Can I look for a new recruitment job without my boss finding out?

TL;DR

• Work devices aren’t private. Search, apply and take calls on your own phone, email and time.
• Read your contract first. Notice, confidentiality and restraint clauses decide what you can do, and when.
• LinkedIn can leak. LinkedIn says Recruiters only helps, but it can’t guarantee complete privacy.
• Approve every CV. Only work with people who ask before your CV goes anywhere.
• Tell your boss last, in writing, once you have a signed offer.

Decision matrix: ways to look for a new role quietly

A Rec2Rec (recruitment to recruitment) firm that represents you confidentially

• Best when: you want to compare roles at several agencies or tech companies without applying to each one.
• Watch out for: your CV is only as private as the firm’s consent practice, so ask before you share it.
• Cost or effort: no fee to the recruiter at Managed Growth Partners (MGP). A conversation or two.

Applying directly or through your own network

• Best when: you already know the two or three agencies or in-house teams you want.
• Watch out for: in a small niche such as a cloud or cyber desk, the firm’s leaders may know your manager.
• Cost or effort: free. Your time on each application.

LinkedIn job alerts and Open to Work set to Recruiters only

• Best when: you want roles to come to you with little effort.
• Watch out for: LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide your status from Recruiter users at your current company but can’t guarantee complete privacy, and profile edits show to anyone who views your profile.
• Cost or effort: free. A few minutes of settings.

Talking to your manager first

• Best when: what you want could happen where you are, such as a different desk or a clearer path to team lead.
• Watch out for: once said, it can’t be unsaid.
• Cost or effort: one honest conversation.

The case for talking to your manager first: If you trust your manager and the thing you want could be fixed where you are, raise it before you look. Nothing leaks when there is nothing to hide, and you may get the change without a move.

Verdict: If you decide to look quietly, keep everything off work systems, read your contract before any conversation, set LinkedIn to Recruiters only and work only with people who ask before your CV goes anywhere. Tell your manager last, in writing, once an offer is signed. The exception is when what you want could be fixed where you are and you trust your manager, in which case talk to them first.

Can you job hunt without your boss finding out?

Your search can stay quiet if you control three things: the systems you use, the signals you send and who sees your CV. Nothing is guaranteed.

Example: an agency consultant on a tech contract desk. They place software, cloud or DevOps (development and operations) contractors, where the candidate pool and client list are small and the same people talk to several agencies. Word can travel fast.

Example: an in-house talent acquisition partner at a tech company. Their own hiring managers and recruiting tools sit close to the job market they would be searching.

These examples are tech desks, but the steps work on any desk. Managed Growth Partners (MGP) is a tech-led Rec2Rec firm that helps recruiters find their next role, whether they work in agencies or in-house at tech companies.

Step 1: What should you check in your contract first?

Find the clauses that decide what you can do and when, and read them before you talk to anyone. Look for:

• Notice period: how much notice you must give (more in Step 5).
• Confidentiality: what it says about candidate and client information.
• Restraint or non-compete clause: a term that stops or restricts working in competition with a previous employer for a period, and sometimes in an area. The Fair Work Act sets no rules for a non-compete clause, and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) suggests getting legal help.
• Client and co-worker non-solicitation clauses: limits on approaching your employer’s clients or asking co-workers to join you.

For example, a contract recruiter on a cloud desk might find a client non-solicitation clause that covers the companies they have placed contractors with.

As at 2 November 2026, the federal ban on non-compete clauses for employees earning at or below $190,100 a year (the Fair Work Act high income threshold) is only a draft Bill, set out in Treasury’s draft explanatory materials. The draft Bill would also ban co-worker non-solicitation clauses for all employees. It is not law, so the current law still applies to existing clauses.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Step 2: How do you keep the search off work systems?

Assume anything on a work laptop, phone, email, Slack or Teams account, or CRM (customer relationship management system) can be seen. An employer who monitors staff email and internet use and has told staff about it would generally be allowed to, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). State and territory laws may also apply.

• Use a personal phone and personal email for every job conversation.
• Don’t save CVs on a work drive or update your CV on a work laptop.
• Take calls outside work hours or away from the office.
• Don’t forward roles to yourself from a work account.

Don’t take candidate or client data either. Treasury describes non-disclosure agreements as stopping or restricting a worker revealing certain information gained while working for the employer. For example, don’t export lists of engineers from the agency CRM or a company ATS (applicant tracking system).

For an in-house talent partner who signs in to company accounts on a work laptop, keep the search off that machine entirely.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Step 3: How do you stop LinkedIn giving you away?

Check two settings before you do anything else on LinkedIn, and don’t rewrite your profile mid-search.

• Open to Work: choose Recruiters only, not All LinkedIn Members, which includes people at your current company and adds the #OpenToWork photo frame. LinkedIn says that with the Recruiters only setting it takes steps to hide your status from LinkedIn Recruiter users at your current company, based on the company marked as current on your profile, but it “can’t guarantee complete privacy”.
• Profile edits: turn off Share profile updates, under Settings & Privacy, then Visibility. LinkedIn notes that anyone who views your profile sees edits as soon as you save them, even with sharing off.
• Headline and skills: leave them alone until you have an offer.

There is a blind spot for agency tech recruiters. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide Recruiters only from LinkedIn Recruiter users at your current company. It doesn’t say it hides it from anyone else, so on our reading, a talent team at a client tech company using LinkedIn Recruiter isn’t covered.

Step 4: Who should see your CV, and when?

Only people you have agreed can see it, for roles you have agreed to, one submission at a time. On a niche desk, such as a data or cyber market where hiring managers know each other, a CV sent to the wrong agency or to a client of your current employer can reach your manager.

Before you share a CV with any Rec2Rec or recruiter, ask:

• Will you ask me before each submission?
• Will you name my current employer?
• Who else sees my details?
• Can references wait until the offer stage?

Recruiters never pay us, because the hiring business pays.

We represent recruiters confidentially, including passive candidates who aren’t on the market, through MGP’s tech-led Rec2Rec service.

Step 5: When should you tell your manager?

After you have accepted a written offer, in writing, with your last day stated. An award, enterprise agreement or employment contract may set how much notice you must give, the FWO explains.

The FWO also says an employer can’t accept or reject a resignation. Once your employer has your notice, you and your employer can discuss whether you work your notice period or it ends early, which can include agreeing that you stop working.

For example, a contract recruiter with live contractors on assignment, or an in-house partner midway through a hiring round, can plan a handover so the exit is clean.

This is general information, not legal advice.

How MGP can help

Managed Growth Partners (MGP) is a tech-led Rec2Rec firm that helps tech recruiters find their next role, confidentially and at no cost to them. “Tech recruiters” means agency recruiters who place tech roles and in-house recruiters at tech companies. Other recruiters are welcome too. To talk it through, book a confidential call.

You can use your personal email when you book.