Does your boss have stuff he should be doing, but doesn’t quite get around to? When a job like yours is successful at growing, it typically works like this. The boss has some things he wants to or should do that he can’t currently accomplish. Either these are at the higher, more strategic side of his duties or at the lower end of his duties. Either you can take on the additional new lower-end duties or you can take on existing lower-end duties to free up his time. Either way, you get some new stuff to do and you both end up looking a little better for it. It’s helpful if you can identify yourself what additional things he and you could do. For example, could you start getting out of the office 1 day a week calling on people?
I don’t see it as unethical not to bring up your job search plans at this early stage, but since your current job does seem to have several advantages, it might be a savvy move to make sure you don’t write it off too soon.
I strongly recommend not telling your boss that you are looking for alternative employment. Do tell him that you’re not happy - remember that a happy employee is a productive employee - but tell him how he can make you happy. You’ve mentioned that he’s on the road most of the time, so how about suggesting that you take on some of that - say one day a week?
Include me with the folks saying “Don’t tell your boss”. I have seen all too often where situations discussed with a boss come back to haunt the employee. You obviously have more talents than this boss is willing to acknowledge. Your talents can be of better use elsewhere and most likely appreciated elsewhere.
I made the mistake of mentioning to my boss during my review that I was looking elsewhere. It changed our relationship (not that it was wonderful to begin with, she was an insecure micromanager) and she managed to push me into another department before I eventually left. She hired my replacement a week after I moved, so that tells you she wasn’t exactly waiting for me to turn in my notice. I also have the sneaking suspicion that if I hadn’t taken the position in the other department, I would have been fired.
Your boss will look at you differently, and may even get a jump on replacing you before you’ve left.
Clean up your resume, continue to do good work, and then very soon you can utter those wonderful seven words, “I’m giving you my two weeks’ notice.”
Well I had a little chat with my boss this morning. I didn’t mention I was looking for work elsewhere just that find the job a little stale and feeling underutilsed.
Apparently the Executive Council of the Association is meeting for a 3 year planning review this month and my boss and the president want to start some new fairly radical projects which would mean getting at least one more person in the office. I had not heard anything about this because my boss didn’t want to say anything until plans had be finalised.
I am going to give the Association another 6 months before I make any big decisions, that gives the changes time to settle in. In the meantime I get to put together a proposal of what a second person in the office would do based on the current workload and the new stuff in planning.
My contract states a 2 month notice period (from both parties) before leaving ! The horror why did I never notice that before.