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I'm currently working at one place, but I've decided to relocate so I'm hunting for a job on the other side of the U.S. I haven't told my employer that I'm planning to relocate.

I'm in the new city right now talking to recruiters. They want to see my resume, of course.

How do I handle telling them about my current job? If I tell them who my employer is, they could call HR to verify or something and tip my employer off that I'm job hunting. That would be awkward at best.

This must come up all the time. How do people normally handle this situation?

How do you indicate your employer on your resume? ("An Established Organization?")

If I get an interview, is it ok to say, "I'd rather not disclose my current employer at this time?" Or would that seem uncooperative?

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    I've never run into an employer that tried to contact my current employer while job hunting, the biggest problem I ran into has been providing professional references before telling my current employer that I'm leaving. As a hiring manager, I realize that few employees tell their current employer that they are leaving and would never try to contact their employer (not even if I know someone at that company) until doing reference checks.
    – Johnny
    Commented Dec 17, 2015 at 0:25

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Resume

You absolutely should name your employer and list your responsibilities on your resume. No one is going to accept you holding that information from them. Also, a background check will immediately reveal that info anyway.

Just tell your recruiter that while you are searching for a new job your current employers are not aware, and you wish them to remain ignorant of that fact. I don't think they would betray your trust from this point of view.

References

When I was in a similar situation I talked to a couple of people (a senior dev and a low-level manager around my age) who I was buddy-buddy with and asked them to be my references. They took the calls and gave me glowing references without the company being any the wiser.

However you have to trust that those people will not sell you out and get you fired. So if you don't have anyone that reliable to count on then simply say that you can't name anyone. They shouldn't have any problem with that, but a lack of other references will count against you.

Good luck!

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In my experience with job applications, the prospective company asked if they could contact each of my previous employers. You can just tell the company that you would not like them to contact your current company. On my resume, I listed each company as it was. You will want your employer to know where you are currently working so that it won't seem suspicious on your application.

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