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12.09
Holiday Social Networking Leads to the Hidden Job Market
By Debra Feldman,
JobWhiz, Executive Talent Agent
Traditionally, the holiday
season is the most active networking time of
year with lots of social gatherings, printed
greetings and gift exchanges. The explosion of
social media has dramatically impacted how we
network year-round. Take the opportunity now to
expand your connections using the variety of
social networking platforms that enable you to
keep up with your existing contacts and
establish new relationships on a continuous
basis.
Holiday season is networking
nirvana: the real-world kind and in the
virtual sense. The mushrooming use of social
networking means that even the
“logistically-challenged” can’t excuse
themselves from
networking purposefully
and establishing new strategic relationships at
this time of year. In fact, the growing adoption
of social media means that business
professionals expect colleagues to be accessible
via social networking sites.
While no one walks around with a
sign announcing they are a prime connection to
unadvertised positions or hidden job market
opportunities, online research makes it
convenient to identify individuals as
potentially lucrative contacts based on their
published affiliations. Employees, former
employees, vendors, consultants, advisors,
customers, etc. of companies on your target
employer list can share leads to a new job
before such openings are made official.
Recommendations and referrals from your
connections differentiate you, build trust, and
provide a competitive advantage in a crowd of
qualified candidates.
The hidden job market is
comprised of two sectors: existing but
unadvertised or unannounced openings and
positions created specifically in order to hire
a particular individual. Insider contacts have
the best access to the hidden job market. They
are usually the ones to know about unexpected
vacancies, restructurings, mergers and
acquisitions, retirements, expansions, customer
relationships, sales, re-positioning, new
products, and so on that generate new staffing
requirements. Initiating and maintaining insider
contacts is a good investment in your career.
The payback is information about unadvertised
positions and inside knowledge that you can
leverage to seek a new opportunity as a
preferred candidate.
Networking should not be
restricted to just a seasonal chore, but
embraced routinely as one of the best ways to
increase net worth by expanding your contact
database and building relationship currency.
Social media has made this activity possible
24/7/365 and affordable regardless of location
and time zone differences. Give generously to
connections and simultaneously promote yourself
to prospective employers by suggesting
unsolicited, voluntary assistance and responding
to broadcast and personal help requests. These
are great online opportunities to showcase your
unique talent, skills, experience, knowledge,
and accomplishments to those apt to refer you to
new challenges. Holiday networking delivers
immediate inside leads to new career
opportunities and a bonus, future “career
insurance” or ongoing leads. Connections provide
insider news, industry developments, and
requests for assistance that keep you informed
about potential positions and involve you at the
beginning of the employer’s recruiting process.
During the holidays, there are
many occasions to interact with family, friends,
colleagues, and business contacts about
unadvertised jobs. The proliferation of virtual
communities and electronic communications
provides continuous contact, online visibility
and inexpensive multimedia interactions through
email, direct messages, IM’s, video chat, video
sharing, discussion forums, blogging, blog
comments, photo uploads, etc. It’s a natural
time to initiate a new contact or to revive
lapsed connections; conversations flow easily
around familiar subjects like family
celebrations and travel plans. People are more
receptive to casual discussions with distant
contacts and renewing old ties during
holiday-related conversations. Follow up early
in the New Year to have a more in-depth exchange
and explore mutual interests.
Without a network, you miss out
on priceless, often indirect job leads including
opportunities to demonstrate your expertise and
buzz about potential new career opportunities.
Successful networkers look for ways to give to
others and keep in touch. Networking anytime
should be relationship-driven for mutual
benefit, not transaction-oriented. One of the
simplest things to share is warm holiday
sentiments. Customize correspondence for
everyone. Mention their needs, address their
interests and you are more likely to be
remembered and recommended. Introduce your
contacts to each other. Create messages that
include current industry events impacting them;
send invitations to join an online discussion,
local or national events, webinars; recommend a
blog or website; initiate introductions to
contacts they should know; write
recommendations; share data; send relevant
gifts; ask for their personal opinions and
advice; share your ideas and ask for their
feedback; exchange pictures of people you both
know; offer assistance before being asked; make
a donation in someone’s honor; etc.
Accelerate your career progress
by having the right connections to recommend you
for suitable new challenges. Especially in
today’s highly competitive job market where
trust and credibility are essential, career
success depends as much on who knows you, has
hiring authority, and appreciates your potential
contribution, as what you know. Establish a
network of inside connections so you are on
decision makers’ radars as their first choice,
go-to expert before they advertise new
jobs. This holiday season accumulate more career
insurance. Invest in your network. Initiate new
connections and keep the old, one is silver and
the other is gold!
© 2009 Debra Feldman
Debra Feldman , founder
of JobWhiz, is an executive talent agent with more than 20 years of senior
management consulting experience. She uses networking to identify and connect
candidates with unadvertised new career opportunities in the hidden job market.
For more information, visit
www.JobWhiz.com, and to contact her, visit
www.jobwhiz.com/contact.php.
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