Will my boss think I'm looking for another job

[Underpressure123]

Hi- it is my first time posting here so any advice would be great. I have been in the same company for about five years and have continuously excelled in performance. Early this year I changed jobs to a different role within the same company.

I was invited to go to a careers event with some other colleagues and I was discussing the agenda with a colleague. The event will have a CV and interview clinic and after my colleague spoke about the talks she would like to see, I mentioned that I would like to pop into the CV clinic as I don't think mine is very good.

I didn't think anything of it at the time really and I'm quite a direct person so sometimes things slip out! A close friend/ peer of my boss was within earshot and now I'm worried they will start thinking I am looking to leave (which I'm not)

How should I fix/ approach this? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

If you are not thinking of leaving why are you updating your cv?

If you are not thinking of leaving I would not worry - most people worry unnecessarily about what other people think but most other people don't give your actions a second thought as they have other things to worry about.

@PaulaSmith1 it's because I've been with the same company for years and even though I've updated it in the interim for promotions and job changes, I haven't had a third person look at it for some time and given there was a CV clinic in this event, I voiced that I would like to check it out

Nothing wrong in updating it as you could apply for a different job/promotion in the same company should one arise. At least at the application stage it will be one thing less to stress about.

Personally I think you should always have your CV relatively up to date whether you want to move or not.

Some managers do get ideas from things like that or take it personally etc but that's up to them. How do they know you weren't doing it so you could help someone you're mentoring, for instance?

"@PaulaSmith1 it's because I've been with the same company for years and even though I've updated it in the interim for promotions and job changes, I haven't had a third person look at it for some time and given there was a CV clinic in this event, I voiced that I would like to check it out"

Then you have answered the awkward question that could come up at work - so nothing to worry about.

Honestly, if you are good and valuable in your job but have been there a long time, it's not a bad thing for your boss to think you might be looking elsewhere. I think our managers are often worried that men who aren't progressing will leave but tend to see women who aren't progressing as stable and "a safe pair of hands".

A tip a friend gave me years ago - always try and get at least one job interview a year even if you don't intend to move. It makes sure your CV is current, it keeps you in touch with the job market in case you do need to move, and it gives you an idea of what you are worth.