You have decided that the time has come to leave your current employer. The fit between you and the job and/or company is just not there or has deteriorated. There are a lot of reasons this could be the case, but sometimes, leaving your current position and company is the best option. When that happens, you need to embark on something that is a little different than a job search when you are out of work. Merely updating your resume and starting by getting active on Monster, Dice (if you’re in technology like I am), Career Builder or Indeed is not a good idea. You need to do something that will work better.
You need to do something that won’t broadcast your intentions, which using those job boards in such a fashion will do. And you need to do something that will be more effective, because this has to be done actively instead of passively. This is not a situation where you are okay with staying where you are, not unlike a situation where you are out of work. The status quo is not desirable, but the conditions are a little different.
Updating your resume is just the first step, and one of the least important, it turns out. It is necessary, and you often hear people talk about updating their resume when they are prepared to move on regardless of the context, but this will be less important than other steps.
Once your resume is ready, you must have or develop a list of target companies. These are companies you desire to work for, with any reason for that not being important. You may enjoy their product(s), you might like the technology their products are based on, you might have friends there, or any of many possible reasons. The important thing is to have a list of such companies, or to develop one if you don’t already have one.
For developing such a list, LinkedIn can help greatly, especially with their Jobs feature. Through this, you can set up a job search agent that will not broadcast your desire to move on but might turn up some companies within your desired commuting range that you did not know exist that are hiring in your space. Further research may lead you to want to work there and thus pursue a position as well as attempting to connect with someone there.
That is not all, though. Going through your connections might also lead you to a company you don’t originally think of. You might find that you have a connection at a company you know about and might be intrigued by, but don’t know if they might have much open or have not considered for any of a number of reasons. It may spur some investigation and lead somewhere, especially if you contact your connection about it.
The last time I was looking to leave my company, I had found a college classmate on LinkedIn not long beforehand. As I began to look at companies of interest once I decided to move on, I looked at his company and found an intriguing position among their openings. We had lunch one day, and to make a long story short, I got an interview and was ultimately offered the job (but declined, which is a story to get into at a later time). This is one more testament to the power of networking, and not just in the way it is often mentioned.
That brings us to the most important part of this, as you must use your network. This takes on two main forms: contacting selected people to let them know about this, and contacting people who can help you with target companies.
Early in this process, you want to put some feelers out about your intention to move on. Because you don’t want to let the entire world know about this, you should contact only a select few people about it. This would include your references, especially since this also allows you to alert them that they might be contacted, as well as any recruiters you trust, former managers and other well-connected people you think may be helpful. Let them know the situation, your desire to move on and your target companies. These should also be people you can trust not to leak this out should they happen to be connected to your current manager or someone further up the chain. As I will discuss in a later story, it would be very bad if news of this leaked to your current manager or anyone closely connected to them.
In preparing for interviews, you must be ready to answer the question of why you want to leave your present role. You are guaranteed to be asked this question; while opinions vary on whether or not it makes sense depending on whether or not you pursued a company or they are attempting to recruit you, the reality is that you will be asked. Your answer will vary depending on the situation, but an essential component of it is avoiding negativity. This not a time to throw your present employer under the bus, even if the situation is very bad. You might cite that the fit is not good, that the company does not appear to be doing well, or that you are simply seeking a new challenge, but do not go negative. Another way to stay positive is to cite something positive about your tenure – what you have learned or a person or two you have enjoyed working with.
Finally, when you have an offer in hand, this is not the time to tell the world, or even a few people other than those you have already been in touch with about this. That is not to be done until you have accepted an offer and the time has come to give your notice. Your manager should always be the first person to know so that they hear it from you, not someone else. Once you have informed your manager, then – and only then – it is safe to tell other people.
Attempting to leave your current position and company is not easy, and it requires some maneuvering and careful actions. But it is far from impossible, especially with help from your network. With a well-thought out process, doing so can become very manageable and have the best result possible: a new job and no leaks of what you are doing.