My employer wants me to show my real location on LinkedIn, but I'm looking for a job in a different location

Is there anything I can do to keep my job search active while maintaining privacy from my current employer?

Sorry, but "No" is the answer.

On this site, we always recommend that people should be honest when applying for a job, which means you should tell the recruiters about your true location.

I know that it sounds very strange to encourage people to be honest in their job searches (NOTE: I've added this note to address the comments of some people: For people who don't read between the lines, there is a humorous/sarcastic/funny flavor in the statement above. If you don't see that flavor, it means that you and are currently living in 2 different and beautiful universes, and that is perfectly OK, my friends. :-))

The main point is that being honest is the best strategy as it will help you a lot in the long run when applying for jobs.

When you submit your resume to the recruiters, do you enter a true or false location?

If you enter a false location in the resume or application, there could be trouble down the road as follows:

For example, in many countries, employers will verify your employment history after offering you a job. So, if they offer you a job, eventually they will find out that you provided false info in your application. Consequently, they may rescind the job offer if they think that you intentionally lie to them. Their logic is that if you lie when you apply for a job, will you lie or do more damage to the company when you work for them?

I understand that many jobs restrict where you can work, but I can't think of why LinkedIn would ever be considered an authoritative source on your location. If a customer or regulator needed to assert where the people doing the work were physically located, your HR systems should have the authoritative information.

One option would be to (temporarily) change the name of your current employer (perhaps leaving your dates of employment, job title, and description). You'd no longer show up as affiliated with your current company if anyone does go looking on LinkedIn. Still, it doesn't resolve the issue where anyone you're connected to at your current employer could see that you're not listing your current employer or home location. You may need to block or unconnect from anyone in your current company if you want that level of privacy.

Your company could also ask you to paint your home and car to match the colors of the company's logos, and... you wouldn't be so bright to do that, right? I mean, where does it stop?

The easiest thing to do is to take your company's name off your list of employers on LinkedIn, and replace it with some indication that the name of the business can be shared privately. You can leave the description of the employment just as it is. You are not required to "advertise" who you are working for, and your employer cannot override your right to post your location as you see fit. I think this solution is a good compromise.

Just create another profile,

• Use a different email address, Google ones are free and easy
• Use the location you want
• Don't add a photo, or add a very old one.
• In your online resume / CV, don't mention the name of the current employer.
• Use a slightly different DOB.
• Ensure that most of your friends/connections are different from the first profile.

If you don't use the same email address, dob and photo, LinkedIn is unlikely to compare the two. Similarly,