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Ask Brian- How To Schedule An Interview When You Already Have A Job

December 19th, 2007 · 4 Comments

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If you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.

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.

Related posts:

  1. Ask Brian – Does an Employer Have the Right to Ask About Activities/Groups/Clubs?
  2. Ask Brian- How Do I Know If I Aced the Interview?
  3. Ask Brian- How Long Should I Wait Before Following Up After An Interview?
  4. Ask Brian – Can Bad Credit Keep You From Getting Hired?
  5. Ask Brian – How To Find A Job Overseas?
  6. Ask Brian- Advice For an Overqualified Job Candidate

Tags: Ask Brian · Career Change · Interviewing · Job Search

  • Robert J Chamberlain

    some excellent advice… thanks for sharing.

  • Kat

    Hi!

    I was interviewed for a position. First on the phone and then in person. After the second interview, I emailed the person who interviewed and thanked them for their time. I now received an email letting me know that I didn’t get the job. I have to admit I am annoyed. I didn’t send my resume in to this company, it was send in by a career counselor from my college. I was honest when they interviewed, when I said that the things that were on the job description weren’t things that I had done in any of my previous job, however, I did learn all of these things in college, and from looking at the list, I knew that with the right amount of training, I could learn them. I am annoyed, because I told them this on phone. I decided to be honest because I didn’t want to waste my time or theirs. She still insisted on seeing me in person. She agreed that the things on the job description weren’t “rocket science” (her words) and that I could learn them fairly easily, and she would love to interview me. So I agreed and came in. And now they send me an email letting me know that my “skills and experience are not a match for our current needs” The whole thing is just so frustrating and annoying. Anyways, my question is: should I write them back? What should I say? I feel like if I don’t write back, they will take it, like I am angry, which I am, but I don’t want them to think that. The way I see it, in the future, I might have to interview for them again. You never know.

    Any advise?

    Thanks!

    Kat

  • Paffoman

    I had a phone interview for a job the recruiter emailed me stating that the company wanted to schedule a live interview.  Not wanting to take a day off (due to not having any available time) I advised that I could interview on Friday as I have that day off.  I was notified to schedule an interview and communicated Friday was the best day.  I received an email telling me that two of the interviewers had a conflict on Friday.  I was told that they were trying to schedule a Friday interview but received an email that another candidate had been chosen.  I certainly believe this was unethical on their part but is it against the law?

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