Applying for a job while employed

c_man

I'm here to ask for a friend... ok, it's for me. I'm thinking of applying to a developer job I saw advertised this morning, but would rather my current work didn't find out about it. Or should I tell them? The position just looked very much along the lines of something I want and I'm thinking why not.

Anyone have experience with this? How should I go about things? Thanks.

looksee

Just apply for it, you don't need to say anything to your present employer till you have been /are in the process of being offered the new job. You could apply for any number of new jobs before you get anything, it will seem very odd (and not do you any good) if you keep saying you are hoping to leave, without somewhere to go.

The_B_Man

Ye I applied while in my last job. Flexi time allowed me to do some early morning interviews. So u could do that. Or simply get a day off or pull a Sicky. Even a half day will do.
You don't need to tell ur current place until u hand in ur notice.

Dave!

Yeah don't be tellin your current employer... And be aware that it sometimes raises eyebrows if you start conspicuously updating your LinkedIn profile all of a sudden!

It can sometimes be awkward to arrange interviews, but use your holidays if possible. The prospective new employer should be accommodating, knowing that you're currently employed.

If the new place provisionally offers you the job, then you can have "the talk" with the current place and tell them you've been offered a job that you're really keen on, etc., and ask can they give you a reference.

seamus

Never, ever tell your current employer that you're looking at another job until you have signed a contract for a new job. OK, there is one exception and that's when you're applying to move internally, then it looks very bad if you don't tell your current boss and may even lose you the new position.

You will hear stories of people who told their boss they were looking around and suddenly found themselves getting a 30% raise and a private corner office. But they're the exception, not the rule. In general it will result in a frosty environment and being sidelined/excluded from new projects because they expect you to jump ship at any moment.

Don't provide any references to anyone or hand in your notice until you have signed a contract. All contracts will say "subject to satisfactory references". Until you have a signed contract, you do not have a job, so by providing references or handing in your notice before signing the contract, you risk the new job falling through and leaving you possibly with no job at all.

c_man

Ok thanks guys. Feck it, I submitted a CV there.

This thread has been a source of inspiration :eek:

ThrowinShapes

I think the answer to this greatly depends on your relationship with your current employer.
For example, I'm lucky enough to work with a wonderful group of people, so I decided to tell my employer that I was looking to move on while making them aware I'm looking at other possible opportunities. This is in order to improve the transition for both them, and myself. They're very understanding about the whole thing since I'm being open about it.

By letting them know what's happening they can start looking for people to fill my position in advance. It eases the pressure of me having to meet certain deadlines, and them having to do without someone for a while with plenty of work that needs to be done.

I'm not saying keeping it quiet is being dishonest - it was just the situation I was in that made me comfortable sharing it with them.

All that aside, whatever you're going for, best of luck with it!

Colonel Panic

That would definitely be the exception rather than the rule. I think if someone is that important to a company, they should use longer notice periods.

Aswerty

Before leaving my last job I let them know I was looking to move. This was because they were planning to involve me in a project where they were going to have to make a commitment to a customer and I didn't believe I'd be around to finish said project. So I let them know what my situatation was. There was two options: do what I did or leave them in the lurch part ways through the project. I knew it was a risk but the aternative would not have sat well with me. It would have been different if I knew they could provision a resource for the project in a reasonable time frame but I knew that was not the case.

I suppose you need to make a judgement as to the level of personal risk versus the impact to the company when you're leaving. I know most of the time personal risk will trump the companies interests. But in some situations you can cater to them both pretty well.