TheJobBored

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Reader Loraine from Alabama writes:

“I saw your advice to Mike from last week. My question is along similar lines, but from a different angle. I.E., I don’t want my boss to know anything!

I got a great job offer from a new company. I want to pursue it, but they insist on an all day meeting. How can I interview for this new job without my current boss finding out?”

Brian answers after the break:

Brian Sayz:

This is pretty simple: personal day.

The definition of a personal day is just that: a day for you to take off of work and address personal, private business.

The very idea of a personal day means you don’t have to give a reason. If anyone asks, say you’re meeting with your accountant or lawyer or something along those lines. If you say doctor, people will want to ask if there’s anything wrong. If you say accountant or lawyer, then it’s clearly personal business.

Anyway, personal day. Or sick day. Floating holiday. Unused vacation day, whatever.

If the new company wants to hire you that bad, consider asking if they’ll interview you after work hours. They might understand your situation.

And to sum up, make sure you’re following the rules of job searching while currently employed:

• Use personal email, not work email for correspondence.
• Give them your personal cell number, not your work number or work cell.
• Don’t take calls about this at work, even in a whisper. Step outside or take the call at lunch.
• Try not to send emails from work, even if using a personal email address.
• Don’t use office resources in your efforts. In other words, no copying or printing your resume on your current workplace machinery.

Observe all of the above and you should be able to keep the cat in the bag.