Employers are more interested in employed job candidates than unemployed ones. During this Pandemic specifically, prospective employers are looking for candidates who have been flexible enough to respond to changing situations & not thinking of switching just because they have been able to accommodate the changing logistic needs of the employers.
If someone is unemployed or laid-off, prospective employers take it in a negative sense & assume there is some reason why you are out of work & that the reason is not good. Although, this is not a good practice & it is in the best interest of the employer to phone up the candidate & understand the reason for being unemployed.
Since successful job search can take months, it is in the best interest of a job seeker to adopt a stealth job search strategy until you have a strong & active LinkedIn presence & scarce but high in demand skills.
If you are currently employed, the smartest strategy is confidential or stealth job search. It can help you protect your job & income. Employers tend to view a job seeking employee as “disloyal”, not focussed on their jobs & threat to company sectors even in today’s advanced age .Therefore maintaining a low profile for job search is smartest thing to do even if makes the job search tricker.
Conducting a “stealth” job search may feel dishonest. However quitting a job before having another one makes job search much more difficult. The following paragraphs discusses how stealth job search can help you protect your job & identity.
- Do not do your job search at work: You do not have guarantee of privacy even during lunch interval while you are at work. What you say or write can be easily heard by co-worker
- Do not use any of an employer’s assets for job search: Do not use a laptop, email system or work phone since it can be easily tracked by the employer. In addition, when you are at work, do you use employer’s Wi-Fi for sending your resumes or applying for jobs using your smartphones or tablets. Wi-Fi usage is often monitored for security reasons & can uncover your job search. This is even applicable during Pandemic when you are working from home since your employer may monitor your company email or internet surfing habits on company’s laptop & the voicemail messages left for you on your work phone number
- Keep a low electronic profile for your job search: You should not announce your job search on facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, your blog, reddit, Quora & Gifthub. Stay visible when you are usually active but do not announce you are looking for a job( when you are employed). Do not hire a resume distribution service to distribute your resume to dozens or email it to thousands of recruiters & headhunters. It could easily landup in wrong hands & become visible to someone in your current organisation. A focus on networking which can be viewed positive by your employer is the best shot
- Tactfully raise your personal visibility: Build social profile of your expertise & personality. Create a strong & complete LinkedIn profile. Join local & professional business organisations/associations, be an active member & represent yourself & your employer. The following is important to note for LinkedIn visibility:
- Be very cautious of sharing shared career interest since LinkedIn does not make sure that your employer would be blocked from knowing you have signed up.
- Be open about where you work & describe in a way which does not disclose any confidential information about your current employer.
- Brag about your employer & their products & services so that employer may look at your LinkedIn profile as helpful for marketing.
- Share updates once or twice a week building up to once or twice a day over several weeks to further augment your credibility & personal visibility
Having a good network of people who know you is the best bet you can have for a successful job search after having lost your job. This is specifically true during Pandemic since 80% of jobs are getting filled through referrals & networking.
- Let google track opportunities for you: Develop a list of potential employers where you want to work & sign up for free google alerts for jobs posted on organisation’s website. You can have google send the job alerts on your personal email address.
- Use a non-work phone number on your resume: Do not ever mention your work phone or mobile number on your resume. Be cautious about using your personal phone if you use it regularly for your job. Your employer may be able to monitor your contacts as well as calls on your phone. Use a different phone for job search. The best solution would be google voice number. This is free from google & you can make this number public on your resume & social media. Then, google will forward it to whatever phone number you choose.
- Do not schedule your job interview during work hours:Taking time for an interview when your employer expects you to work is not a good idea. It is always better to schedule your interview on a personal day or after work hours. However, if the potential employer objects, it is ok to ask them how they would feel if you were currently working for them.
A stealth job is necessary to maintain your current income stream. Do not let anyone at your current job know that you are looking out even if he/she is your best pal. You should maintain a balance between your current job & your prospective job search.
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