“Whether we face a recession or prosperity, whether times are hard or easy, the major difference between successful and unsuccessful job-hunters is not some external factor out there (such as a tight job market), but the way we choose to go about our job hunt.” (taken from What Color is your Parachute)

And that means finding those hidden jobs…

It is estimated that only 20% of all jobs are ever advertised, meaning 80% of jobs are filled by companies who never advertised the position. Instead these positions are filled by referral, the “who do you know” method of recruitment. So while keeping an eye on newspaper advertisements and internet job search sites is important, the percentages are in your favor if you investigate the hidden job market.

The best way to find the hidden job market is by:

• Identifying types of employers you are interested in
• Finding specific potential employers
• Finding contacts within the target employer
• Proposing your features and benefits

 

Identify the companies and organizations that you are interested in. There may be companies you are familiar with and many more that you have never heard of. Most positions are located in smaller businesses, so be sure to extend your search past the FTSE 100 list of companies.

Consider:

• What kind of industry you want to work for?
• What skills sets you want to use?
• Where you want to live?
• Information to look for:
• Who hires people who do what you want to do?
• What industry makes/does what you want to be involved with?
• What employers are in your geographic area of interest?
• Who do you already know?

You need to be out there proactively meeting people rather than passively looking on the internet. Internet searches are fine as long as you are not hiding behind your computer.

Top tip - you can do these internet searches anytime from 8pm in the evening to 6am in the morning. This will free up your day to make new connections in person or on the phone during core business hours.

Tap into your network of professional and personal contacts to identify potential employers. Learn more about networking and informational interviewing.

• Use your Library
• Libraries a great free resource with directories and other sources of information
• Internet – research both industries and companies on-line
• General Job Search Sites - Find positions that use your skill sets. What types of employers are hiring those positions?
• Yellow Pages - seems old-fashioned, but still the fastest way to find a listing of employers in a specific city or area.
• Local Chambers of Commerce for the city or region in which you are interested.

Use and develop your network

Ask friends or colleagues

Once you’ve found the key contact in your target employer, rather than taking the “what is it they can do for me approach “, provide them with some kind of accomplishment statement of what you can do for them,  for example “increased sales by £20000 using social networking”. The more clear you are about your features and benefits the more attractive you become.