A Second Opinion: A job seeker attempting a death-defying stunt

I have made the decision to start job-searching after being in my office for two years, but I am not sure how to tell my chief of staff. Given the job market, I know it might take a while to find the opportunity I am looking for, but I would like to give my office proper notice because I would like to use my supervisors as references. Am I able to tell them I am job-looking without actually having an opportunity in front of me, or should I wait until I start actively interviewing? D.C. is a small town, and I would feel terrible if someone received my résumé and called my boss before I got the chance to tell him myself. Any advice is much appreciated. — Soon-To-Be-Job-Seeker

STBJS,

Can you do a backbend on a one-inch-wide balance beam? Or a double-twisting flip off the pommel horse?

What you’re attempting to do is highly unadvisable and will almost surely result in injury.

Let me get this straight: You want to look for a new job while at your current one, tell your boss about this desire — and then ask him for a recommendation for a yet-unfound new job? Do you realize you’re attempting to tell your chief of staff, “I no longer want to be associated with you, and I want you to help make that happen”? And you want all of this to happen on good terms, of course.

You have guts. Not always a bad thing — but in this situation, they can sink you.

Let’s break this down step by step. You want a new job. Fine. You’re going to start looking. Great. You recognize that, in this economy, it might take a while to find what you want. Smart.

You want to tell your boss about this. Yellow light. This step depends on your relationship with him as well as both his and your understanding of your commitment to your position. If you two are close, and you both know that you’re destined for bigger and better things, then I can see you gently starting a conversation that opens with, “I’ve been thinking about my future.”

But under almost any other circumstances I can think of, I see the following being at least one of your boss’s initial reactions to your revelation: “If he’s made up his mind, why should I keep him around any longer?” Your boss wants someone who is committed to working for him, and he will likely feel like he’s wasting time and resources by keeping you on while you hunt for another job.

And then to even think about asking to use him as a reference? That will not sit well, in my opinion. Surely you have other people to use as references. They are better options; their stake in your getting a new job is indirect, whereas your leaving directly affects your boss.

Even if he agreed, would you trust him to be a good reference? (i.e., What will stop him from saying, “He abandoned me when I needed him most”?)

Conduct your job search on your own. Find other references. Give your boss appropriate notice (at least two weeks) when you land your new job. Thank him for the opportunity to work for him.

Or do it your way — and receive my amazed admiration at sticking the landing on a career stunt that carries the highest degree of difficulty.

Editor’s note: A Second Opinion, normally a Tuesday feature, will run Wednesdays during congressional recess weeks.

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