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Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Surprising Key To The Hidden Job Market

Excellent post and Youtube video found at:

http://www.careerealism.com/surprising-key-hidden-job-market/

February 9, 2014 by Nick Gagalis

There are plenty of jobs in the hidden job market, but without the right strategy, you won’t be able to tap into its potential. Learning one surprising thing about that market’s attitude can save you weeks of wasted time, and more importantly, get you a job you are the perfect fit for! (The secret is in the above video from one of our Career Q&A sessions.)

You’re unique, but you’re not special.

Those two words go hand-in-hand sometimes, but they don’t always correlate. There’s a very competitive job market currently, so you’re not special in employers’ eyes. However, no one has the exact same experience you do, which means your skills may be perfectly tailored to solve their problems.

How To Build A Unique Personal Brand

Once you find the right organization, you can reach out to them and build a more unique brand.

Get very specific with your career research. That may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s the best way to find the right situation for yourself. If you cast too wide a net, you’ll never be able to prove you’re a significantly better choice than many other candidates, because you won’t be able to invest as much time into each company.

Since having a giving mindset is so important to professional relationships, it’s no surprise that the same applies for companies. Take the time to get to know people and their needs, because the only reason they would hire you is if you can fill those needs anyway.

Find 10 people in the space that are doing something you want to do, meet them and ask how they got there. If you earn that group’s trust person by person, you’ll be well on your way to a reputation as someone with a clear purpose in the job market.

It’s not easy to get a hold of that many people in a given industry, but once you have their attention, you can show the value you would bring to them – regardless of whether or not you work for them in the future.

Don’t spam them by asking for a job. Instead, ask what they would suggest for someone entering their field. While you learn what those tips are, you can mention some of the things you’ve done, your skills, and other things that would show you’re a smart person working hard to accomplish your goal.

Next… Keep The Relationships Going And Reap The Benefits

After you’ve discovered and befriended a tight group within your target field, those individuals will start noticing positions that you would be the best choice for. Make sure you still keep in touch with them somewhat regularly though. Good working relationships require your time and effort.

There are a TON of opportunities like that, usually when a job hasn’t even been posted. CAREEREALISM founder, J.T. O’Donnell as experienced, companies will wait for the right candidate. After you’ve put in hard work with the people closest to your situation, that will hopefully be you!

We may not all be special, but that’s because we ALL have the ability to make an impact in our respective careers. If you enhance and emphasize what makes you unique during your professional life, you’ll achieve something special: having a job you love and are great at.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

How To Tap Into The Hidden Job Market

Excellent post at http://www.careerealism.com/tapping-hidden-job-market/

It is a well known fact that using job boards exclusively in your job search will leave you confounded and frustrated. Sure, you might be qualified for the positions for which you are applying – but posting your resume online is like trying to find a needle in a haystack – a really, really big haystack.

So, what exactly is this thing called ‘the hidden job market’? The hidden job market consists of openings that are not directly advertised. More and more companies are relying on their employees and specialized, niche sites to identify qualified candidates.

What is the reason for this? With the big job boards, there are a lot of unqualified candidates positing resumes and applying for positions for which they are not qualified. In an effort to cut to the chase, as it were, employers are trying to create a system whereby they can identify a pool of qualified and viable candidates more quickly. It’s very time consuming to sort through hundreds of resumes to find one or two candidates who might be suitable for an opening.

Here are some tips to help you tap into the hidden job market:

Networking

Networking should be an integral part of any job search. Also consider searching smaller job boards, including those that might be specific to a city or region. Look at sites supported by networking groups or associations. As I have mentioned in previous posts, LinkedIn is a great resource that will enable you to identify relevant connections and facilitate your job search.

Writing To The Right Person

I know it can be difficult to obtain the name of a person responsible for hiring. You can begin by calling the company and asking for the name of the head of a particular department or the head of human resources. At least when you send your letter, it won’t be to “To whom it may concern.” Once you send your written correspondence, you can then call and ask for the person by name. You will be more likely to reach someone before 9:00 AM or after 5:00 PM when other staff members who might answer the phone are gone.

Recruiters

Recruiters can be a great source of information – especially now. Do some research regarding recruiters that specialize in your field. Establish and nurture those relationships. Recruiters have their fingers on the pulse of what is going on within the hiring community. Let them help you uncover the right opportunities.

Volunteer Your Time

Volunteering can do a couple of things for you. Aside from making you feel good by giving back to a good cause, volunteering will allow you access to new people. Those people know people, too! You can create an entirely new network for yourself. You never know what you might uncover.

It boils down to your continued diligence; contact people, establish relationships, and knock on as many doors as you can to generate interest in your background. You never know where a conversation (online or otherwise) might lead!

The Surprising Key To The Hidden Job Market Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/surprising-key-hidden-job-market/#QxGDi2Zybzj0teiK.99

Excellent post found at: http://www.careerealism.com/surprising-key-hidden-job-market/#QxGDi2Zybzj0teiK.99

You’re unique, but you’re not special.

Once you find the right organization, you can reach out to them and build a more unique brand.

How To Build A Unique Personal Brand

Next… Keep The Relationships Going And Reap The Benefits

Sunday, March 31, 2013

How To Find 6-Figure Jobs In The Hidden Job Market

Excellent post found at:

http://www.careerealism.com/hidden-job-market-find-jobs/

So, how can you tap into this ‘hidden job market‘ anyway? Here’s some insight:

The Hidden Job Market Defined

So ,what exactly is the hidden job market? This refers to positions that are filled without ever being advertised. Since this represents the majority of positions, it makes sense for job seekers to learn how to reverse engineer a job search and take proactive control.

Job seekers should focus efforts toward identifying those companies that match their target and then reach out to introduce themselves. There is an art to this, but with a little effort job seekers can tap into a huge pool of jobs with less completion and often more salary negotiation room – because once jobs make it to a job board, the process (salary/job description/requirements) becomes more solidified.

The Hidden Job Market And Networking

Many job seekers are led to believe the hidden job market is a code word for networking. Actually, pure networking can add months to a job search, if that is the only method used – turning that word so many career pros tout into another frustrating and expensive alternative to job boards.

To compound this, many job seekers believe networking means asking everyone they know if they are aware of any companies that are hiring and handing their resume out. You will notice this method, too, is very passive and puts someone else in control of the job search process.

Again, tapping into the pool of hidden jobs means taking more leadership than usual, and that is achieved by initiating a self-directed approach.

Networking is important to master because it is a part of many job search strategies, but it is backed up by recognizing shared goals and asking for informational interviews – not open positions. This way, if there are open positions, the lines of communication are open – plus, you will open the door to connect with professionals who can help in other ways.

Strategies For Tapping Into The Hidden Job Market

Now we know the hidden job market is not code for “do more networking.”

The question is – how does one find and capitalize on unadvertised jobs?

The short answer: Find companies within a particular industry and contact the key decision maker directly.

Before a job seeker does this, he or she must have a focus in order to craft a value proposition. Your value proposition is essentially, “the promise of an experience that a potential employer is going to have by hiring you” and this is supported by quantifiable achievements. Many job seekers find it difficult to quantify their accomplishments – often referencing the task oriented nature of the position they hold. However, I have found that struggles to quantify achievements is as easy as shifting ones focus from “what you do” to “what happens when you do it”. Most all employed professionals make or save their employers money – even if they don’t think of themselves that way.

Value propositions in the form of letters or resumes that show results are REALLY interesting to key decision makers (meaning – executives high up enough that they are primarily focused on strategies for revenue generation, cost savings and growth).

With social media and “free” tools like Google, It is extremely fast and easy to find companies and key contact names in most every industry and geographic location. Job seekers can also use associations and online trade journals to develop their list of companies to reach out to.

Job seekers can “track” growth in various industries using Google News Alerts. Contacting companies for a reason such as winning an award, being acquired or going through a merger, releasing a product, strong growth or profit reports or a corporate move or expansion are all exceptional reasons to explain why one is reaching out, and shows the job seeker as a professional with tremendous initiative.

No matter what is happening in the economy, one thing is true: Companies will ALWAYS be interested in hiring professionals who can demonstrate they can help make or save money. That is why the hidden job market offers abundant opportunities to maximize leverage and minimize “liabilities” and competition. Perhaps the best thing about unadvertised positions is that no matter if you are looking for a new grad job, if you are a mid-level manager or a senior executive – the hidden job market is THE place to fully leverage your career opportunities

The P.E.P. Talk

This article is part of our P.E.P. Talk Series. Over the next month, some of the brightest and best authors, business professionals, and coaches are coming together to share their valuable advice for breaking free of “The Golden Handcuff Effect” so you can take full ownership of your careers and experience Professional Emancipation.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

How to Find Opportunities in the Hidden Job Market

Excellent post found at http://www.careerealism.com/how-find-opportunities-hidden-job-market/

By Ariella Coombs

18 Interview Preparation Questions
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Each week, we ask our experts to answer a career question on behalf of our readers.

This week’s question is about the hidden job market:

“What tips can you give for finding opportunities in the so-called ‘hidden job market’?” – Anonymous

Here’s what our approved career experts had to say:

Network, Network, Network!

According to Amanda Haddaway author of Destination Real World: Success After Graduation for New and Soon-to-Be College Graduates, some studies show that up to 80% of job openings aren’t advertised on job boards. Instead, these openings are filled by word of mouth advertising.

“It all goes back to that concept of ‘six degrees to Kevin Bacon,’” Haddaway says. “We’re all connected within six degrees (and some say that’s decreased to three or four degrees with social media), so even if your immediate contacts don’t have an opening that’s a good fit for you, they may have someone in their network who is hiring.”

If you’re not out there talking to professionals in your network and in your field, you may be missing out on these hidden opportunities, she warns.

Reach Out to Companies

Another reason to network? Decision makers love to have a ‘known candidate:’ someone who networked with them before the job was posted (it makes their job so much easier), says Laura Labovich co-author of 100 Conversations for Career Success: Learn to Tweet, Cold Call and Network Your Way to a Dream Job.

“It may seem counterintuitive,” she says, “but, if there’s no job open yet, you are even better off!”

Labovich suggests compiling a list of target companies (generally 40 or so is enough for starters) then aiming to get meetings, not interviews, at your target companies. Use LinkedIn and/or Twitter to identify decision makers within your ideal department, and cold call for the department head’s name and contact info. You can also draft a networking letter requesting a few minutes of their time, and then follow up with a phone call.

Open Your Mouth

“Many job seekers are ‘shy’ about telling their network that they are searching for a new place to work,” Kristin Johnson of ProfessionDirection.com. ”Don’t be; ask your contacts for help. But, don’t ask your contacts for a job.”

Ask them for ideas of who might be helpful for you to talk to, what companies would be a good match for you, or any tips they can offer, she advises. Make it easy for your network to help you by asking specific questions and telling them precisely what you are hoping for.

Make Sure You’ve Got Clear Goals

“First, make sure you are confident, focused, and clear about what you really want to do in the marketplace and what will make you happy,” says Shell Mendelson of PassiontoCareer.com. ”If you are unclear, talk to a career counselor to help you develop your goal.”

Mendelson also suggests talking to someone doing the work you want to do in another town. Take them out to coffee and ask them how they got into the work they are doing and what companies they would recommend you contact and organizations you can join.

Then, of course, follow up with thank-you notes to everyone you spoke with and take inspired action based on information gathered.

Update Your LinkedIn Profile

“Ensure you have a compelling resume and compelling LinkedIn profile,” says Andy Robinson of AndyRobinsonCoach.com.

Both of these should “tell the same story,” Robinson says. They should also convey your accomplishments and how you’ve added value.

He also suggests joining groups that target company contacts are members of so you can initiate and participate in discussions and dialogue.

Don Goodman of GotTheJob.com also recommends utilizing your LinkedIn account.

“LinkedIn makes networking easy and you should look for a firm that has access to a database of recruiters so they can identify those who would be interested in you and get your resume in front of the right people,” Goodman says.

Connect With Your Colleagues

Lisa Adams of FreshAirCareers.com suggests connecting with your contacts that are one or two levels from you.

“Work through them for opportunities where they are or opportunities they many know about,” Adams says. “Working through your contacts into an opportunity or discussing with them what you want to accomplish (your target role and the value you can bring) is more effective than applying cold.”

Another way to approach a contact is to discuss the industry and what is happening in it, she says. Become familiar with the latest and greatest news in the industry and discuss it with them.

Get a Little Help from Your Friends

“Talk to your friends and relatives, and ask them if there are any positions opening up that they’ve heard about,” Ben Eubanks of UpstartHR.com says. “Honestly, that’s the easiest way to do it. Though if you are more proactive, you might have more success than just asking and being passive.”

Eubanks suggests asking for people to contact you if they hear of openings you might be a fit for if you want to get a little more involved.

“I’ve even heard stories of job seekers offering a referral bonus to friends ($50 gift card to a restaurant, for example) if they refer them to a job and end up being hired,” he says.

Realize There’s No Such Thing as the ‘Hidden’ Job Market

“The first career reality one needs to face and totally understand is that the ‘hidden job market’ does not exist,” says career expert Jordan Anderson. ”Rather, the way to look at today’s job market is that the proverbial ‘hidden job market’ is the job market! It’s the skill of the job seeker to turn what used to be classified as ‘hidden’ into a ‘live and breathing opportunity.’”

Go for the Informational Interview

Roshni Kumar of CareerLighthouse.net says informational interviews can help you gain perspective of the market that is not actually hidden in the real sense.

“I cannot stress more on taking the informational interview path,” says Kumar. ”This would also help to narrow down the roles you have been thinking of getting into but not getting leads (sales terminology for getting prospects).”

Put Yourself Out There

Bud Bilanich, author of Climbing The Corporate Ladder says companies with vacancies want to fill them with strong candidates, so you need to let them know you are available.

“Don’t passively apply for jobs online,” says Bilanich. ”Go out and locate the jobs in which you can make a contribution.”

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

About Ariella Coombs

Ariella Coombs is a recent graduate from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. She currently manages the content for CAREEREAL

Step-by-Step Plan for Using the Internet to Go "Beyond the Want Ads"

Learning how to do the hard work of networking to find the hidden job opportunities is described in the step by step process below taken in it's entirety from a post at http://jobstar.org/hidden/jobplan.php

Focus on your selling points.

Focus on one position and one target industry.

Develop a custom list of targeted employers.

Use your network.

Make contact with the employer.

Get help.

1. Focus on your selling points.

Why should an employer hire you? Be specific. And creative. The key is to know (or be able to imagine) what the employer needs. Your experience, research and networking will help you do this!

You'll need to know as much as you can about the tasks, skills, and experiences your new employer is looking for. You'll learn more about that in Steps 2-4. For now, focus on what YOU have to offer. As you learn more about employer needs, you will pick up the best ways to present your selling points.

Your selling points are based on your performance (proven track record), experience, and training as well as on your own preferences--What do you LIKE to do? What do you do WELL? What do you want to LEARN and keep on learning?

Make sure your resume spells out your selling points so the employer doesn't have to "read between the lines" or guess. [See JobStar's Resume Section to learn more about writing a good resume for your situation.]

STUCK AT STEP 1?

2. Focus on one position and one target industry.

You're going to be tracking down employers who are the best match for your selling points. You MUST limit your search to develop a list of target employers.

As you work through Steps 3 and 4, you'll begin to see more possibilities. But don't get side-tracked. Make notes of other positions and target industries that interest you--you can begin the process again using THAT focus if you later decide to re-direct your search.

You must have a focus and stick to it to even begin a Hidden Job Market search.

Examples of POSITION and target industry focus.

These statements are related to the selling points in Step 1.

EVENTS COORDINATOR for a chamber of commerce in Los Angeles.

MECHANICAL ENGINEER at scientific instrumentation company specializing in mass-spectrometry or gas chromatography. Will consider smaller companies or start-ups. Relocation possible.

ONLINE RESEARCHER for law firm specializing in patents and trademarks.

RECEPTIONIST for insurance agency in Encino area. Some word processing (WordPerfect, Word for Windows), heavy phones okay. Part-time, no benefits required.

AUDITOR for health-related nonprofit organization in Marin County.

Lead breakfast COOK for high-volume restaurant in the Napa Valley.

STUCK AT STEP 2?

3. Develop a Custom List of Targeted Employers

Begin by listing the employers you already know who match your focus: name, location, any other information. If your target statement matches a previous employer, add that firm's competitors to the list.

A. Develop a list of keywords describing the target industry:

Restaurants
Diners
Family Dining Establishments
Resorts
Retail Food Service
Truck Stops

B. Search for companies that match your focus.

Grow your list by learning more about your target industry

You may discover that your industry definition still needs more work or that you need to broaden your geographic requirements to produce a larger list of employers. No matter how long you have worked in a field, there will be new employer names to discover: start-ups, suppliers, allied businesses. Let's say our breakfast cook is stuck. He may want to investigate:

Airline food service production
Corporate food services
Hotel food services
College and university food services
Large catering companies
And the whole world of commercial baking, if he has interest/skills in that area.

To repeat: it is essential to "chase" one industry at a time so you can learn as much as you can and find smaller companies or companies that are not especially well-known. As you move from one related target industry to another, you may also find that employers are looking for different skills or selling points. Our cook's duties may vary with the setting: purchasing, supervising other operations, keeping accounts or assisting with presentations to potential clients may be required in one setting and not in another.

Use these sections of JobStar's Researching Companies:

General Business Publications
Local Business Publications
Northern California
Southern California
Trade Associations
Industry Reports

Use these sections of JobStar's Using Networking Resources:

Mailing Lists
Finding Mailing Lists that match your interests
SEARCH TIPS

C. Select several companies to investigate in depth using JobStar's Company Research

You'll need to know as much as you can about the company, products, services, customers, competitors, technologies used and the challenges the company faces. Try to read between the lines to get a sense of the company's "style" or approach to its market. You'll be trying to answer two questions: Is this company a good fit for you? AND What are the employer's needs and how can I present myself to meet those needs?

STUCK AT STEP 3?

4. Use Your Network.

5. Make contact with the employer.

Now that you've identified the employers who need YOU to solve their problems, get ready to make your first contact.

6. Get Help.

Using the Hidden Job Market is a LOT of work--and often requires skills that aren't part of your regular job (sales & marketing, research, public relations, project management.)

Job search support groups and Career Centers can help you work your plan with other motivated job seekers. Classes and workshops will help you get "grounded" and solve problems along the way.

To get personal help with your Hidden Job Market Search

Visit JobStar's Career Centers and make plans to attend a workshop or see a counselor.

Get A Job Using The Hidden Job Market

Excellent post taken in its entirety from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2011/07/05/get-a-job-using-the-hidden-job-market/

Susan Adams, Forbes Staff

I cover careers, jobs and every aspect of leadership.

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7/05/2011 @ 5:14PM |10,488 views

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Move to the head of the line of candidates before the job is listed online.

The technology executive had been out of work for more than a year, but he didn’t tell any of his friends he was unemployed. Instead, he made up a story about how he was consulting on some confidential projects, the details of which he would reveal when it was time to go public. Meantime, he applied for dozens of posted job openings he saw online, with zero success. He also spent time golfing at the country club, where his locker was next to a CEO in his field. Still, he guarded his secret carefully, staying mum with his golf buddies about his job hunt. Finally, his distraught wife set up some sessions with Donald Asher, an executive career coach and author of 11 books, including Cracking the Hidden Job Market: How to Find Opportunity in any Economy. Asher, who splits his time between San Francisco and northern Nevada, convinced his new client to open up about his job hunt, and start talking to everyone he knew about how he was on the market. Sure enough, one of his golfing friends gave him a tip that led to a job at a startup. “He never ever would have gotten that job the way he was looking for work before,” writes Asher.

As I’ve written in earlier articles, despite the explosion of employment listings online, job seekers should spend no more than 20% of their time answering ads (some coaches recommend only 10%). Instead, says Asher, and a number of other coaches I’ve interviewed, the best way to find a job is through a combination of networking and direct contact. That way you tap into the so-called hidden job market. That is, you get to the head of the line of job candidates before a job is listed anywhere, and sometimes, before the hiring manager has even decided she is going to hire for a particular position.

Example: A college student was looking for a summer internship and decided she wanted to do communications and marketing for a liberal arts college. Instead of answering online listings, she put together a letter describing her interest, and sent it to PR professionals at 40 colleges and universities in her area. Ten got back to her and one offered her a position.

“The hidden job market is a job you can’t see,” explains Asher. “If I can hire somebody without posting the job, I’m going to do that 100% of the time.” Given the choice of sorting through hundreds of difficult-to-distinguish applications, and taking the recommendation of a contact, or considering an applicant who has demonstrated initiative and enthusiasm by getting in touch directly, most hiring managers will take the most efficient path. “It’s like the dating rule,” says Asher. “You’re more likely to date someone introduced to you by a cousin. The same thing happens in hiring.”

As Asher writes repeatedly in his book, “you get a job by talking to people.” That doesn’t just mean classic job interviewing. It means talking about your job search to everyone who will listen. Asher recommends using all channels, including face to face chatting, phone, email, snail mail, and social media like LinkedIn and Facebook. Asher even says that strangers, like people you might meet in line to buy coffee, can be great contacts. He tells the story of a client who was heading from the airport to an interview with a company in Indianapolis. She asked her cabbie about the company, and the driver replied that he’d heard a competitor was a better place to work. Asher’s client wound up reaching out to the competitor, telling them honestly that she was in town interviewing with their rival. She wound up getting offers from both companies.

Asher also advocates looking for a specific job, rather than casting about for openings. Know the industry where you want to work, the job function and the title. If you’re not certain about those three things, Asher suggests an information-gathering mission.

In his book, Asher writes about how he used to have open office hours where he coached non-executive clients. One client, Aiden Spencer, was about to graduate from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in biology, but he wanted to be a residential income property manager. Spencer’s résumé was loaded with terms like “Spectrophotometry” and “chromatography titration,” so Asher urged Spencer to walk into residential high rises and ask for advice about how he could rewrite his CV to make himself attractive as a job candidate. At the first building, Spencer was urged to take some business classes. Spencer answered that he had worked as the treasurer for his fraternity and handled the capital and operating budget. Asher urged Spencer to continue to walk into buildings and ask about what his résumé needed. By the end of four weeks, he’d removed words like “endonucleases,” and played up his experience not only handling budgets, but also managing carpentry, plumbing and electrical repairs. Armed with new information about residential property, Spencer decided he was more interested in managing commercial buildings. Asher encouraged him to keep hunting by walking in and approaching building staff directly. Two weeks later, Spencer had landed a job as a leasing agent at a commercial building.

Asher recommends approaching contacts with a series of questions, rather than a plea for a job. “Do not ask them for a job at their place of employment,” he advises. “Always ask about advice, ideas, leads and referrals,” he says. “People always have time for that conversation.”