I am nearing graduation, and I am also progressing through a very lengthy federal government recruitment process that could take up to a year. During this time, I am also looking for alternative full-time employment. I feel that not declaring my candidacy for the federal job is somewhat sneaky, but if I get an offer, I don’t know what to do, especially since there are no guarantees that I will take the government job down the road. Any advice on how to handle this?

There is a strange thing that sometimes happens when job searching. The job offer you would love to get doesn’t come your way, but another, less attractive offer does. Or you spend months with no offers and then have three or four come to you all at once. Many job seekers wish they could have such problems, but how you handle these situations can create many ethical and broader career and lifestyle issues down the road, so these decisions must be taken very seriously.

Eyes on the prize

Your objective during your job search is simple: to source and attain as many viable job offers as possible in the shortest possible time. The job search process is, by nature, not a perfect science. You cannot predict many of the most important factors: what offer will come, from which organization, when it will come, or any other specifics. However, if you stick to fundamental job search principles, you know you will get offers of employment eventually. While this is the reality of a job search, you can reduce some of the worry and angst by establishing parameters and ranges for what an acceptable offer looks like. For example, you should give some thought to an acceptable scope of responsibilities, salary range, commuting time, and other such factors so that when an offer comes, you can measure its merits against your list. As their time “on the market” increases, some job seekers get more concerned about landing ANY job, and can subsequently become much less picky about the details of any particular offer that does come their way. This can solve a short term dilemma, but can create more serious long-term career problems down the road.

Principal principles

In addition to determining a list of your acceptable job criteria, you should give some thought early on to how you will be conducting your job search. You should always abide by your personal code of ethics, and never consciously do or say anything that conflicts with your sense of integrity. You should agree with yourself to ensure that you treat people respectfully and with consideration, but you should also expect the same in return. This code of conduct can be a good guide for decisions such as the one you are facing right now.

Back to reality

Of course, you must temper this code of behaviour with the day-to-day dynamics of the real world. For every person who treats you well, there may be two who treat you poorly. Try to be philosophical about it and resolve that any poor behaviour will not affect your attitude about the next person you meet. Throughout the job search process, from cover letter, to resume, to interview, you are always highlighting your most positive aspects for your candidacy for any and all jobs, as are your competitors for these jobs. While you should never lie about your career, you can certainly accentuate the positive aspects and minimize any negatives. Employers, too, are not immune, and can make unrealistic promises and subsequently fail to deliver. You are not in any way obligated to stay with them in that type of situation.

The problem at hand

In your particular situation, there is no general moral or ethical reason for you to mention the remote possibility of a job offer from the federal government to prospective employers. It is very likely that if you did mention it, you would not be considered for the job they have. There is no reason to feel “sneaky” about this, you are just trying to meet your job search objective.

As long as you feel that you are being true to yourself and your personal moral code, you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck!

Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.

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