One mistake many jobseekers make is assuming that every open job is posted somewhere. It’s easy to assume that if a company has advertised eight open jobs, they have eight open jobs, right? In fact, some of the best, highest level jobs never hit any job board. Here’s why.
First, a definition. The “hidden job market” refers to unadvertised roles filled primarily through internal promotions, employee referrals, and direct recruiter outreach. Odds are that a candidate without an inside connection will never know a position is open, much less have a way to apply for it.
Employers are risk-averse, and for good reasons. The wrong hire, especially in a highly skilled or leadership position, can set a team’s performance back for years. When you make a bad hiring decision, it can take months to discover that the new hire is toxic or underperforming. Then it may take months to document the issues and terminate them. Then you have to start the whole search process over again.
Sorting through hopefuls that come in off the street is time consuming and generally not worth the resources it takes to screen and interview them. It’s much easier and less risky to look for a known quantity.
So here’s how the process goes. First, the hiring manager will look at the current employees of the company to see if anyone might be promoted into the position. Internal candidates are known entities; the hiring manager can talk to their peers, their boss, and others in the company to learn how they’ve been performing in their current role. They can also get the inside scoop – the deep information about their personality, their ambition, their reputation, and other details a recruiter will never be able to know about an outside candidate. All this might happen before the internal candidate is ever approached about the job.
Internal candidates also already know the company culture, have a shorter learning curve, and have a built-in network of mentors, colleagues, and support that would take a new hire years to build.
If there’s no suitable internal candidate, the next step is for a hiring manager to go through their extended network, asking if anyone has a lead for a candidate with the right resume and fit for the job. Again, with these referrals, a hiring manager will not simply get a resume; they’ll also get information on why this candidate would be a good fit and about any concerns or limitations to look for. When a professional or current employee makes a referral of this sort, it’s almost always very solid, since their own reputation and good judgment are on the line.
Finally, if there are no internal candidates or warm leads, the company’s recruiters go after passive candidates: people who are already successful in a similar role but who may not be actively searching for a new job. It’s not uncommon for high performers to get a couple of calls a month from recruiters looking to lure them away to a new company.
Finally, as a last resort, a recruiter may post a job on the company’s recruiting page and national job boards. As soon as that posting goes live, there will be hundreds of applicants, some with promising resumes, and many who are not qualified, but hopeful. Applicant Tracking Systems screen out the wannabes, but there’s usually a long process ahead of the hiring manager. They must find the right skills, the right attitude, and the right fit for the team. See paragraph three for why this is undesirable.
How can you access the hidden job market, with all those obstacles and steps before you? First, give up the idea of being hired for an aspirational role. If you’re a stretch candidate, the hidden job market will remain behind the firewall. Set your sights on jobs that are well within your abilities, just a step or two beyond your current role. Salary is a good rule of thumb for this; almost no one jumps (successfully) from a $40,000 job to an $80,000 job. Look for opportunities that pay between 15 – 20% more than your current job, or that offer a chance to add on a new skill set, such as training or supervision.
Second, make sure you’re findable. Work on your network, both IRL and online, and make sure your LinkedIn profile is current and appealing. Recruiters still spend over 80% of their time looking for talent on LinkedIn, so it’s not optional for someone looking to progress in their career.
And this is the most important advice: work hard on becoming the best at what you do. It’s up to you to practice excellence every day and impress your peers, managers, and customers. No one goes out looking for a mediocre – or even average – addition to their team, so working on your skill set is job one if you want access to the hidden job market.
Your Work, Your Way 