Finding a new position from inside a toxic work environment

[ekaterinn]

I've had a very tough year, and am now trying to find a new teaching position (will stay at my current one until the end of the year) and/or get into grad school. I'm afraid that my principal will not give me a good reference, and would retaliate against me for even trying to leave. (I remember we had some good posts on this problem before, but I

Comments

[layers_of_eli]

Yes, it's called a confidential job search (in case you want to google) and is pretty typical because sometimes if people aren't sure if they'll get a job or not, they don't want to inform their current boss they're even looking.

Try to round up other great references and in an interview, frame your current experience as an obstacle that you learned and benefitted from. Check to make sure you sound like a resilient, strong professional instead of a victim regardless of your actual circumstances. Also, avoid criticizing your current employer in interviews for a new job -- allude to difficulties only to discuss how you learned from them and only when asked. Show gratitude and appreciation for your position in whatever way you can even if you don't feel it. This shows your future employer that you're not a difficult employee and that you'd do the same for them later on.

Can you tell I've had to do this same thing before? LOL.

[ekaterinn]

Thanks for the quick response and great information! I'm really worried about the references part, as I only trust my grade level chair at my current school to give me a good one. I could, however, use her as one reference, and ask past supervisors too. Do you think that would work?

[layers_of_eli]

Yes -- also think about including coworkers, professors (if your schooling was recent), mentors, leaders of community service you've participated in, etc. If you include that your job search is confidential, they will probably just assume that's why you don't include your boss. I just googled and there are a LOT of good examples of how to incorporate the fact that your search is confidential in cover letter, etc.

Hope it all works out :)

[ekaterinn]

Thanks so much! You've managed to make me feel a lot better about this. ^_^

[layers_of_eli]

Good!! It's super normal to have to do it. Good luck!