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Should you tell your employer that you're looking for a new job?

Robey

Working in HR for many years has left me with a conviction that I can only help a person if I know what they really want.  Lying or being economical with the truth is the surest pathway to poor decisions.

So when I discuss my career needs and decisions with a Line Manager, if I'm unhappy I'm inclined to be honest about it.  But if I know that my current employer can't meet my needs and, as as result, I'm looking for work elsewhere, should I tell them that?

I've always had very open conversations about this sort of thing with my line managers and subordinates, but others I know - outside HR but in a wide range of industries and roles - consider this to be an absolute no-no and are horrified by the ease with which I talk about career aspirations within my circle.  When I've pressed them to explain why they consider it to be such a red-line issue, they're struggled to articulate anything concrete but there seems to be a wide belief that telling your employer that you're looking elsewhere is career suicide, that you'll be the first to be made redundant and that you'll be sidelined from anything important.  Of course, I can imagine that an employer would want to exclude a potential leaver from commercially sensitive work, but isn't it more professional to say "I'm probably leaving, so don't put me on that thing because I won't finish it" than to lie about it then leave your employer in the lurch?

I can't decide if I'm hopelessly naive and trusting about this or if my friends are unnecessarily cynical.

Any thoughts?  What sort of risk might you expose yourself to by being honest about your career plans with your boss?

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  • Hi Robey,

    I tend to agree with you. In the past I have told my boss that I am looking for another job and always felt much better for having the honest conversation up front. It gives the opportunity to explore if there are things that can be done to solve whatever the issues are and also means that I don't have to invest numerous doctors appointments or reasons for short term holidays to attend interviews!

    I haven't ever suffered any detriment when I have done this - it has also worked well for the employer as they have time to consider and plan for replacing, focus on completing particular bits of work etc.

    I am sure that in some companies, if someone did this then they might be "frozen out" but this probably just goes to demonstrate that the decision to leave was the right one!

    I don't get the worry about being first in line for redundancy anyway. If you are planning to leave then getting a redundancy payment can be a good thing!

    I think it does come down to the individual and their manager and whether they have developed the relationship where they feel they can be open and honest.
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  • Hi Robey,

    I tend to agree with you. In the past I have told my boss that I am looking for another job and always felt much better for having the honest conversation up front. It gives the opportunity to explore if there are things that can be done to solve whatever the issues are and also means that I don't have to invest numerous doctors appointments or reasons for short term holidays to attend interviews!

    I haven't ever suffered any detriment when I have done this - it has also worked well for the employer as they have time to consider and plan for replacing, focus on completing particular bits of work etc.

    I am sure that in some companies, if someone did this then they might be "frozen out" but this probably just goes to demonstrate that the decision to leave was the right one!

    I don't get the worry about being first in line for redundancy anyway. If you are planning to leave then getting a redundancy payment can be a good thing!

    I think it does come down to the individual and their manager and whether they have developed the relationship where they feel they can be open and honest.
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