“Companies want to hire the best of the best and [those people] are usually employed,” says Sara Menke, the founder and chief executive of Premier, a boutique staffing firm.

Career expert Andy Teach explains this reasoning in a Forbes article, “The Dos and Don’ts of Job Searching While You’re Still Employed,” stating that one of the obvious benefits of looking for a new opportunity while employed is that your professional network is still an active part of your day-to-day routine. This advantage can mean the difference between hearing about new opportunities from colleagues or suffering the consequences of the proverbial “out of sight, out of mind” scenario. Also, looking for a job while you still have an income to fall back on alleviates a lot of pressure and allows you to ask for what you want in a new position with confidence. In addition, some employers find a prospect more appealing if he or she is already working somewhere else.

Andy Teach confirms Menke, saying that the majority of prospective employers want candidates who are currently working because it gives them more confidence in the person’s abilities as an employee. “If you don’t currently have a job, it raises a lot of questions and puts you in a defensive position, and you won’t be coming at them from a position of strength,” Teach adds.

Some of the biggest challenges lie in the fact that if someone at your current position finds out, you run the risk of offending your boss. One way to avoid this is utilizing LinkedIn’s Open Candidate feature that allows companies and recruiters to see that you are actively open to new jobs and opportunities. Recruiters who work for your current employer listed on LinkedIn will not be able to see this annotation, to prevent the wrong people from knowing you are on a job search.

If you’re interested in advancing your career, Travel Placement Service can keep your job search confidential while connecting you with some of the best companies in the nation. Give us a call!