Transcript How to Search in the “Hidden Job Market”

How to Search in the
“Hidden Job Market”
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Career Services
What is the Hidden Job
Market?
 The hidden job market is known as jobs
that are not advertised. However, if jobs
are not advertised in some way, how do
they ever get filled?
 People retire, resign, relocate, transfer,
and get sick.
How do we find these Jobs?
 Newspapers are expensive for
companies and the results are slow
coming.
 Companies post jobs in-house and offer
cash incentives to employees if the
people they recommend from the outside
get hired
 Word of mouth is a major way these
“unadvertised” jobs get filled
Conventional Ways
Pound the Pavement
 Going to the library to research
companies
 Making cold telephone calls to
employers
 Calling job hot lines
 Sending out hard copies of your resume
 Chatting with people
New Ways
Pound the Cyber Pavement
 Research companies online
 Contact employers by email
 Browse employers’ job listing pages
 Visit virtual career centers
(Careerbuilders.com, Monster.com, etc.)
 Zip off your resume electronically
 Cyber-chat directly with others in your
field
With its phenomenal growth, employers
are now turning to the internet to
advertise their previously “unadvertised”
positions, because it’s cheaper and faster
than advertising in other media. For just
a few bucks or no bucks, employers may
advertise worldwide if they wish, and in a
day or two, receive dozens of resumes.
They may also advertise jobs on their
own Web pages, which is even cheaper.
About: Tech Careers
Newsgroups, also called Internet
discussion groups, Usenet forums,
Usenet newsgroups, and just plain ol’
Usenet, are all over the Net. They are
online communities of people
interested in particular topics. Several
are dedicated to jobs, where word of
mouth is what it’s all about, and it
doesn’t cost employers a penny.
About: Tech Careers
Professional organizations have always
been excellent places for researching,
networking, and finding job leads. These
groups are made up of employers and
individuals that have similar interests.
Now, they have a fresh, worldwide
presence on the Internet.
About: Tech Careers
Networking
What is it?
 Networking is simply “talking to people.”
People are happy to help others if they
can.
FAQ-Networking
Why do employers prefer friends and
relatives of their employees?
Pretend you are an employer. You have a job
opening to fill. Who would you hire?
A. An unknown person
B. A friend recommended by one of your
best workers?
FAQ-Networking
Should I be careful about asking
“anyone” to help me?
Yes! If you ask a slacker to try and
arrange a job interview for you, it will
probably backfire.
Be a little cautious about who you ask.
Use you instincts.
FAQ-Networking
Does this networking stuff really work?
Absolutely! Three-quarters of all job
openings are filled though networking.
Networking is also one of the easiest ways
to get a job. All you have to do is
socialize and talk to your friends.
Networking
Contacts
 Personal Contacts
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Friends
Family
Faculty / Staff
Neighbors
Classmates
Club members
Acquaintances
Social/Religious gatherings
Networking
Contacts
 Professional Contacts
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Employers
Supervisors
Colleagues
Subordinates
Clients
Customers
Fellow association members
Networking
Contacts
 Internet
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Subscribers to mailing list you participate
in (listservs, blogs, etc)
Personal or professional contacts that you
might communicate with via e-mail
Social networking sites (myspace,
facebook)