Job Search: How to Access the Hidden Job Market

I once went to an employment counselor who took one look at my resume and said “I can’t help you. You’re going to have to make your own job.”

You better believe I walked out pretty angry, wondering why the government is paying her salary to give this kind of advice. Turns out, however, there was a grain of truth to what she said.

In this article, I am going to show you how to “make your own job.”

What is the hidden job market?

Many employers find employees without ever posting the job. It’s rumored, that eighty percent or more of jobs are never advertised. This is called the hidden job market. Though this statistic may be exaggerated, there are unquestionably some jobs that go unposted and more importantly, cracking this market enhances your job search.

There may be good reasons why an employer would not post a job. Here are a few scenarios:

• The employer does not want to reveal growth or strategy to competitors.
• The employer does not want to receive resumes from unqualified candidates.
• A small employer wants to replace a long term employee who is retiring so they ask for referrals from persons they know.

These are just a few cases in which a job will not be found on a job board, but there are many more. It is essential to realize that if your strategy for hunting for a job is only to apply job postings, you’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg.

There are two key reasons employers do not post on job boards:

1. Employers are interested in hiring candidates they know, like, and trust. It’s costly and time-consuming to assess and interview candidates that are strangers. If the employer hires someone they know or have been referred to, the initial stages of resume review and first interview are already taken care of.
2. The search for an employee begins well before any job is posted, if the job is posted at all. It starts with the realization that there is a gap in the business operations and that it needs to be filled. It continues with figuring out what skills and experience are necessary for the job, writing a job description, and setting salary and benefit options with their finance and human resource staff. The employer has already brainstormed what the company needs in an employee and it might be possible to fill the job before it is necessary to post it.

Even when jobs are posted, they are often posted on sites that cater to specific skill sets according to Jessica Dickler of CNN. So if your search includes only job boards such as Monster, you may need to look further.

Jacklyn Smith of the Financial Post, suggests that employers find it easier to screen people through social media accounts than to post on general job boards from which employers may receive thousands of applicants. We’ll help you figure out how to reach employers through social media at GenM.

So how do you access the hidden job market?

Put yourself out there. Network.

It is up to you to let people know what skills you have and how they may benefit companies you want to work for. It is absolutely necessary to build a network of family, friends, and former co-workers who know your skills and experience and also know specifically what kind of job you are looking for. Show people how you can be useful.

Take demonstrating you have value seriously.

Make your own job

It’s possible that an employer might tailor a job for a specific candidate. According to Jonathan Blaine, the “need for a new person is fleshed out and justified, sometimes over months.” While the employer is developing a job posting, he or she may have a conversation with a potential employee and realize that their particular skill set would be an asset to the company. Always work on enhancing your skill set, we’ll help you with that at GenM.

Potential employees must showcase themselves to an employer and demonstrate how they are useful to the company not only in their resume, but in conversation, in the interview. Have conversations, whether they be informational interviews or interviews for specific positions, that show you have ideas about the company. Learn about companies, what they do, how they do it, and then come up with ideas as to how they might do it better. The interviewer may not like your ideas, but still a little gumption can go a long way as to how the employer perceives you. It shows vision and initiative.