Tell my boss a headhunter contacted me? (employment, employer, job)

[ChikidII]

So is it in my best interest to tell my boss that I rejected an offer from a headhunter? I feel that it could show loyalty towards the company. Could it backfire?

Obviously if I was considering the offer I would never say anything. Basically, the headhubnter sent me an email about the position and I was very polite but told them that I was not interested.

[ctwhitechin]

Don't say anything, if you do then the perception is there that you are seeking other employment..questions will come up such as how did the headhunter get your info, and your boss may think ok he turned this one down ,but maybe not the next one.

[Hemlock140]

I agree, keep it to yourself.

[Braunwyn]

If you have your resume on careerbuilder or monster you'll be contacted quite a bit. I doubt your boss would care enough to want to hear about it. I tend to forward those emails and calls to friends who are looking, tho.

[ChikidII]

No I don't have my resume posted anywhere. They found me through Linkedin.

[Zembonez]

backfire.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by ctwhitechin

Don't say anything, if you do then the perception is there that you are seeking other employment..questions will come up such as how did the headhunter get your info, and your boss may think ok he turned this one down ,but maybe not the next one.

Exactly. If down the road layoffs are on the horizon this could stick in the back of the boss's mind. It doesn't matter that the headhunter contacted you.

Your resume was on Linkedin, which could be perceived as looking for another job.

Keep this to yourself.

[Backliteyes]

I really don't think the first thing that will occur to your boss will be your loyalty to the company if you mention this. If I were him/her, my first thought would be that you're hinting that you're looking elsewhere, or that you're in high demand, so I better watch it. Not a good thing.

[kodaka]

Merely being contacted means nothing. And frankly, telling employers about other job prospects does not demonstrate loyalty to an employer. Instead, it makes employers fear that you will quit suddenly or are going to demand a raise or better perks to stay--in short, it feels a bit like blackmail.

If you have a genuine hard offer and are truly considering accepting it, then you should bring it up with your employer. Not in an offhand remark whenever your boss tells you to do something you don't want to do or you are frustrated about something, but in a serious, sit-down conversation in which you present your request for your employer to meet or exceed certain requests and give them time to consider and respond to your request. And before doing so, you should consider if your reaction will change based on their response. That is, if you are going to accept the offer no matter what, don't jerk your employer around by asking them to counteroffer just so you can turn them down. And if you aren't really serious about the offer, then don't try to bluff because they may call you on it and refuse to meet your demands (in which case, when you back down and don't quit, they will know you are bluffing and you won't really be able to use the same strategy again in the future). It's kind of the 'nuclear option'--once you lay it out there, you can't take it back. So use your chips wisely.

Certainly having a profile on monster.com or careerbuilder.com is going to make you susceptible to frequent contact from recruiters and headhunters, nearly all of which is smoke and mirrors. But even aside from that, just about anyone with a corporate profile is going to receive periodic inquiries. It's pretty much meaningless.

[manderly6]

Nothing good will come of this. Don't say anything.