In an ideal world, every job seeker could be open about the job search with colleagues, friends, family, and even employers. However, in reality you often won't want your employer to be aware of your job search—at least until you've secured your next position (offer letter signed off and accepted). This is generally known and respected in the business community and should not be held against you by the companies you apply to. You definitely need to consider possible hazards when you find yourself in such a situation. Below are 10 mistakes people make when conducting a confidential job search, for you to keep in mind:


1.Assume that, if the cubicles next to yours are vacant, it's safe to use a normal conversational tone on the phone for your job search discussions. Sound travels in strange ways, depending on the structure of the building, time of day, etc. Someone sitting two rows over from you might still be able to hear your conversation.

2.Confide in co-workers at your company about your plans, even if you have reason to believe those people are also "looking": People you think you know can become unreliable. Maybe you have known them for years and trust them implicitly. That doesn't necessarily mean you can depend on their discretion. Whether or not they mean to reveal your secret to the company, it can still happen through a slip of the tongue. Ask yourself whether having them know is worth the risk of exposure.

3.Ask for copies of your past performance evaluations without a solidly plausible excuse: If you have been receiving performance reviews, you should have kept a copy of them at the time they were given and stored them where you had easy access to them (at home, not at work). If you didn't do that, asking for them now can raise a red flag unless you can give a good reason, such as preparing for an upcoming review and wanting to go over past reports to refresh your memory.

4.Post your resume/CV on Internet job boards that are accessible to all companies, including your own: In most cases, job boards will not guarantee confidentiality, and there are few limitations on access except a company's willingness to pay a search fee, if there is one. You can try removing readily identifiable information from your resume before posting it and also use an innocuous email address, but that doesn't ensure ironclad protection.

5.Fail to emphasize to recipients of your resume/CV the fact that your search is highly confidential and your information must be protected: You might want to assume that intelligence and common sense rule the actions of recruiters, company HR staff, and others, but it's a dangerous assumption to make in a confidential job search. You need to tell those people in plain English—and in writing—that it is a confidential search and your current employer is not to be made aware of it.

6.Contact your company's customers and competitors without careful forethought and discretion: It may well be that your employer's customers and competitors are some of your prime targets for the job search, because your current experience and knowledge could be very useful to them. However, it's important that you exercise caution in selecting and approaching both the companies and the individuals you want to contact, especially if you work in an industry or market-area that's a close-knit community.

7.Fail to keep family members "in the loop" about what's going on and about the importance of maintaining secrecy in front of outsiders: Close family members have a right to know about something that's likely to affect their future as well as your own; but if they don't realize the sensitivity of the search, they may inadvertently reveal your activities to someone whom you definitely prefer to keep in ignorance—such as your employer!

8.Give your company phone number—landline or cell—as a contact point, even if it's a direct line used just by you: Company communications media (including voice mail) are risky tools in a confidential search, partly because they are not totally private and secure. Companies can and do access them if they feel they have a reason to. Your personal cell phone, if you have one, and/or your home phone number are much safer tools. Using company resources for your job search potentially also raises some ethical issues (this applies to points 9 and 10 as well).

9.Use company email to send and receive job-search communications and/or do Internet searches at work: The same argument applies about company access to these items as for the phone system. You can't protect them against scrutiny by the company, and even if you delete email messages, they can be retrieved in a variety of ways. As many people know by now, sites you visit via your company computer can also be tracked, and job-search sites would be a complete giveaway of your activities.

10.Store copies of your job-search materials on your office computer or anywhere at work in physical (hard-copy) form: It's a big mistake to have your confidential information even potentially discoverable at work, no matter how careful you think you're being about it. Overcautiousness on all fronts is a decided virtue in a confidential job search!


Keeping these 10 potential pitfalls in mind can help you ensure that your job search remains a positive, forward-moving experience for you and allows you to continue to give your best performance to your current company during your search.