What to Do When Your Boss Catches You Job Searching

It is possible you may be caught searching for a job while you are at your workplace, utilizing freely the office accessibility to the internet. It is natural for you to keep yourself fully updated and informed about the latest happenings on the job front as a part of your organized approach towards building a successful career. You may also be keeping yourself updated about the job market by going through classified ads in newspapers. All these activities are potential trouble-makers when your boss finds out about these activities. Despite your best efforts, you will still be caught doing job search.

Receiving emails to your office email address, frequent calls for you from outside, frequent skipping of sharing the lunch-hour with your colleagues, your dress code and demeanor, your lagging behind in office work, your frequent restlessness, and your unusual and frequent requests for sudden leave of absence are all definite pointers about your serious job search. Moreover, your colleagues are the first people to suspect your behavior and they often spy on you to know what you are up to. And it is only a matter of time before top management knows about it. And the day will come when you are called to give explanations or answers to your activity in the office. So, you should be prepared to successfully wriggle out of the situation without much adverse impact.

1. Deny Everything
   At the outset, deny everything flatly. That is your first defense. Try and convince your boss that it is all figment of imagination and you will never have to do such things at all. There is simply no necessity for you to do such things. When you are happy with the job, why would you do such things?
    
2. Deflect Suspicion
   If you are confronted with some tangible evidence about your stealth activity at the office, simply tell the boss that it is your favorite pastime to go through job listings and job ad sites whenever you get some free time. You are only continuing your past compulsive habit, nothing else. It is simple curiosity that drives you to know such things. You do it because you are interested in knowing the latest trends in technology and business and how the job market reacts to these things.
    
3. Suspend Your Job Search
   You should completely suspend your job search activity from the office premises. You cannot take any further chances. Stick to the office work and do nothing else. Use your home for job search and never let any outside communication reach you at the office. Arrange all job search related activity on your days off. You shouldn't be revealing about your new job activity to any colleagues, unless they are very friendly and sympathetic to you.
    
4. Tell the Boss
   When finally everything about the new job is set, then you should take time to personally talk to your boss. There, you should explain to your boss the compulsions for taking up the new job and request for understanding. Tell the boss how you valued his or her guidance and training. You should also assure your boss to complete the existing work and train some colleagues in the work procedure.
   
   Sometimes, frequent change of jobs is inevitable for career growth and when the boss and colleagues at the office happen to be nice people, it becomes all the more important that you do not create ill-will while leaving the office. It should be your endeavor to see that when you leave the existing office, you will only leave the work behind, but you carry friendships along with you.