In part one of this article, we looked at the facts and fallacies of the hidden job market including why you should consider tapping into it, why you should consider sending your resume to a company that has not advertised positions matching your skills and the level of experience you should be at in order to benefit from the hidden market.
Now I bet you are wondering precisely how to tap into the unadvertised market. There are three strategies to quickly get you started focusing on and finding great jobs that will never see a major job board.
Tip #1: You have to have a plan
If you are going to launch a proactive job search (i.e. knowing precisely what you are looking for, then reaching out to get it) vs. a reactive job search (i.e. passively scanning posted jobs, waiting to find the one that fits you) then it’s crucial you know the following things:
Ø Your primary target markets
(e.g. biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device)
Ø Your primary positions
(e.g. sales executive, VP of sales and marketing, business development director)
Ø Your geographic parameters
(e.g. can’t leave Minneapolis, all of US, California only)
Ø Your timeline
(e.g. need a job NOW, in the next 30 days, would like to make a change in the next 6 months)
Tip #2: You have to pick three main job search strategies for tapping into your market
Now that you have your plan, you should be crystal clear on what you want! Here are just a few unadvertised techniques you can utilize:
Growing/changing or moving companies: These are companies that are expanding, merging, acquiring other companies, are rolling out new products or services or are moving. These companies that are actively changing and/or growing offer you, the job seeker, an opportunity to offer your skills and strengths in order to help them.
Executive Recruiters: Identify executive recruiters that are familiar with your industry and/or level of position. They often have contracts to fill positions of which the majority will never be advertised.
Tip 1: If you are radically changing industries, a recruiter may not be the best source for you as they will be looking for “a match.”
Tip 2: If recruiters are a good source for you my absolute favorite company (they have the best value and the best reputation) for resume distribution is executive agent. You can find their link on my site.
Direct company contact: The secret here is in the numbers. Contacting a company directly (fully knowing they probably have multiple open positions that are not advertised) is a great way to take leadership and control over your job search. Are you interested in looking at the higher education market in your state or the top organic food manufacturers in the US? Or maybe the fastest growing healthcare oriented businesses in your city? All of these “lists” are accessible to you and allow you to easily tap right into your market of focus!
Tip #3: Manage your job search like a marketing campaign
Once you have your plan and have determined the best place to gather your resources and your general strategy, you must make a simple plan to move forward. Depending on your timeframe, pick the hours and the days each week that you plan to invest in your next career move. Block out those times and stick to them! Honor your commitment to your job search just like you would honor your commitment to your present employer to show up on time each day.
During your job search activity, keep things really simple and focus on the actions you are taking, not the results! This way you can celebrate your initial “successes,” which in the beginning are the completion of each of your daily and weekly goals. The results will unfold elegantly and abundantly and you will enjoy feeling that satisfaction of success whether you are investing in marketing yourself or basking in the warm glow of landing your third or fourth interview!
Be careful not to devalue the importance of this tip. This strategy is one of the main points to averting thoughts of despair and feelings of overwhelm.
In this segment, we have learned the basic logistics of tapping into the hidden market. In our final part – part III – I will give you three real life examples of clients that have used these very strategies and share the results they achieved.
What do you propose as an icebreaker and introduction when direct calling to inquire about unadvertised positions? And whom do you ask for?
The problem I’ve encountered is that front desks are NOT allowing cold-calling. If I can’t provide a name, I don’t get through. One desk attendant told me he will be fired for putting any sort of solicitors through!
So if you know of a way to surmount this common hurdle, I’d love to hear it!
Hi Randall,
Great question. Fortunately, there is an answer. First you want to restructure your search to follow up with a decision maker – preferably not HR – though in some cases its either required or appropriate. Finding decision maker names is relatively easy if you know where to look. Try Google and also I really like zoominfo.com.
When you follow up the trick is to ask for the person and avoid elaborating on the nature of your call. If you are interested, I show you how to do this – step by step and provide phone scripts as well in both my eBooks titled: Secrets of the Unadvertised Job Market Revealed and Phone Networking Secrets Revealed. You can find them on my site under the products and services section. I hope that helps you!
-meb
Thanks for the prompt reply.
So far Google has been little help in identifying employees… I tend to only find CEO, CFO, etc. Not people to bother with my requests.
LinkedIn has been much better. I have actually made some contacts that got my resume in front of hiring managers. But that’s been on advertised jobs. I’ve noticed that when I “fish” for anything unadvertised the sense I get is that anyone I speak with feels put out.
I’ve been laid off several times due to my stupid persistence in chasing the last bit of product work out of the US (sigh). Up until the 2002 loss event, it had been relatively easy getting at interviews, job offers, and even unadvertised jobs. That changed abruptly at that time. Suddenly companies and third party recruiters were erecting major barriers to employment. I was out of work 9 months despite extreme stubbornness, massive networking and over 200 applications.
After close to 80 applications now since losing my last position a month and half ago, I am seeing that it’s even worse now. Even commissioned recruiters are not returning calls or emails.
The good news is that I was just alerted to an unadvertised job by a good friend and former colleague who I know will help me out. But I’m still skeptical (please don’t take that personally) about contacting companies out of the blue… so far my experience there has been almost completely negative.