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I don't want my colleagues to be suspicious about me looking for other company. What should I do?

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    Related (not duplicate) question - workplace.stackexchange.com/q/7190/2322
    – enderland
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 13:19
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    How would you take any other personal call? On your mobile or desk phone? Do you have meeting rooms you can wander into and close the door?
    – Rup
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 13:30
  • If you're in the US, you could use a free Google voice number, and only give out that number. support.google.com/voice/answer/150640?hl=en When calling people back, you'll have to press *67 to mask your cell phone number from their caller id. Definitely, do not post your real cell phone number on a job board, you'll get flooded with calls from desperate 3rd party recruiters. The Google Voice number has the added advantage that it can send you a good transcript of the voice mail immediately by text or by email (assuming the person doesn't have a strong accent).
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 15:28

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If you are scheduling the call, schedule it for a time when you can step out of the office, such as a lunch break or outside of working hours. You may need to change when you normally take you breaks to make the phone calls, but it's not unusual for people to change their break times for appointments, at least in places I've worked.

If you aren't scheduling the call and they call you, you can ignore the phone call or send it straight to voicemail. After they leave a message, you can listen to it and try to call them back on a break or, if you have email communication with the caller, you can respond to them via email. Regardless of what you do, you can make the call or send the email when it's convenient for you to have privacy.

Email is definitely the more discreet method of communication, but it's not unusual to have to schedule phone screens during the day. Using your break times and any kind of flexible working arrangements (such as coming in 30 minutes earlier to leave 30 minutes earlier to make phone calls) appropriately can help.

As Kent Anderson said in a comment, you shouldn't use your work email or phone for communication with prospective companies. Instead, use your personal email address and phone number. Communication on your company's systems may be monitored for usage.

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  • Hopefully this doesn't need to be said, but do not use your current work email address for such correspondence. Companies can and do scan emails for various reasons. If your goal is to be discreet, don't use company resources in your job hunting activities.
    – Kent A.
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 14:04
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    @KentAnderson I didn't put that because I figured it would be obvious. I should include it. The same goes for your work phone (although some recruiters do try to call you on your work phone - they get a very prompt hang-up from me).
    – Thomas Owens
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 14:05
  • And even if, as @KentAnderson says, trying to be discreet, then don't use company resources anyway: it's just poor form.
    – Jon Story
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 14:41
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    @AmyBlankenship Fixed. I always do that.
    – Thomas Owens
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 15:53

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