Ask the expert: Handy tips for job hunters

Is it wise to tell your employer that you are on the lookout for a new job elsewhere? Dr MARIE WILSON, head of management and employment relations at the University of Auckland Business School and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business, offers some helpful ideas.

Q: Should I tell my current boss I am on the lookout for another job?

Given the size of the Auckland market, I wonder if he might find out anyway. Would I be better off telling him up-front and pre-empting any awkwardness?

A: You'll have to tell your boss at some point, given that any new employer will probably want to check your references, and your current boss would be a logical contact and potentially a very good referee.

Whether you tell him immediately depends in part on your relationship and why you are leaving.

If you have a good working relationship, then a discussion about why you want to look elsewhere might result in either his strong support or assistance with shortfalls in your current work situation.

If your relationship is not as strong and you feel that disclosing your search may jeopardise your current status, then you might choose not to tell him initially, and conduct your job search in a very targeted fashion.

You may indicate on your CV that references are available on request, but that no referees should be contacted unless you are a finalist in the search.

Q: The HR department of our company has started asking people leaving to do exit interviews, which they have described as a tool basically to make things better.

Is there any compulsion to do these sort of interviews?

What should my attitude to them be?


A: Exit interviews are good HR practice, but they can be intimidating if you are leaving because you don't like things, but you still want a good reference.

The basic idea is pretty simple - to provide an opportunity for people to explain why they are leaving so the company can try to fix that before it affects other people as well.

Usually they are conducted by the HR department to provide confidentiality and preserve relationships with references.

It depends on your company policy and employment contract as to whether they could be seen as compulsory.

If not, and you feel unsafe or uncomfortable discussing why you are leaving, you might arrange to have an interview with HR a few months after you have gone and when you are settled and stable in your new employment.

Your reasons for making the change are usually clearer and easier to communicate after you have moved on.