Job interview question

I know this already has been written, but I really think it depends on your situation.

I'm going through this exact process right now, so it's interesting to read everyone's take.

Because I work at a weekly and previously expressed my desire to move up to a daily at some point, I've had no problem telling my ME when I've interviewed for other jobs.

I include him as a reference, and in my experience, potential employers have asked me if it is OK that they contact my current boss before they do so.

When I tell my ME I've interviewed somewhere and he might be getting a call as a reference, I can tell he is a little worried because he doesn't want me to go. But I know he appreciates my honesty and knows I have aspirations to do more in my journalism career than work at a weekly. I also think he likes a little heads up before people call so he isn't caught off guard.

I know my situation is different than others because it's a weekly, but I just thought I'd offer my experiences. I don't think there's a definite right or wrong on this one, every situation is going to be different.

 

See, it's partly for their own well-being that I didn't tell my bosses that I was looking for a job, especially if I like them. If there was something that they can do to change my mind about looking around (a raise, promotion, etc.), there were better ways to go about asking for those things than with a threat to leave (not a "threat" in a negative sense, but just floating the possibility of leaving). And if there's nothing they can do to change my mind about pursuing a new job, then what's the boss to do? Wait in limbo while I decide? Start looking for my replacement even though all that work would be for naught if I decide to stay? Find a replacement and show me the door, thus betraying the trust of someone who thought enough of them to clue them in? And if I do decide to stay, how does it affect the future working relationship when they know that I am or might be looking to leave at any time? And even if you have a good relationship with the boss, telling them puts them in a position where they have to support you to "do what's best for yourself" even though they'd really prefer if you stayed. And if their superiors don't like people leaving, then you put them in a situation where they need to keep your little secret. To me, it just creates an awkward situation, and since they don't NEED to know, why tell them and potentially put them in that situation? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. The only good thing it'd do to tell them before getting an offer is so they can get a head start on finding a replacement, and you can help offset some of that by staying longer than 2 weeks, which is what I always try to do. But as others have said, you just have to decide for yourself and there's no firm rule.

 

Every job has its special circumstances, relationships, sense of loyalty, etc. That said, management plans a lot of things that affect me, and they don't tell me until it becomes reality. Hell, I've found out after the fact that the paper was nearly sold twice in the last decade. Nobody gave me a heads-up.

I feel no sense of obligation to let management know what might happen. If I get an offer, I tell them.

 

Having your current boss as a reference strikes me as odd and limiting. As I've lucked into a couple of gigs in the majors, I never would have dreamed of telling my supervisor about the interviewing as it occurred. It's not because the relationships were bad; it's because that's a line I don't think needs to be crossed. Employer needs a reference from your current spot? Grab a peer you know you can trust and keep it at that.

 

It doesn't really matter if you have your boss as a reference because, I have been told, any paper you apply to is going to call your current paper anyway.

 

Maybe I don't understand.

How better for a prospective employer to determine what kind of worker you are than to contact people you've worked for?

 

Everytime I've moved on from a job I've kept it to myself until I had an offer. It wasn't ever my immediate supervisor I was worried about telling, but if it didn't work out I didn't want to give publishers and corporate people any extra reason to pick me when the next round of layoffs came.

 

In the professional world, telling your boss that you're interviewing for another job elsewhere is professional suicide. In most office settings, there's nothing preventing said boss from showing you the door right then and there.

Personally, I wouldn't fire someone for looking for a job, but I'd make it clear that they shouldn't tell their bosses under normal circumstances.

 

Unless you think your boss is going to give you a heads up before you get downsized, you don't have to give them notice until you have an offer on the table.

 

I don't know that I would tell every boss every time I applied somewhere.
However, I am expecting a job interview soon and my current boss knows about it. I asked if I could use him as a reference and he replied, "For the rest of your life, you put me as a reference. Anyone that calls me will want to hire you."
Obviously that was very flattering. And it's something I wouldn't have known (at least not to that extent) if I wasn't honest with him.

 

As an SE, I appreciate it when someone tells me about an interview. I never have, nor ever would, hold it against the person. I've helped the writers find new, and probably, better jobs. With the guys I've recently hired, I told them I don't expect them here more than a year or two. I'd like to have them here as long as I'm here because having good people on my staff makes my job easier. When the time is right, I'll contact people I know to try to get these guys to the next level.
I've had guys talk to me about applying for jobs. Some I've encouraged; some I've discouraged. They're honest with me, and I'm honest with them. I would never tell someone not to apply or interview because I want to keep them here. Likewise, I would never tell someone to apply or interview because I want to get rid of them.
Been asked to interview at two papers. First person I talked with was the EE, a guy who's been in the biz at the highest level and who's opinion I trust.
I know not all situations are like this. Some bosses are pricks; others aren't. I count my blessings every day for my job, my EE and the atmosphere I work in.
The best answer is if you've been a paper long enough, you know whether or not telling your boss is the right thing to do.

 

Come to think of it, if you're in a situation in which you're afraid to tell your boss you're looking for a new job ... well, it might be time to look for a new job.

If an SE would hold it against you that you're looking elsewhere, what other back-stabbing, dick-headed moves is he capable of?