and queries, how do you approach the fact that you are still working, and if they want to contact your current place of business how can you move around this? It’s tricky, but executive job placements are made all the time with confidential searches.
Online engines can be difficult to work with. Coworkers and supervisors can easily see who you have been rubbing elbows with. The very tools that could prove the most useful could blow your job search into smithereens before it has even begun, according to Lauren Drell of Mashable.
Drell cited a survey created by The Ladders that found 76% of respondents saying it’s impossible to maintain your privacy while searching for jobs. There can be no doubt about it–executives of all levels are as hardwired into the social media network as the rest of the country.
Confidentiality is important to you when you are searching for a job, and especially when you are trying to keep the one you have at the same time. Remember that survey, 76% of respondents believe that you cannot keep an online job search private. But they would be wrong.
There are a lot of options that many job seekers overlook–perhaps the private browsing option on your computer or the privacy setting on your Facebook page. These options are viable and a way to cloak your search.
Okay, so we know that it can be tricky to perform these searches, but there is hope. Online social media communities are a large tool for executives who are looking for job placements. Linkedin provides a way to hook up with others in your field, likely those that you do not work with, and secretly begin to query.
However, remember to create a plan to activate the account by garnering more contacts on a daily basis. These habits if done daily or weekly will create a routine.
When networking via LinkedIn or even offline, you have to create a strategy for this routine. If you are loud or aggressive, it’s going to come back to you. In fact, your current company may become suspicious. They use the social networks, as well, so your loud actions will definitely peak their interest. Be careful.
Ask yourself what you want to do and where you want to work. In some cases, executives have written titles they wished to have or companies that they wanted to work with. It’s even helpful to create a potential advertisement, maybe one or two paragraphs listing the qualifications of the job that you might be placed in and what you need to do with it.
The next step in the process to a confidential search is to research. This is where you begin to assess the places where you are available to work.
Tips for Preparing a Confidential Search the Right Way
- Maintain a list of companies that you would like to work for
- Update your resume
- Place achievements with primary sources in a portfolio
- Garner references
- Include some samples of your writing or savvy skills
- Do not search while you are at work
- Try not to tweet or post what you are doing to others that might be in the loop
These tools will have your search moving smoothly in no time at all. Preparing for a job search should be approached like any professional research you would have done for your job. Finding the right fit is going to take an aggressive approach.
Confidentially searching for a job is best done under the radar with a steady stream of possibilities. You can research the company, give them your name and have yourself placed in the top pool before they even need to hire you. This way when they are ready for you, you will be ready to say “yes.”