What Is The Hidden Job Market?
The hidden job market (or invisible job market) is simply all the jobs that people successfully secure that are never advertised through conventional methods like recruitment agencies, job listing sites, etc.
In fact, almost nobody knows about them.
There are many ways to work the hidden job market. I recently was speaking with a young man who works for JP Morgan. He told me how he managed to secure a job as a technical analyst trader without ever going to university. He loved the area of market trading and became very learned through periods of self-teaching (it’s easy to teach yourself complex subjects these days with a plethora of quality and very economical online learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursea, Udemy, Youtube, etc.). Then through working some networks( ie. hidden job market), he managed to secure a meeting with a decision maker at JP Morgan who was very impressed with this man’s knowledge and skill level and subsequently offered him a job. His boss later told him that his knowledge and understanding of trading and other skills required for the role were substantially better than most of the graduates he interviews-there’s something to think about.
Moral of the story: employers are not so interested in the letters after your name, but in how skilled, motivated, and competent are you to do the job. Many others have gained jobs of their choice in a similar way.
Working the Hidden Job Market will help you get a job faster, and usually, a job that you will enjoy more than if you simply follow the traditional job search methods of online applications, etc.
Implement a Proactive Job Search
Most people looking for a job use what I call the reactive method, rather than the proactive job search method.
What does this mean? Simply put, they complete their job search by responding to job vacancies that are known or advertised in some way. Yet we know that approximately 80% of all jobs will be never advertised.
The key to working the hidden job market is to have a solid understanding of what you are very good at (and like doing), just like our JP Morgan example above.
Employers Love Enthusiasm
When it comes to a job interview one of the most powerful drawcards an applicant needs is confidence and enthusiasm about what they are good at.
And that’s ultimately what will win you a job, selling an employer the idea that what you love to do and are good at, is exactly the skills they need. And if it’s not the skills they need, then you are speaking to the wrong person. Speak only to organizations that have a need for the skills that you love to use and are good at. That way you are benefiting the employer greatly and they are more likely to see you as an asset to the organization.
How to Find Out What You Are Good At
This is where the dream career finder is valuable. This assessment provides evidence of where your true inborn job skills lie.
And the evidence is what employers love to see. Evidence you can take with you to the job interview (literally take the results of the DCF).
For some people, the results of this assessment can be life-transforming in regard to their future work direction and satisfaction.
Hidden Job Market Tips
If you are looking for a job and want to:
- find a job that suits you well – one where you can feel a great deal of fulfillment and satisfaction.
- find a job faster than normal.
- find a job that you will stay longer in because you enjoy it more.
- find a job that will usually pay more than jobs found using traditional job search methods. (This is due to obtaining a good fit between the skills and abilities you offer, and the skills and abilities required by the employer.)
This is what I recommend:
- Recognize the importance of using basic marketing concepts to give yourself an edge with employers. See my personal marketing for job search.
- Complete the inborn job skills assessment on this site.
- Either use the results of that assessment to target your “best fit” jobs on your own.
- Or make time to connect via Skype or phone (or in person if you live locally) to discuss the results and together we will devise a strategy for securing a job utilizing hidden job market strategies.
See the Contact page for full details.