Do I tell a prospective employer that I'm going to continue looking for jobs in my field if they hire me?

Question

I'm an IT worker. A little bit of Server Administration with a heavy dose of help desk and desk-side support work. My previous company downsized in May and I've been applying and interviewing for jobs ever since.

I've burned through my savings and unemployment barely covers the bills, so I've been considering taking a job in retail to help. But, I'm going to continue to look for jobs in the IT field if I take a retail job.

Do I let the employer know that? How do I broach the subject? It's the right time of year for seasonal work, and I have some retail experience in my background, so I don't think finding a job would be hard. I'm just not sure how to handle the fact that this job would be temporary while I continue to look for an IT position.

Answer 1

What would you achieve by doing this? The obvious answer is that they will not bother to employ you or even interview you. You do not know how long it will take to get your "dream" job.

So why bring it up?

BTW - Write a version of your CV for this particular role - i.e. dump the technical stuff

Answer 2

You have no obligation to tell them that you will be looking for a better paying job while you are working there.

It's the right time of year for seasonal work

You know this. They know this. If the job is seasonal then at the end of the season most of the new hires will be let go. Quitting at near the end of the season just means they can skip one difficult conversation.

Do I let the employer know that? How do I broach the subject?

If your application/Resume/CV shows experience in IT and the retail position is below your skill level, expect them to ask a question related to that. They want to make sure you won't quit on day one, but they also know they probably can't stop you from quitting on when you find a better job.

Decide how you will answer their question about why you are looking in retail.

Answer 3

No.

Also, change your username - it could be easy to trace back to you.

Employers should expect that their employees will still be on the lookout for better things elsewhere - to be honest it would be foolish not to. Heck, even your manager probably is. And if they know you're looking, depending on the employer they may use it against you (I once interviewed for a company without knowing they were a client of my employer-at-the-time, they told my employer and I was threatened with being terminated. My employer then stalked my reddit account and found other conversations about jobs that way).

Don't tell your employer. They know people will be looking anyway - all employers do, it's to be expected.

Answer 4

To expand on Joe Strazzere's comment: in your position I wouldn't be looking for a permanent job in retail - that would be potentially dishonest whether or not you mention your real plans to a prospective employer; rather, I would look to register with a temp agency and take a succession of short-term jobs instead.

If you register with a temp agency, your contract (such as it is likely to be) is with them, not the retail outlet or company they place you with; this means you can take only jobs with a reasonable length of placement (say one or two months), so you are always in a position to complete your obligation if you do find a job (I'm assuming accepting a job one or two months before the start date is OK where you are).

Temp agencies are well used to people coming and going and will also take the legwork out of scanning jobs listings for suitable positions, and since they contract with their clients to provide staff rather than a particular named person, they generally have the flexibility to cope with truly temporary employees. They will, of course, expect you to keep looking for a job more in line with your skills and expectations, but you will be far from the only one of their employees doing so.

Of course, it may not work out so smoothly (I have no idea what demand for retail staff is like wherever you are), but at this time of year especially I would be very surprised if you didn't get enough work to keep the bills paid and the fridge full until you find what you're really looking for.

Good luck whatever you decide and don't stop looking for your preferred position - the right job will be out there somewhere.

Answer 5

Don't.

Put quite simply, you should never tell your current employer that you are looking for work elsewhere. That goes for temporary work as well as it goes for more 'permanent' work.

Doing so tips them to the fact that they may need to replace you soon, or that you won't be putting all your effort into the new position, and may prompt them to replace you sooner.

And, you are under no obligation either moral or legal to disclose you are job-hunting.

Provide a two-weeks notice, and only do so when you have secured a new job.

Answer 6

As many others have stated, you generally should not bring up your continued job searching. Seasonal retail definitely helps, but rather than just work under the assumption that "everyone knows 1/2 the workers will be seasonal", if the subject comes up you should make it clear that you are currently planning on a seasonal/short-term job, assuming that the particular company really has seasonal hires.

However, a lot depends on the corporate culture. Some companies hire people for very specific positions and it is very hard to move from those positions except in a very prescribed path. For retail that might be:

• Stocking shelves (requires very little training)
• Cashier (requires more training and some aptitude for customer service)
• Customer Service
• Store Manager
• and then up into corporate management

In that type of company, it doesn't matter how much IT experience (or marketing or graphic design or any other specialized field that could be use elsewhere in the company) you have, you'll likely be on the standard path for a year or more, assuming you stick with the company. (You don't plan on sticking with the company, but it could happen.)

But there are other companies, particularly, in my experience, smallish companies (not "mom & pop", but perhaps 10 - 100 employees) where top management does a good job of recognizing talent and promoting it properly. This can include taking a stock clerk who has IT experience and moving them to the software development team (which in a small company could be: the old guy just retired, you're in charge of the web site and accounting software starting tomorrow), or taking someone with clear aptitude for sales and making them a salesperson, etc.

So keep your options open. Be upfront about your skills and objectives. Remember, retail, as much if not more than many other industries, depends on IT at every level. Retail might be just "seasonal stock clerk". It could also turn into an unexpected career twist.

Answer 7

I certainly wouldn't broach the subject myself if I were in your shoes. However if they do bring it up themselves you could say something along the following the lines. Indeed you will keep looking for IT-related jobs. However for most of these jobs the whole interview/selection process will take at least a few weeks and after that there is usually no requirement to start immediately. So you can tell them you will at least stick around for a month or two. I guess for a seasonal job such a commitment might be sufficient.

Answer 8

Do I let the employer know that?

I would say, this is the wrong question. What you should be asking is maybe more along these lines:

When they ask me in an interview, why I'm looking at retail positions with my IT background, and why would I stay in that job if something comes along that matches my background, what would be effective talking points?

Because they already know from your resume that the retail job is a departure for you, and that maybe you're only looking at it due to having a hard time. It's already a given that you will go for a better paying job that matches your background, if it is available.

Probably, if they consider you for the position at all, they want to be assured that you won't just suddenly quit at the drop of hat, giving some retail manager 30 minutes to find another person to work your shift, kind of thing.

If they ask questions probing into that area, you have to be honest and say that if you're given the opportunity of the retail work to help you through a hard time, you will be grateful for that and move on in the best possible way that causes the least amount of disruption, with decent notice, and that you commit to working for at least a solid N months. Or something of that sort. Basically they will probably want some commitment signals from you.

Nobody wants to hear some obviously false song and dance that you really prefer a lower-paying retail job with worse work conditions than your previous IT stints.