Tips for Changing Jobs Whilst Already Employed

We have all been in a situation where you desperately want a career change, but do not want to let your current employer know. Plain and simple, everyone wants to grow and be the best that they can be career wise, whether it be to progress internally within your current company or to look elsewhere for a new exciting career path. This can sometimes add large amounts of stress to the already taxing job hunt, so to alleviate some of this, here are a few tips to consider and guide you along the way.

Ask yourself – Why do I want to change jobs? The very first thing you should do once you have decided that you would like to pursue another opportunity, is ask yourself what it is about your current job which isn’t satisfying you anymore. Is it the money? Is it progression or lack thereof? Is it the industry you’re in? Once you have narrowed down the reason, you should in the first instance give your current company a chance to retain you and provide what it is that you are missing (If they are in the position to do so) before applying for other roles. Discuss your thoughts with your manager or HR and find out what other opportunities within the company would be suitable.

Advise your prospective hiring manager/recruiter that you would like to keep the whole thing confidential. If it is decided that you would like to pursue opportunities outside your current company, you should only tell other people in your organisation out of necessity. Maintaining a level of confidentiality is best practice and make sure when you are providing the details of your referees, that they have been made aware of your current circumstances in the job market.

Stay focused on your role and avoid using work devices to search for new opportunities. When searching for a new role, it can become very easy to become distracted and unfocused from your current role and responsibilities. Another reason to keep things under wraps is to keep your work consistent and up to standard. Avoid thinking about the new opportunities at work, don’t answer emails about the prospective roles during working hours and please, whatever you do, don’t use the company computer to do your searches, it all can be monitored. You are being paid the same amount from the time you were content in your role to the time you had decided to look for new opportunities. Always leave your employment on good terms.

Resign ‘the right way’ and ensure you’re ready to leave your role at the time you submit your resignation . It can be very easy to end a role in an instant and never return, but, this will do more harm than good. Not only can this diminish future prospective opportunities, it can also create a negative reputation for you as an employee with future employers. Notice periods are in place for a reason, a big one is to ensure that your replacement can be hired to put as little stress as possible on the business, your colleagues and potentially even your customers. Ensure you resign correctly and prior to doing so, make sure you have ‘tidied up’ your work space. It can also be common for an employer to ask you to leave the role on the spot for several reasons such as being a conflict of interest if you are moving to a direct competitor. Do your homework surrounding the HR regulations, be prepared and leave on a positive note.

Do you have positive (or negative) resignation story you would like to share below in the comments? We would love to hear your thoughts!