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The Ethics of Job Hunting
How to Look for a Job While on the Job!
Life is easier when you learn to plow around the stumps!
—Anonymous
Dear Nan:
Ethically speaking, how do I look for a job while still on a job? I’m aware of increasing layoffs at my firm and am nervous I’ll be on the next hit list. I’m uncomfortable about lying to take time off for an interview and even more nervous about addressing the situation with a potential employer (after all, I have to identify my current employer). I certainly don’t want my boss to get wind that I am looking; I might be shown the door prematurely. How can I surreptitiously (and ethically) conduct this job search?
—Monie in Decatur, IL
My response: “One looks for a new job while on the current job like one makes love to a porcupine—very carefully!”
This dilemma is a sign of our times: job security is at the top of everyone’s anxiety list, and you may be semiactively looking for a new job for six months or longer, so this is not a trivial occurrence. Employees who are concerned about being laid off certainly don’t want to give their employer even the smallest excuse to accelerate the process. No matter what your current job’s shortcomings, you’re probably glad to have it and reluctant to let it go before you have the next job in hand. Today’s astute headhunters (myself included) are wisely advising their candidates: “Don’t quit your day job!”
There’s even a word for this new attitude: presenteeism, as in the opposite of absenteeism. ...
