Hunting in Secret

One of the things that bugs me most about applying for jobs is the lying. I'm not talking about the lies you might tell a prospective employer in order to get the job. I'm talking about having to lie to your current employer.

Of course not everyone has a current employer, and believe me I know first hand how badly that sucks. But at least you don't have to lie to anyone about what you're up to. You tell everyone you know that you're in the market for a job. You put on your best coat and tie and walk with head held high into whatever interviews you get invited to.

But if you're looking for a job at the same time you have a job, you better start thinking in terms of espionage. Maybe you can surf eBay or Slashdot or Yahoo Games during your breaks at the office, but you better not go anywhere near HotJobs or Monster.com. If you get an interview scheduled during business hours, you better practise your "I'm too sick to come to work today" voice, because you'll need a lie such as that to get the time off. Better to skip the whole day without notice than to request the afternoon off a week ahead of time... because the latter would expose your secret!

You can't ask co-workers for leads. And be careful whom else you confide in, because they might mention it to someone they know who knows your boss, and you'll suddenly find yourself in trouble. You'll be branded as "disloyal", your chances of promotion will likely deteriorate because they figure you're just going to jump ship soon, etc. I've even heard of people being disciplined or fired for job hunting (though I think that'd give you grounds for a wrongful termination suit if that happens).

Job references get particularly dodgy. You can't list anybody you currently work with, for all the above reasons. When the job application form asks if they have permission to contact your previous employers, you have to say "NO" for the current one. On the other hand, it's probably OK to say "YES" for the ones before that (assuming you didn't get fired) because they can't fire you. When I got laid off last year, people who were previously at the top of my "hide this from them at all costs" list were suddenly prime reference material.

It's all so incredibly petty and ridiculous. If I'm unhappy in my job I shouldn't have to hide that from my employer. And if I haven't hid it from my employer (and I think mine's smart enough to have picked up on that) why bother pretending? Why can't I just admit to my boss and coworkers that I'd prefer a job with better hours and more responsibility (which I'm not going to get here unless someone else quits)? It's nothing personal. It's professional. So why is it considered unprofessional to be open about it?