JohnGSelf + Partners, Inc.

1. If the only copy of your most up to date resume is on your work computer, and you no longer have access to it because you have been sacked, well, it is hard to feel sorry for you.
   If you are using your office email (and telephone) for a confidential job search, I am betting that there is a better than good chance that the most up to date copy of your resume is stored on your work computer.Here is the point:  The job searching game, like computer technology, has changed exponentially, and the courts have ruled employees have no expectation of privacy regarding what they have stored on a company computer or how they use the company’s internet connection.

   In many industries, the war for talent is heating up, and corporations are taking steps to protect their investments – their star employees.  Corporations are installing scanning programs looking to protect themselves from poachers, and in this case, recruiters of every stripe.

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2. LinkedIn has become an extremely valuable professional networking and career management tool but there are two sides to this very sharp sword.   It is also a website where recruiters stumble over one another trying to steal top talent from their competitors, across town, or across continents.  If you have had an anemic profile – no picture and very little information on your career or professional accomplishments – and all of a sudden you move from a non-existent LinkedIn profile to a mover and a shaker, you can bet someone from your company will take notice.  Have a plan, and create a digital career branding strategy that develops your reputation as a thought leader, not someone who is clearly on the prowl for a new gig.  Recruiters from search firms, or from your competitors, will focus on the thought leaders.  Recruiters from your company will be telling people you are a “runner” – someone who is looking for a better career deal – if you do not handle your LinkedIn profile with some finesse.
3. Pick your references wisely, and manage them carefully.  Most recruiters are tightening down on what they will take as an acceptable reference.  In the first round, prior to presentation to the client or a visit with the hiring authority (for internal recruiters) they will want a superior (probably a former boss who has had recent experience with you), a peer and a subordinate.   If you select someone from your current place of employment and no one else knows you are looking, establish some ground rules so that this reference is not inadvertently placed in a bad position if he or she is caught up in some form of email screening tool.  The good recruiters are going to tie very specific questions regarding the position’s performance criteria.  They will question your references about your quantifiable accomplishments.  Brief your references on what to expect.  More than a few candidates lose out because their references were not on point, or the referees had not had recent work experience with the candidate.

© 2021 John Gregory Self