I’ve written plenty on the so-called “hidden job market.” Check out this quote I found in a document describing how you can set up a job ministry (aka, job club):
“Over 80% of available jobs are never published in public media of any kind.”
I don’t know where that statistic comes from. I don’t know if it is true. But even if it is partly true, the message is that you will not find all of the opportunities out there on job boards, or wherever else you might be looking.
What does this mean?
Job coaches are quick to point out that whatever you can find online will be the low-hanging-fruit for the general population. In other words, EVERYONE and their dog will be applying to the easy-to-find opportunities. This means you become one of many. This means the people sifting through the applicants will have to sift through (a) a lot and (b) a lot of unqualified people. It is tedious, and that is why they bring in the Applicant Tracking System, which by it’s very nature will be flawed.
This is where you enter the discouraging “resume black hole.” You can spend hours and hours each day playing this game. Some call it a numbers came. I call it usually fruitless.
What about the other 80% of opportunities that are unposted? Where are they, and how do you tap into them?
Much of that 80% really comes down to this:
- Who knows you, and
- What they know about you.
That “simply” comes down to (a) networking and (b) personal branding.
The good news: you can do this!
The not-so-g0od news: it will take work, and can take time. And you need to learn some new skills, get out of your comfort zone, and apply tactics consistently.
Have I lost you yet?
It’s okay, you can go back to the 20% of opps out there, and keep applying all day long. Play that game. Some of you will win it.
For me, I’d rather figure out a solution to my career management that will be valuable both long-term and short-term.
IT IS TIME to take our career management into our own hands. This simply means that networking, and personal branding (or, reputation management), becomes the most important things we can do to help us in this job search, and every job search to ever come.
I’ve seen people who have done this, and I’ve seen the results of their activities. I’ve even seen introverts and old people (read: people who face yucky age discrimination) do this successfully.
I know YOU can do this.
Here’s THE tool to help you with your networking, specifically, managing, nurturing and improving the relationship: JibberJobber.com
There are free trainings you can get on Pluralsight on branding, networking, communication, etc. Pluralsight costs money, but I can get you a 30 day pass. As a bonus, if you watch any of my courses, I’ll upgrade you another seven days on JibberJobber’s Premium level. Watch the video below to see how to get access to the videos, and how to claim your week-long upgrades for watching my courses: