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Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

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Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#1

Post by SeekingAnOut »

The situation: I work at a small startup in a city that is not SF or NY. Though the company is small it is somewhat high profile in our city and our founder is well connected with devs, managers, and founders at many of the companies with open positions that I would consider applying for.

Some context: Our founder on two occasions has told me that he heard from people at other startups that an employee of his (a coworker of mine) had applied for a job there. In both cases the people making the call are well respected people in our community. Perhaps I was/am naive to think that that was inappropriate. Neither person got an offer from those companies and it made things very weird at work.

Why I'm thinking of leaving: I like my job a lot but frankly I'm pretty sure I can get a better offer somewhere else and I'd like to see if that's true. However, if I do apply to a few places and don't get offer I'd prefer to avoid any weirdness at work.

How do I go about dealing with this?

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#2

Post by henrixd »

Why would you have to hide it? You have contract with your employer and it is normal to sometimes look for better contract elsewhere. Sometimes employer might use unfair means to keep employees but is that the kind of workplace you want to work in?

I would be open about it and from it's reasons. Sometimes they might even make an counteroffer or change things to better. At least this is how it should work in adult world. But maybe I come from different culture, so what do I know.

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#3

Post by thret »

Apply for jobs in other cities, or alternatively just ask your founder? There's less weirdness if he knows where you stand. Also he seems to know a lot of people who are hiring, so if he can recommend you then that might make it easier to get a better offer.

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#5

Post by ScottBurson »

That is infuriating, isn't it, that these applications weren't kept in confidence? IANAL, but I wonder if your co-workers might not have grounds for lawsuits. It certainly has a chilling effect on your efforts to find something better.

How attached are you to living in this particular city? Because I don't see any likely way out except to apply for jobs elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#6

Post by tdicola »

henrixd wrote: post #2

Why would you have to hide it? You have contract with your employer and it is normal to sometimes look for better contract elsewhere. Sometimes employer might use unfair means to keep employees but is that the kind of workplace you want to work in? I would be open about it and from it's reasons. Sometimes they might even make an counteroffer or change things to better. At least this is how it should work in adult wor…

Not in the US--it's pretty rare for a full time employee to have some kind of contract that retains their employment. In fact in a lot of states employment is considered 'at will' and you can be let go at any time for any reason (or no reason!). The big exception is if you're a 'protected class' like certain races, above a certain age, etc. but that just means the employer has to prove they didn't fire you because of that protected class.

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#7

Post by yen223 »

ScottBurson wrote: post #5

That is infuriating, isn't it, that these applications weren't kept in confidence? IANAL, but I wonder if your co-workers might not have grounds for lawsuits. It certainly has a chilling effect on your efforts to find something better. How attached are you to living in this particular city? Because I don't see any likely way out except to apply for jobs elsewhere.

Whether it's a dick move aside, are there any laws protecting job applicant info?

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#8

Post by tdicola »

vishaldpatel wrote: post #4

As long as you're not applying for jobs during work hours, you should always say, "Yes! I'm always looking for a better job when I'm not at work! =)".

To which the founder will reply, "It's your lucky day! Now you have all the time in the world to look for a better job. Pack your things and get out, now."

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#9

Post by henrixd »

tdicola wrote: post #6
henrixd wrote: post #2

Why would you have to hide it? You have contract with your employer and it is normal to sometimes look for better contract elsewhere. Sometimes employer might use unfair means to keep employees but is that the kind of workplace you want to work in? I would be open about it and from it's reasons. Sometimes they might even make an counteroffer or change things to better. At least this is how it should work in adult wor…

Not in the US--it's pretty rare for a full time employee to have some kind of contract that retains their employment. In fact in a lot of states employment is considered 'at will' and you can be let go at any time for any reason (or no reason!). The big exception is if you're a 'protected class' like certain races, above a certain age, etc. but that just means the employer has to prove they didn't fire you because of…

That is kind of fucked up. Here (in EU) most of the problem would be hiding that you want to leave not that you are leaving. If I inform my employer that I am considering leaving he can get replacement in time and nobody can't be fired for expressing will to change jobs (or other stupid reasons). If my employer would act like a child after that, I just wouldn't care what he thinks and would keep seeking other jobs.

OK, I (kind of) get it. I admit that I'm childish and think that everybody plays with the rules. In reality it wouldn't go like this at all. But I'm one of those idiots who lives like everybody should, without caring how it just punishes me and not anyone else.

Re: Ask HN: How do I look for a job without my current employer finding out?

#10

Post by mallyvai »

If what you're saying is true, then it's a pretty gross breach of trust and privacy. I don't care how small a community is, there should be some minimum expectation of privacy around a transition, independent of the legality.

Drop me a line - mallyvai at offerletter.io - I guide a lot of other engineers on job-related stuff (i founded offerletter.io ) - we may be able to help here (and we're absolutely discreet about this stuff :-)

-V

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