Tips for Tapping the Hidden Job Market

You’ve typed up your résumé and bought a nice suit. You follow the job listings online every day. What else can you do to launch your career? Try the “hidden job market.”

The hidden job market consists of jobs that aren’t listed anywhere, and in some cases don’t even exist yet. People find out about these jobs with the help of friends, family, professors, and colleagues.
The great thing about the hidden job market is that it starts with you: your dreams, goals, aspirations. Instead of first asking yourself whether you qualify for a job described in a “help wanted” posting, you can ask yourself: What do I want to do? What sort of job might get me started on the path to my dreams?
Once you’ve identified your career interests, start talking to everyone in your social, academic, and professional network. Ask if they know someone you could talk to.
Your English professor may introduce you to a newspaper editor who could help you get work in a newsroom. The couple you used to baby-sit for may be able to help you land an office assistant job at an architectural firm.
Even if a contact doesn’t lead directly to a job, you might be able to land what’s called an informational interview, a chance to talk to professionals about your desired field and what you could contribute to it. You’ll get perspective on how your skills may fit, including skills you may never have thought would be applicable. You’ll also get insight into what skills you’ll need to develop to be qualified for your dream job.
Here are some tips for tapping into the hidden job market:

• Attend an industry show in your field of interest and meet at least ten new people.
• Join job forums on online job sites and pick up tips from other job seekers to help you be a smarter job seeker.
• Be able to articulate your interests and desires. For example, ‚ÄúI want to find a job that uses my science skills,‚Äù is less compelling than ‚ÄúMy dream is to work for an aerospace company designing rocket engines.‚Äù
• Tell friends, family members, professors, and colleagues about your goals. Ask if they know someone you could talk, and would be willing to pass along that person‚Äôs contact information, or even make the introduction.
• Ask each contact you collect from this process if s/he can spare even 30 minutes for an informational interview.
• At the informational interview, have thoughtful, prepared questions, keep your meeting short, and follow up with a thank-you note.
• Ask him/her: What‚Äôs it like to work in your field? How did you get started? What advice would you have for someone starting out today? What skills or experience will I need for the job? Is there anyone you suggest I contact to find a job?

Exploring the hidden job market can give you important insights that will help you refine your goals. You may think you want to hop on the corporate ladder in the financial services industry, but then find yourself gasping for fresh air once you spend an hour in a room full of cubicles on the 66th floor of an office building. Or, perhaps you want to work in television, but it isn’t until you see a production team in process that you realize you want to be behind the camera, not in front of it.
Here are some additional suggestions for what to investigate during an informational interview:

• Culture: What‚Äôs it like to work for this company? What is the management style? What‚Äôs expected of you? The workplace culture is almost impossible to determine unless you walk through the company‚Äôs doors and talk to people.
• Image: How does the company look? Is the building well maintained? Are workspaces neat or trashed? Is the website up to date and professional?
• Diversification: What products or services does the company offer? To how many markets? The more markets served and products offered, the more diverse the company. Diversified companies tend to offer you more flexibility and less job risk. If you aren‚Äôt happy in one division, you could request a transfer to another.

Remember that the more you put in to the process of finding a job, the more you’ll get out of it. When you take the time and effort to meet with a respected professional in your field of interest, it makes a great impression and opens another career door. You may be surprised to learn about all the jobs that have your name on them—jobs you never would have found if you had gone about job searching the conventional way.
Nicholas Aretakis is a life skills and career coach and the author of No More Ramen: The 20-Something’s Real World Survival Guide (Next Stage Press). He hosts an online community for college students and recent grads at www.NoMoreRamenOnline.com.