Looking for work while you're already working is hazardous business. While some employers might be obliging, others could respond to your perceived lack of loyalty with some kind of retaliation or even termination. Here are some things to remember if you'd prefer to keep your lunchtime job interview a secret from your current boss.
The prime directive of a covert job seeker is to never discuss your search with coworkers. Even if the friend you tell about your promising job interview is a close friend, it's still possible that news of your lunch interview will reach your boss through the office grapevine. If the job interview goes as planned, you'll still have plenty of time to talk it over with friends before making the switch.
If it's at all possible, try to schedule your job interview for the exact middle of your lunch break. If you take an hour for lunch, that gives you fifteen minutes to drive to the other company's office, thirty minutes for your interview, and another fifteen minutes for the drive back. If you take half an hour for lunch, consider switching to a full hour several weeks before you start accepting job interviews so that nothing seems out of the ordinary about your behavior.
Another important element to successfully interviewing during your lunch hour is to discipline your social media presence. Many employers monitor their employees' Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts for clues that morale might be low. If you update your resume or start joining work-search communities online, you're literally broadcasting your intentions. Assume that your boss notices every status update on your social media profiles, and that posting your hopes for a successful job hunt online is as good as sending a memo directly to your supervisor.
During the interview, do everything you can to make a good impression. Be sure to mention to the person conducting the interview that you prefer to keep your meeting discreet until a definite offer is on the table. Make sure to add that you intend to serve notice with your current job, if only because your next employer will be glad to hear that you intend to treat your present employer with respect on your way out. Finally, offer to put your interviewer in touch with your professional references, but only after a conditional offer has been made. Frame your request as a desire to break the news of your departure yourself rather than surprise your boss with a phone call from a stranger.
Keeping your job search discreet is difficult but not impossible. Remember that anything you tell coworkers or the Internet will almost certainly get back to your boss, and news of a lunchtime job interview is likely to be taken as a breach of loyalty. Looking for work is stressful enough; by playing your cards close to your chest, you can make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.
(Photo courtesy of stockimages / freedigitalphotos.net)
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