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05.11

By Debra Feldman, JobWhiz, Executive Talent Agent

Among HR industry experts, it’s a pretty well-accepted statistic that up to 80 percent of today’s new hires find their jobs through personal connections rather than more traditional routes, such as classified ads, job boards and even recruiters. Nonetheless, job seekers continue to expend most of their energy on those old, familiar, less productive search methods — resulting in lengthy, often stressful job search campaigns. By networking purposefully to tap into the unadvertised job market, it is possible to avoid getting bogged down in an unproductive, frustrating job hunt, and to gain an edge over your competitors.

The unadvertised job market includes openings which bypass internal HR, exclude external recruiters, do not appear on online job boards, are absent from the classifieds, are not included in job fairs, are left off trade association listings and are not on any other job positing platforms including corporate websites, industry forums, group discussions, social networking platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), e-lists, and other media.

Where are the hidden jobs? How do you find them?

How can a hidden market even be a market, not to mention the most fruitful one? Person-to-person private communication (electronic or otherwise) and word-of-mouth drive the hidden job market by connecting employers with prospective employees. In a tough job market, employers lean more and more on their own employee networks to identify qualified candidates for unadvertised positions, rather than sifting through thousands of resumes and applications. Only job seekers who have spent the time building up their network with the right insider contacts will have access to those unadvertised job leads — and a critical competitive advantage over those who limit their efforts to completing applications or sharing their resumes in response to advertised openings.

The hidden job market is actually three sectors:

• An existing open position that the employer has chosen not to, or has neglected to announce, publically. However, the opening is often known to company insiders, including employees, vendors, consultants, customers, advisors, consultants, past employees and the hiring manager.

• A position that is currently filled, but the incumbent has plans to leave (leave of absence, relocation, retirement, resignation, etc.) or will be leaving to assume different responsibilities, at a specific date or when a replacement is identified. Timing is critically important in this scenario because the new hire must be known to the hiring authority and also be available at the right time.

• Jobs that are created just to facilitate hiring a targeted individual; until that prospective new team member connects with the hiring authority, the position does not exist.

Why is focusing on the hidden job market the best job search method?

Posted job descriptions outline the employer’s job requirements and represent the “ideal” candidate. However, it is extremely rare for any single person to match every requirement listed. Often, the “perfect employee,” the one that gets the job, differs from this original candidate-concept. Ultimately, only the hiring manager has the budgetary and decision-making authority to determine if a particular individual is the right fit. For this reason, job seekers must connect directly with and present their interest and qualifications to that decision-maker. Being appreciated and trusted by the hiring authority before he or she evaluates other candidates provides a clear competitive advantage.

To access the jobs in the hidden job market, and to get a leg up on the competition, you must impress hiring decision-makers before they have formulated a job description so that you can help define the role and it will be more likely that it will be tailored to your unique qualifications, background and skills. That means networking purposefully to establish your connections before the hiring process has even begun. If you are already a known quantity — a proven, reliable expert in your field — employers may forego an external search, opting instead to bring you in for an interview first.

Ultimately, employers want a new team member who will have a very short learning curve, is low-risk (i.e., unlikely to fail at the assigned tasks), fits into the corporate culture, comes highly recommended, and has demonstrated the necessary skill and knowledge to perform the work. Additionally, employers are looking for a new hire that is promotable, reliable and priced within their budgetary constraints.

In today’s job market, the available talent outnumbers open positions. Submitting a resume or application for an open position usually results in a strict comparison between the resume or application content and the specified position requirements. Nearly all prospects are eliminated by this perfunctory process. The best way to bypass this rigid screening is by establishing a trusting relationship with hiring decision-makers before there is a vacancy. Personal connections are the best entrée to the hidden jobs. It’s not just what you know or even who you know, but who with hiring authority appreciates your potential.

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.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.

All right reserved, Debra Feldman 2011. Used with permission.