Hide and seek: the hidden job market

Dear Coach:


I keep hearing about the “hidden job market.” Do I need to know about this?

Huh?

Dear Huh:

You’re not the only person wondering about this.

There is a commonly quoted study that says that 80% of jobs are in a “hidden job market,” inaccessible to anyone but insiders in an organization. In fact, many firms have sprung up to offer to help you uncover these hidden jobs if you’re willing to pay them thousands of dollars. As a result, many students feel hooped. If the majority of good jobs are hidden from them, how can they hope to land one?

So how do you get access to the jobs that are only posted internally? Do you really have to pay a firm to tell you about them? Probably not.

Research shows that people really do land jobs because they know someone that works in a company or an industry. Is this because people want to give cronies and relatives jobs? Maybe partly. But mostly people want to avoid risk. They’ve had a chance to see someone at a social function, a professional organization meeting or heard about them from a friend or colleague. In some way, they’ve seen them in a favorable light. They’ve seen them as energetic, or dependable or just engaging. Or they know someone who’s willing to vouch for their character.

Your job is to find as many opportunities as you can to get to know the people in your industry. Look for internships and apprenticeships that give you a chance to work for the industry or even ideal company you want to work for eventually. Even as an intern you’ll meet people and learn about potential opportunities in the organization.

Almost every field has a professional organization you can join even as a student, usually at unbelievably low student rates. I hired several students, for example, that belonged to a professional organization for communicators. I got to know them working on volunteer projects. I got to evaluate their friendliness, intelligence and commitment before they ever came for an interview.

Also, professional organizations usually have presentations by industry leaders as part of their meetings. In the after-speech discussions or over coffee, you have the chance to meet people in your field that you would normally not be able to talk to.

If you’re looking regularly at news on the websites of the companies you’d like to work for, you may be able to anticipate opportunities too. If a company has just landed a big contract, you there may be some hiring. It's your chance to check in with someone you know at the firm or with the HR department to see whether they need new staff for the project.