Career advice needed. Starting a job hunt under the radar

[2rocky]

After being with a company for 22 years, I'm beginning to think the succession plan that was promised verbally, is in danger of not being fulfilled. I'm contemplating my options and trying to determine how to go about developing a plan B in case the bumpy road has a washout so to speak.


I know a headhunter that specializes in my industry. He is a local and a customer of my company. I'm pretty sure he can be trusted. I don't want to appear to be a tire kicker on jobs, but....That's what I want to do.

How do you do a job search while working a full time job? How do you let other people in your industry know you "might be looking" but ensure that nobody shoots off their mouth.

And also how do you use the potential of being "stolen away" as an incentive to your current employer sweeten the deal without appearing to be unappreciative?

 

[schmalts]

You need to be honest about how valuable you are to your current company. If you are hard to replace then I would be less sneaky and a smart employer will match or beat any outside offers. If you are a dime a dozen keep as quite as possible. IMO it is different for every situation. Last year before the whole virus thing it was the perfect time to get a different job or change careers.

 

[Lyfter1013]

I don’t want to give too much advice because I don’t know your industry, what you do, the type of employer you work for or your history with your company etc.. the one thing I will say being in management and seeing this play out different ways; if you are serious about looking I would keep that away from your employer until you have a firm offer that you would actually leave the company for. Gossip will always spread in the workplace and can cause employers to cut ties with an employee and not make a counter offer.. for example my company will look at the situation and how it is handled even if you are a good employee they would normally keep if rumors are spreading that you are looking we generally will Not make a counter offer because of the precedent it sets and others will try the same thing. This may not be true for your company but just something to consider.

As far as trusting the headhunter I generally wouldn’t trust him, I would instead keep An eye out on places like indeed or looking at other company websites in the area,

If you don’t mind asking what industry do you work in?

 

[2rocky]

Animal Feed and Nutrition. sales and management

 

[schmalts]

. for example my company will look at the situation and how it is handled even if you are a good employee they would normally keep if rumors are spreading that you are looking we generally will Not make a counter offer because of the precedent it sets and others will try the same thing.

You said "good" what about valuable? Very different things. "good" is someone who shows up everyday and does a fair amount of work. Valuable is someone who is hard to replace or a higher producer than others in the same position. Not everyone is plug and play and can be replaced at a drop of a hat. IMO smart managers need to make sure valuable employees are not out looking in the first place.

 

[Nutrioso]

My view is the last thing you want to do in a close industry is burn your reputation by appearing to be sneaky or leveraging one offer to sweeten your current deal. My approach would be to have an honest conversation with your current employer. Explain your concerns and either get a commitment or a line of BS. If the latter, then you can look around with your head held high. If your current employer fires you for that, you are better off not being there anyway.

I don’t know anything about your industry but in some hiring a headhunter is not helpful.

Good luck.

 

[Treeshark]

Not sure if you have a LinkedIn profile or not, but if you don’t have one it’s something you may want to look in to. It’s probably the most discrete way of putting feelers out/getting contacted for positions nowadays.

 

[SAJ-99]

Never accept a counteroffer. If you decide to leave then leave. You ruin the relationship by having one foot out the door only to stay for more money/promo. Figure out what you want in a job and have an honest talk with your current employer.

 

[Lyfter1013]

You said "good" what about valuable? Very different things. "good" is someone who shows up everyday and does a fair amount of work. Valuable is someone who is hard to replace or a higher producer than others in the same position. Not everyone is plug and play and can be replaced at a drop of a hat. IMO smart managers need to make sure valuable employees are not out looking in the first place.

You’re correct “good” probably wasn’t the best word to use “valuable” is a more accurate word to describe someone you generally would want to keep in your organization. And you are right a smart manager should make sure that their employees are satisfied with their job and not looking in the first place. They should also be able to see the warning signs of someone who is not satisfied and take care of it before it gets to that point, when it’s possible, or within reason.

 

[Lyfter1013]

Never accept a counteroffer. If you decide to leave then leave. You ruin the relationship by having one foot out the door only to stay for more money/promo. Figure out what you want in a job and have an honest talk with your current employer.

Just curious why you believe this? Not saying you’re wrong I’ve heard others say this but never heard a good reason why? I could see this with smaller companies to an extent but why do you believe it will
Ruin a relationship? If the company is willing to pay more to keep you or give you what you are requesting why would it ruin the relationship? If the relationship is that far gone I don’t see the company making the counteroffer in the first place?

 

[Fj605]

I agree that you shouldn't accept a counteroffer, generally. There are a few life changing type exceptions. I might (not likely) use the counteroffer to counter the other offer I received but if I went looking for a job at a different company, then there was a reason. If you're unhappy, a few extra bucks won't fix that. It sounds like you're waiting for upward movement and the fastest way for that to happen is to go to another company.

As far as ruining relationships at larger companies, it's possible a supervisor will remember what happened and you'll be at the top of their list if there are layoffs.

 

[Werty]

Best piece of advice I have ever read, " If you 2/3 positive of something do it, because if your 100%, you have wasted too much time!"

 

[rjthehunter]

I was in a similar situation just 8 months ago. I'm in the construction industry. I was working as a project manager for a subcontractor. Getting paid decent, but I knew I should've been making more.

I went a different route than you're going, I told my company I had an interview. I worked pretty close to the owner and I let him know. He wasn't happy to hear it, but it definately got his attention and made him think about me a lot.

I threw an application out to a general contractor in undoubtly the best place to live in the area for a sportsmen. I got a phone call for an interview and I went into it with the mindset that it doesn't matter if I get an offer or not, I'll take it back to the current company and go for a raise. Interview happened and they liked me a lot and thought I'd be a good fit. So a couple weeks later they called me again and wanted me to come back again and meet some more people... Well I get there, met the other people, the pm I'd be working with, and they offered me a salary that's over double what I was making. Having a year and a half experience as a pm by the time I graduated is pretty desirable. Long story short I took the job and kissed the chitty Fargo area goodbye haha.

Negotiate your salary, if they make you an offer, throw them a counter offer. If you're good at what you do and are a valuable asset to the company then let it be known. Too often companies will promise raises or bonuses and not uphold it. In your case the succession plan. I feel bad for you having been there 22 years then have a wrench thrown in the plan. 22 years is a long time and a lot of experience. I can't speak for your industry but most employers in my line of work pay seriously good money for someone with that kind of experience. Especially in management.

Do you know any of your competitors? We communicate with our quite a bit and have good relationships with them. Many times at my old job someone would jump ship to the competitor for more money. Call one of your competitors and ask for a friend, that's an easy way to keep your name out of their mouths and away from your boss.

When you apply elsewhere and get an interview, make sure to throw in wanting a long term career, interviewers love that!

 

[Pucky Freak]

I try to treat my boss the way I’d like to be treated. I’ve been the boss before and have dealt with loads of dishonest, sneaky, scheming behavior and it’s infuriating. I’m not insinuating that is what you are considering - I’m contrasting it with how I preferred to be approached as the boss.

A succession plan that’s a verbal agreement would make me uneasy. I don’t care if it’s a father to son, there can be a lot more specificity to have it planned out in writing, and reviewed by an attorney. This is an advantage to all parties. I’d suggest approaching the owner and sharing what makes you uneasy, and request that you both begin the process of formalizing the succession plan.

If this goes well, maybe you get what you are looking for in your career and you stay.

If you get the runaround, consider sharing your career goals and ask to have a conversation about ways you can work towards those goals. A good boss will retain good talent by collaborating with subordinates to advance the subordinates’ career goals within the company if it’s doable. And if it’s not doable, the limitations of staying are frankly stated and the employee is encouraged to move on when the time is right.

There are ways to discreetly feel out job opportunities elsewhere while keeping up appearances, but that’s just not a style I prefer. Some industries it’s probably the norm.

Re: leveraging a job offer. I see nothing wrong with that. You can be appreciative of your current employment and be an advocate of your value simultaneously. Wait until you have a standing offer elsewhere and then make a request with your current employer. An offer is a basically one appraisal of your work value. If your current employer agrees with that appraisal, they’ll have no issue giving you a bigger slice of the pie, no resentment. “Hey, I might be getting a gig elsewhere” likely won’t compel your boss to pony up. If anything, highlight your own value instead by describing your concrete contributions to the bottom line as a form of self-appraisal that maybe he/she will bite on.

I had a company I previously worked for reach out to me once as they had someone abruptly quit and they were desperate to plug the gap ASAP for 2 months. It involved relocating and I didn’t need/want the job nearly as bad as they needed me. I had them over a barrel and we both knew it. I made some pretty wild requests on terms, and they squirmed, but in the end they agreed to everything. Looking back though I realize that the value I provided was at least equitable to my compensation, and it was a win-win.

 

[fmnjr]

OP: Not to be flip about things, but if you know you're being underpaid and sense the footing is slippery, then screw it. Vote with your feet. In my experience, it was never worth my while to try and make a less than satisfactory situation work out. Just about every time I've made a move due to poor work conditions, it has paid off to drag up.

 

[SAJ-99]

Just curious why you believe this? Not saying you’re wrong I’ve heard others say this but never heard a good reason why? I could see this with smaller companies to an extent but why do you believe it will
Ruin a relationship? If the company is willing to pay more to keep you or give you what you are requesting why would it ruin the relationship? If the relationship is that far gone I don’t see the company making the counteroffer in the first place?

A person has to know why they like or dislike a job before anything. If you are making less than market wage, you might be able to get a counter and it would be ok to accept. However, jobs are rarely about money. The OP mentioned a succession plan not being delivered, so maybe he wants to be in mgmt or just lead projects. Autonomy in a job is typically what is most fulfilling and worth a lot in terms of $s. So figure out why you want to leave a job before looking.

Regarding accepting the counter. think of this in terms of a relationship (because it is). If a girlfriend you have dated for years says “you have to take me on a 3-wk trip to Mexico, or we are done and I will go with ‘Bob’ who I met a month ago and have gone to lunch with twice.” I think that relationship is in trouble. Taking her to Mexico ain’t going to fix the problem.

 

[Lrhxr9]

If someone holds it against you for trying to better yourself, let alone provide better opportunities for your family, then they werent worth working for anyways. I worked for a small contractor out of college. We did anything with pipe. Septic systems. And dirt work. But i got a job offer from a large energy supplier. Paid over twice as good and had awesome benefits. My employer, who i was and still am, great friends with knew that he couldnt match the pay/benes. We still talk and i still borrow his equipment when i have a project at home. Sometimes good things happen on both ends when you leave. That said, all situations are different.

 

[Lrhxr9]

And both companies i have left made counter offers to keep me. But financially they couldnt offer what the new opportunities were going to pay. I can see that both ways. If you counter offered you liked my work ethic/productivity. But on the other hand, if you thought i shouldve been paid more why didnt you do so? It shouldnt have to get to the point of someone walking out the door to be paid what their worth imo. But apparently that day and age in this world is long gone. Partners are for dancing and nice guys finish last. Take care of your family and yourself first.

 

[Mallardsx2]

In today's world you need to look out for yourself. Don't let guilt keep you from making a better life for your family.

One thing I should mention is to put in your two weeks but plan on being let go that same day. Most employers will just cut you loose immediately.

Staying after telling your current employer that you have been looking for another job will make the ret of your days at that company a complete egshell experience. Just take the other job and move on. The trust is broken when you start trying to match offers....

 

[HighDesertSage]

LinkedIn is your friend