In this tell-all world, looking for a new job may require some discretion

If you don’t want your boss to know that you’re planning to escape his evil grasp, you wouldn’t lease a “Hire Me” billboard, so avoid tempting talkative coworkers and keep your job search to yourself.

“Most managers will cut employees slack for looking for a new job but they want to save face,” says Suzanne Dotson, a career coach in Oklahoma City. “It’s not in a supervisor’s best interest to have an employee openly looking for a job. It sends the wrong message to other employees.”

Busted

You’ve been doing all right with the stealth search but it looks like you’ve left a resume in the copy machine. Or maybe one of your trusted coworkers has been blabbing about your job search. And your boss wants to see you in his office — now!

What do you do?

“You have to tell the truth,” says Ron Daniels, an executive recruiter in New York. “If you’re caught red-handed, use the situation to your favor. Explain to your boss why you’re looking and maybe he or she will realize your importance to the firm.”

Of course, there’s also the chance that your name could move up to the top of the “non-essential employee” list and you could find an empty cardboard box and a security guard waiting at your desk when you return to your cubicle.

“Just be smart,” says Daniels. “Don’t do dumb things at work, like print out e-mails. Do that at home.”

Daniels says there’s no need to use your work phone for conversations about potential jobs.

“Give out your cellphone number. If someone calls, answer quietly and say you’ll return the call in a minute,” says Daniels. “Head outside and call back.”