You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

Be Confidential

Stress to your search firm that they must keep everything confidential. Working with an agency like this can benefit you tremendously. By representing you, they can save you considerable time and worry. (Caution: Work only with a firm that is client paid and does not require you to pay any fee whatsoever.)

“I worked through an agency in my job search while on the job 15 years ago, and the entire process was much easier for me,” says L. Montanaro, CPS, from New Haven, Connecticut. Be sure to work only with a reputable search firm that respects the confidentiality of your circumstance. This is key: you don’t want your resume to be “shot-gunned” to all potential clients of the search firm. While reputable agencies would never do such a thing, there are charlatans who may.

Emphasize to any potential employers as well the classified nature of your job search. If you’re applying for a position on your own, always mark your application form and other correspondence as “confidential,” and reiterate this fact during every interview. Most human resource professionals appreciate and respect candidates’ confidentiality in a job search, but it is always best to have this conversation with them anyway.

It is equally vital to guard your reference information. Give potential employers and your search firm only the references that are safe to contact. Then, be sure those referenced individuals have a heads-up regarding the confidentiality of your search. Prospective employers will ...