Tapping into the hidden job market

Dear Mr. Walberg: Could you please let me know what you mean the “hidden job market?” I got laid off April and am still looking for a job. I have mailed resumes to companies throughout my area and then call to make sure they received my material. But all they say is that they are not hiring. Please help me find what I am missing. — E-mail from T.B. in Memphis

Dear T.B.: You could very easily be caught up in the same queue as so many other job searchers. Let’s get you out of that “box.”

1. If you are primarily responding to advertised or posted job openings, you are competing with hundreds, or maybe thousands, of other job seekers. You can eliminate that competition.


2. If your letters and resumes are mailed to human resource personnel primarily, then you are asking to be screened out rather than invited in. The HR people are doing their jobs, but filling openings isn’t always the same as selecting the right candidates.

Here’s what you can do to find the “hidden job market” and get hired:

1. Know what you can do, what you want to do, what you love to do and what accomplishments you have in your past.

2. Network with everyone you know and everyone you meet, regardless of their career fields. Be prepared, in about two minutes or so, to explain exactly what you are prepared to do for your next employer. Make it easy, so everyone understands.

3. Get visible in your community, professionally and socially. The more visible you are, the more network contacts you develop, and there is nothing as strong as a third-party referral!

4. Get up and out every day, Monday through Friday. You can still check newspapers and post on the Internet, but make it a back burner activity, not your primary one.

5. Remember that companies hire even when they are not advertising, and managers and department heads influence HR. Select your company contacts by identifying companies that need your skills, then get names of managers/department heads who might be your supervisor, and contact them directly.

6. Follow up with every resume you mail. You take charge of your job search and demonstrate that you know how to close the most important sale of your career.

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