Job hunting with a media job can be very tricky. Because the media sector is very competitive, and because the economy is forcing so many media companies to lay off employees, it's incredibly important to be prudent about how you job hunt when you already have a media job. To ensure you don't compromise the job you have looking for the job you want, follow these rules:
Hunt For Your Next Media Job On Your Own Time
The first no-no is looking for your next media job during the work day. While you might get away with doing this unnoticed, you don’t want your boss or colleagues to see you looking for another job. (And it’s easier than you might think for someone to walk by your computer and see you perusing the job board on a website.) You also don’t want anyone at your current job to realize you’re using company time for non-company related business.
Plan Interviews Strategically
One of the hardest things about looking for a job while you have a media job is planning interviews. Many hiring managers like to see candidates during the standard 9-to-5 work day. The first thing to do is to try is to plan the interview after your work day is over. This way, if the interview runs late, you don’t have to worry about rushing back to work. (Interviews, you should note, often do take longer than they're projected to take.)
If it isn’t possible to schedule your interview after work, try to plan the interview during your lunch break or before work. The key to planning here is allotting yourself a big enough window to get back to your current job in a timely manner. (If you tell your boss you’ll be out of the office for an hour you don’t want to come back to work two hours later.)
All this being said, taking an interview during the work day can be very stressful -- and possibly affect your demeanor during the interview -- so the best option is to take time off from your job to go to the interview. If possible, take a morning off, or a personal day, so you can go to your interview without having the stress of getting back to work. But take note: if you're scheduliing multiple interviews you can't start asking for excessive time off. You can request time off if you have an interview every now and then.
Keep Your Interviewing to Yourself
Only you know what kind of relationship you have with your boss and colleagues. That said, it’s best to keep the fact that you’re interviewing to yourself. Why? You don’t want to do anything at your job that could compromise your boss’ impression of you, especially your work ethic and commitment to your job. Although it’s standard in the professional world to look for other jobs while you have a job -- this is one of the basic ways people advance their careers -– if your boss knows you’re looking to leave it can compromise your working relationship and, even worse, your position in the company. For these reasons you need to keep the fact that you're job hunting to yourself as much as possible.