Many of us must have heard that “the best salary increase is when you start to work”. Maybe that’s why more than half of job-seekers are actually those who are already working. I can get to this conclusion by considering my friends and the candidates coming to our company for an interview. Especially, with common use of social media and willingness to expand the network via such platforms as LinkedIn, the frequency in getting job offers from unexpected places has also increased. This social media era has its perks; however, it also has a disadvantage about confidentiality. It got more difficult for a candidate to hide his/her search for a new job while still working. So, would it be right to let the manager or colleagues know about the search for a new job?

The answer is up to your relationship with your manager and colleagues and also the general attitude within the institution. While some institutions see it very normal and some managers care about their employees’ career goals, others may have a suspicious approach like “he/she asked for a day-off to see the doctor but dressed up very nice, what if he/she is going to a job interview?” In this case, your manager might say “Hmm, since he/she is looking for a new job, then I should look for a new employee for this position” and you may ruin everything for yourself. So, if you get a call from a company you applied during your work hours, be careful while answering; some might get suspicious from your stress or your words during the phone call. Or if the dress code in your work requires casual clothes and you wear a suit that day, you may get the attention on you. On the other hand, if you say “then I will take my clothes with me, and later I can change them before leaving”, they may still think you will go to a job interview, not to take your kid from school as you said in the morning. While paying attention to these details, I will not even mention that you shouldn’t write such a post as “Yay, I was asked to have a second interview from Unilever!” on your Facebook page or you shouldn’t make an online application during the office hours 🙂

As for me, it is very normal for employees to be interested in different career opportunities. Besides, none of us dream about retiring from the first place we started to work for like our fathers did. Especially, the rate on job replacements increased in parallel with the involvement of Y generation seeking always the best into the business life. Along with these facts, there are many other reasons for a person to look for a new job, such as the fear that “is it time for me as well?”, a conclusion from the frequency of layoffs; the concern about weather you will get paid or not because of the financial rumors; not getting along well with the manager; distance to work; salary expectation; mobbing, etc.

Actually, when something annoys you at work, you should consider making some research about the “possibilities on the changes” and look for a position or department change within the organization or in-house promotion opportunities. If those changes are not possible for you and you’re certain that you will not be able to find what you are looking for in that organization, then I would recommend you to start your searches for a new job. Because sometimes some organizations may prefer to ignore their principles rather than to risk losing their experienced and successful employees.

So, if you requested any change and got rejected, then I think you can honestly say “I will look for another job”. This doesn’t necessarily mean you quit. Maybe you will be working there for another 5 months, for instance. But it is for sure that no one will be able to blame you for pulling a trick. Considering that the references you will get from the organizations you worked for a very long time will always be important for you, you wouldn’t want to leave your job by burning the bridges.