10 Online Signs an Employee is Job Hunting

Job hunting in the workplace is always a risky business and, unless you’re being right-sized out of your present job, should be done only on your own time. If you insist on searching for a new job during work hours, or suspect that one of your employees has one foot out the door, you may want to know about these ten online signs that an employee is job hunting:

1. Job site- A straightforward indication that an employee is on the lookout for a new job is finding their resume on a job searching website. Particularly if the resume includes their current position in their work history.
2. Twitter – Tweets from their Twitter profile mentioning things like job openings, interviews, etc. Social networking is after all, networking as well as social, so job searches often begin there.
3. Facebook – Status updates on a Facebook page might also allude to a job search, or dissatisfaction with the employee’s current position. The frequency with which people are busted by their bosses making such comments on their social profiles is pretty sobering.
4. Blog – The employee may also have a blog where she is posting and networking about job hunting. This is another area where the level of privacy and separation between professional and social life aren’t always what the person thinks.
5. Email – Email responses from prospective employers may be visible in the employees inbox. Correspondence regarding job hunting should be limited to your private email account, and for that matter your personal time.
6. LinkedIn – LinkedIn recommendations will tip off an employer that one of their workers is actively seeking a new workplace. It’s a good idea to use confidential profiles, avoiding public access to private information like name, phone number and email address.
7. Desktop – An employee might have a desktop icon for something like resume-making software, which is another pretty reliable indication that all is not well in Cubicleville. Also having multiple resume copies on the desktop or job sites in bookmarks are big signs.
8. Resume – An employer might find the resume of one of their own employees while scanning the internet for potential candidates for current openings within the company. This could very well lead to one more opening within the company.
9. Silence – Another sign that an employee might be looking for an alternative job is when he stops griping about his current job. So if his boss’s inbox is no longer dotted with complaints from a disgruntled worker, it may be because he’s given up complaining, and started looking for greener pastures.
10. Music – Music selection on your employee’s online playlist could provide some clues as well. If she’s blasting Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” over her computer speakers, she just may be sending a message that she’s going bye-bye.

No matter the reason, a job search should never be done during company time. If you find an employee looking for a new job, let them know that is not acceptable. If you don’t know why they want a new job, this would be a good opportunity to find out if there is something you need to change for the next employee or other current employees. To employees searching- always remember not to burn bridges. You may need a reference in the future.

Taken From Internet Service Providers