What To Do When Your Boss Catches You Job Searching
Source: About Careers
Your boss just discovered that you’re interviewing for a new job or are making applications to different jobs. What do you do then? How you react to being caught will depend solely on the situation.
The first thing you need to understand is, it’s time for damage control and you’ll need to act quickly. Start by assessing the situation, were you caught on the phone talking to your employer, were you interviewing on Skype, or was it an email inviting you to a job interview?
What you do next will depend on what you were doing exactly at the time of being caught, and how much your boss has discovered or seen.
What To Do If The Boss Catches You Job Searching
This will depend on various situations.
1.You weren’t actively seeking employment, but have been invited to an interview
Tell your boss that you love your job, you want to stay, and you were simply interested in hearing what the company had to say.
Make it very clear that you don’t have plans to leave in the near future, if, in fact, that’s the case.
2.You were considering a Job Change
Were you considering a job change? If so, explain to your supervisor that your standard operating procedure for career management is to do continual assessment of your short and long-term career goals.
If you present your participation in an interview as a chance to learn more about your marketability and competitiveness in the job marketplace rather than a rejection of your current job, your boss may (hopefully) take it less personally.
3.You hate your job and really want to move
Do you hate your job and can’t wait to find a new one? Then maybe getting caught isn’t such a bad thing. This might be a good opportunity to review the issues you have and perhaps even resolve them.
At the very least, it will clear the air and get the problems on the table. Your boss could then change the situation for the better and you just might decide to stay.
Your boss catching you job searching could have different results, it will be helpful if you have an explanation ready.
