The “traditional” 2013 employment market will be much more challenging than you might anticipate. Many companies are doing more with less. They can afford to be highly selective because they always receive a large number of qualified applicants for one job vacancy. So what can you do to increase your chances of attaining a new job this year?
What many job seekers aren’t privy to is: statistics surprisingly illustrate that approximately 80% of vacancies within companies are never publicly advertised—nope—instead, they are filled through employee referrals! This saves companies both time and money. These opportunities are hidden from the public eye and careerist never find out about them as they enthusiastically go from job board to job board in search of their dream job.
So How Can You Begin to Effectively Tap Into the Hidden Job Market?
Revamp your resume! Is it well-formatted and well-presented? Is your resume cohesively written and pleasing to the eye? Does it effectively tell your story? Be honest with yourself, because to every single company you send your resume to–your resume IS you!
Narrow down your dream job in the ideal company. If you were to start a job search today, where would you apply? What would you do? Think about who might be able to help you. Planning is key in launching a successful job search campaign.
Conduct your own personal research. If you know you’d like to work at a specific company, study the company website to glean more information. Utilize Google to find out the name of the hiring authority. Can’t find their email address? If you can locate even one personal email address at that company, you can then reformat it using the name of the hiring manager. Sometimes it takes a lot of investigative work to find this information. Do it. Perform what you have to in order to find the necessary information; make phone calls at off times if necessary. Then email your resume. If you truly want to stand out, send a copy of your resume via snail mail as well.
Utilize LinkedIn. If you are not yet a member of LinkedIn–join. Enlist the help of a professional to write your profile or read a book and learn how to maximize the effectiveness of owning a well-written LinkedIn profile. Search present and previous colleagues and other professional contacts. Connect with them. Investigate where they work and their connections. Research prospective employers. There are amazing opportunities provided to you via LinkedIn.
Network, Network, and Network! Reach out to your contacts and ask if they have any hiring advice or recommendations for you. Inquire about job openings. Ask for introductions to hiring authorities within the company.
Make your own luck. Did you ever hear the old adage “We make our own luck”? In job searching, that is absolutely the case. Be prepared with a network resume or network cards. Have an online portfolio that you can easily share with any contact.
The hidden job market is out there rich with career opportunities– the creative, courageous, and arduous job seeker will win interviews over the passive job hunter any day of the week — and twice on Sunday (wink).
