Ask the expert: Quest for another job can be a hard secret to keep

How can you keep secret from your present employer the fact that you are job-seeking? DR MARIE WILSON, head of management and employment relations at the University of Auckland Business School, who has 20 years' experience in corporate management and small business, answers this and other questions.

Q: I am thinking of applying for a transfer within my company, a large New Zealand firm, but I am worried that if I send a CV out, the word will get around and life might get uncomfortable here. I don't have the sort of general manager who encourages discussion of new opportunities. Is there a way I can ensure that only the specified sets of eyes see my CV? Is there a way I can stop any gossip from getting around?


A: You might be able to stop a CV being circulated, but stopping gossip is much more difficult. To stop your CV being circulated, don't use it initially.

You'll have better results contacting managers who are hiring in other areas, but providing only a brief summary of your experience and skills. Your CV should be sent only when you have already discussed an opportunity, and have some assurance of your fit. Ask for the return of your CV after you have been considered.

To minimise rumours, keep your desire for confidentiality positive. Don't portray your current job or manager negatively as this is much more interesting as a potential topic of gossip.

To maintain confidentiality, you might want to indicate that you don't want your current manager contacted as a referee except as a last check before an offer is made, and then with your permission.

You can provide other referees who know your current and past work and copies of your performance reviews in the meantime. I would also suggest that you gently introduce the topic of career development to your boss.

Q: I went into the new Borders bookshop recently and was overwhelmed by the staggering range of books on leadership, management and the like. It was actually a bit depressing, wondering how to work out which were worth looking at. What books would you recommend for someone who is aiming for a career rather than a job?


A: If your career is in management, New Zealand research suggests you'll need to develop technical skills and abilities as well as external big picture awareness, and reflection and learning from experiences.

To develop greater awareness of business trends, books by Charles Handy, Peter Naisbitt or Peter Drucker are excellent reading. Farther afield, Rifkin's End of Work or Gleick's Faster are eye-openers.

This general reading can be combined with your industry press and readings on technology. You may want to get referrals (and loans) from colleagues or check library collections as well as bookshops.

Reflection and learning from experience can be applied to your reading. Give yourself time to think about what you have read and how they may help you to solve or rethink issues at work.

Want to know how to make hiring easier? Dr Marie Wilson, head of management and employment relations at University of Auckland Business School, answers your questions.

E-mail questions to our Career Editor, Julie Middleton.