The best way to look for a new job while you're still employed is to search quietly and deliberately: set LinkedIn's Open to Work to recruiters only, refresh your profile so it shows the results you deliver, and target the companies where you're a natural fit instead of mass-applying. Then keep it to yourself at work until you've got an offer you're sure about.
That covers the basics. But the questions I get asked most come later in the process, so this article answers those too.
It comes from my first live stream, where I answered the questions tech and software professionals ask most about getting hired and paid more. In 11 years in executive search, I've sat across the table in more than 10,000 interviews and helped 250+ professionals get hired into six-figure roles, and a lot of them were searching while still in a job.
Should I turn on Open to Work on LinkedIn if I'm still employed?
Turn it on, but only the version that recruiters can see, not the public green banner.
There are two settings. One shows everyone, and puts the green Open to Work frame around your profile photo.
If you're employed and searching quietly, I wouldn't recommend that. It's not a smart move.
The other setting shows it to recruiters only, and that's a good way to covertly signal you're open. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide this from recruiters at your own company, but it can't guarantee it, so bear that in mind.
Here's what happens on the other side. Recruiters work in a separate part of LinkedIn, with their own search tools.
If I was looking for a customer success lead, I'd search that title and then filter for the people who've flagged they're open to work. The flag doesn't appear on your public profile, but it does put you on that list in the back end.
That's how the right opportunities start coming to you quietly, without your boss seeing a banner.
How do I show recruiters I'm open to a move without saying it?
Keep your LinkedIn profile detailed, current and specific about the results you deliver.
When I was searching for people, you could always tell how active someone was by how detailed and up to date their profile was. If your profile is nearly empty, a recruiter reads it as someone who isn't that active on LinkedIn and isn't that serious about being approached.
The opposite is a profile that clearly says what problems you solve, how well you solve them and your key achievements. Add the industries, the tech, the tools, the people you work with and the stage of company you're in.
So when a recruiter lands on it, they think, "This person's potentially looking." It lets them contact you with better opportunities, quicker, without you ever saying you're on the market.
Where should I look for jobs if I'm searching quietly?
Stop relying on job boards, and target the companies where your experience gives you a natural advantage.
One question in the live came from a software engineer with 11 years at an enterprise software company who'd sent over 200 applications that year with no luck. That's the spray-and-pray approach, and it doesn't work anymore. Easy Apply made it so simple to send 20 or 30 applications in a few clicks that companies now get hundreds per role, and no human is ever going to go through them all.
What I recommend instead is building a Dream 100.
The Dream 100 is Daniel Langley's system for mapping 100 target companies where your experience gives you a natural advantage, then building human-to-human connections inside them instead of sending cold applications.
The way I describe it is a Venn diagram. One circle is the technology you've worked with, another is the industries you've worked in, and another is the problems you've solved or the stage of company you've been in (enterprise, pre-revenue, scale-up). The companies in the overlap are the ones where they'll look at your background and know you could hit the ground running.
Then you start building a network there: people who'd be your peers, your colleagues and your potential hiring managers. It's going back to the old saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
Want to build your own list? Get the free Dream 100 framework here.
Alongside that, use two more routes. Speak to specialist recruiters who focus on your exact area, because they often have access to hiring managers and roles that aren't clearly advertised. And consider posting on LinkedIn about what you've learned in your field, which puts you in the shop window for companies that are thinking about hiring.
Should I tell my manager I'm interviewing?
No. Keep it to yourself until you've got an offer and you're sure you want it.
Even if you've got a great relationship with your manager and you're work friends, telling them puts them in a difficult position. They'll know that when you leave, it leaves the team in a hole, with more work and more pressure on them.
So they'll start looking after number one, which is fair enough, because that's their priority. They might start thinking about backfilling you, or move you off the important projects. And once you've said you're looking elsewhere, it's quite hard to recover from, a bit like telling a partner you've been thinking about other people.
That's also why I'm not a big fan of counteroffers. Once you've mentally and emotionally checked out, it's hard to go back.
And here's the other reason to stay quiet. You might do those interviews and realise the grass isn't greener. If you'd already told your manager, you'd have dug yourself an early grave for nothing.
So run the processes confidentially. When an offer lands, take a few days to decide what you really want.
Once you're sure, tell your manager, and be honest and upfront. That way you don't burn any bridges before you need to, and they can handle it professionally.
What should I do if I'm offered a lower level than the role I interviewed for?
Don't say yes or no straight away. Ask them why, then decide based on what they tell you.
One of the questions in the live came from a senior data engineer with 10 years' experience who interviewed for a senior role and got offered the level below. Go back and say something like this:
I really appreciate the offer. I thought I was interviewing for the senior role, so can you talk me through why you've decided to offer me a less senior position?
In my experience, nine times out of ten it isn't a bait and switch. What's most likely happened is that something in the interview made them think you're not ready for the role they advertised yet, but they think you're great and have good potential, so they want you on board one grade below.
Often it comes down to what "experience" means. The job says six years, you've got six years, so you think you're at that level. But their version of six years means six years solving their exact niche problem.
Think of it like cooking. They say they need someone with six years' experience making scrambled eggs, and you've got six years' experience cooking. You've been in the kitchen, but it's not the experience they actually mean.
Then their answer tells you what to do. If they say, "You're missing A, B and C, but if you show us those in six to nine months, we can talk about an early promotion," you know exactly where you stand. If they just say they don't think you're ready, ask yourself whether this company will give you the chance to learn, or whether the door will always be shut.
It's not a binary yes or no. Ask, probe, find out why, and make an informed decision.
What should I put in a 30-60-90 day plan for an interview?
Start at day 90, describe where you need to be, then work backwards and fill each stage with four or five specific actions.
Most senior roles have an element of strategy, so at the final stage you'll often be asked to present a 30-60-90 day plan. A mid-market account executive in fintech asked me this about an enterprise role.
First, use the interview to ask questions and get as much information as you can, because the plan is only as good as what you know about the role.
Then picture the ideal scenario on day 90. If you're out there speaking to customers, closing deals and networking by then, what do you need to have done before that? Maybe you need to understand the tech, sit in on some pre-sales demos, understand the customer base and the stakeholders, the challenges on the accounts, the territory and the competitors.
The more specific you are, the more it shows you've really thought about it. Saying "Day 30: understand the tech" doesn't help anyone. Compare it with this:
By day 30, I want to understand the edge cases, the main best practice, the pitfalls, the concerns customers raise, how the architecture works and why it works that way.
Aim for four or five points like that for each milestone.
How do I explain missing my target in an interview?
Own it. Be honest about the number, explain what you learned and show what you're doing so it doesn't happen again.
A cyber security account executive asked this after finishing the year at 71% of target, when nobody else on the team hit theirs either. If you try to hide it or bend the truth, that's a bigger red flag than the number itself.
No hiring manager has hit their target 20 years in a row. Nobody's had the perfect year, and it's nonsense to pretend otherwise. So say something like this:
I didn't hit my number this year. My target was X and I achieved Y, which was frustrating. Here's where I know I went wrong, here's what I learned, and here's what I'm doing to close that gap so it doesn't happen again.
That's far more impressive than an excuse. Job interviews are full of people who blame the market, AI, the team or the company. If you take accountability, you stand out, because people buy people and nobody expects you to be perfect.
What are the biggest mistakes people make job hunting while employed?
- Switching on the public green banner. Use the recruiters-only setting instead.
- Leaving your LinkedIn profile thin. Recruiters read an empty profile as someone who isn't serious. Fill it with results.
- Spraying applications. Hundreds of Easy Apply applications land in a pile nobody reads. Target your Dream 100 instead.
- Telling your manager too early. Wait until you've got an offer and you're sure.
- Accepting or rejecting a lower-level offer without asking why. The answer tells you whether there's a real path up.
The bottom line
Look for your next job quietly and deliberately: recruiters-only Open to Work, a profile full of results, and a targeted list of companies where you're a natural fit. Keep it confidential at work until you're certain, and when the offers come, ask questions before you make any decision.
What's your next step?
If you want to see how your CV holds up before your next interview, try the free Six Figure CV tool. Upload your CV and get an instant score with specific fixes.
And if you want to work on this with me directly, here's where to start.