I know many of us are dreading layoffs, polishing up our resumes, and looking for new jobs, but how do you do that when you have a micromanaging boss who demands to be copied on all your emails and invited to all of your meetings? Previously, I would just block some time on my calendar to talk to a recruiter, but I can’t do that unless I want to invite the micromanager. Do people suddenly start going to the doctor/dentist all the time? And guys, I’m really on an edge here. Today was a pretty awful day, and I’m not okay. So, please no facetious comments.
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If your boss is like this with only you, and not others, it may be time to report to your bosses boss or even ethics. I can personally tell you once ethics is involved, they do a BIG investigation. What I have witnessed at this company is bullying, passive aggressiveness and creating a hostile work environment, I wouldn’t stand for it! Once they know you won’t allow it. They will back off. Trust me!
You can block off time and set it as private.
We have a micromanager in our office and what doesn’t make sense is she is always telling us to go out and meet clients and brokers (to meet our meeting numbers). But then she tells us we need to be in the office everyday and can’t let emails fall behind. We used to be able to work better before she got here 3 years ago. Now she makes our lives hell. Like as if we were kindergarteners and needed a teacher to watch over us. Oh and she changed our response time to emails from within 24 hours to “within a few hours”... what the hell? Am I a DCSM or an Account Manager? What UHG has yet to learn is that people who are happy in their jobs are left alone to do their jobs. We are all adults here and if we need help we will ask for it....
Schedule these calls during your lunch break or before/after work if you can. I've talked to recruiters and have done phone interviews in my car out in the parking lot even in winter. Going to huddle rooms or conference rooms on a different floor are good ideas too. You can also try to schedule these calls when you know your manager will be in another meeting or out of the office.
Fill your calendar up with generic private appointments and private reoccurring meetings titled ABC project work time, run XYZ reports, update slide deck, etc. Make sure the private meetings go back a couple months and didn't just start this week. It will drive your manager nuts when they look at your calendar!
If your manager asks you where you were when you were talking with a recruiter, you can always say you were in the bathroom with diarrhea because you think you're getting sick or because of something you ate. I've also answered a call from a recruiter and I pretended it was my mom or kid's teacher and that I had to take the call. I put the caller on mute and then said "Hi ____, give me a second to grab a room/walk to the lobby so I can hear you".
The constant harassment from your manager is not ok though. Sounds like they are worried that you might be leaving or they are trying to force you out.
Good luck on your job search!
Like others have said use personal time for interviews etc. Or PTO time for in person interviews.
I used to schedule interviews during my lunch time, and go to a huddle room on a different floor for the phone interview. If questioned, you're on your own personal time, on a personal call.
Nobody should be harassed.
Good luck!
I once had a boss like that and finally said to him "You can either trust me to do the job I was hired to do, or you can fire me right now", either way, you have 60 seconds to make a decision. He seemed stunned and in hindsight, I am surprised I actually said that but that was the last time I was ever micromanaged. If they are going to get rid of you, they are going to get rid of you, but I need my personal space and need to be trusted.
I'm the OP. I never use my work computer or work email for applying to jobs. I've learned! I'm not applying within the company, so anything would be an outside interview point.
My two suggestions would be to interact with recruiters via your personal email. I’ve hired internal candidates in the past and many used their personal email until we got to the offer stage.
As for your calendar, block things using the “private” appt feature. Be prepared that micromanager may ask you about that and you can say “Those are reminders for personal reasons. If needed I can schedule during my lunch or 15 min break periods. Or before/after my scheduled work day.”
If you’re in a project based role, try blocking windows with a generic “project work” placeholder.
Last year I was interviewing and my prior boss would “harass” me daily and ask me their name.... WTF... it is harassment and stalking! They would listen in on all my conversations, duplicate my computer which is a complete violation against company policy. It does mentally affect you. I documented it and actually saw a Doctor about it. It’s called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! Which causes anxiety disorder!! Lawsuit!!!