Job Hunt Strategies – How to tap into the ‘Hidden Job Market’

Jobsearch can be frustrating and stressful. Normally a job seeker would update his/her resume, apply for multiple jobs on various job portals, network with colleagues for job leads & wait for an interview call. It’s quite a tedious process and with the pandemic, it’s only got tougher.

Let’s take a look at how hiring takes place from the employer’s point of view. Employer’s hiring preference is in the following order:

1. Internal promotions – they rather promote someone internally from their existing staff.
2. Leads/contacts from existing staff.
3. Through word of mouth from their friends within the industry.
4. Candidates they meet via networking at a conference, business meeting, etc.
5. Recruitment agency and job search portals – this is generally their last resort.
6. This means the majority of available jobs never get advertised and there are plenty of “hidden” or unadvertised jobs out there.

But often most of us have our job search strategy in the exact opposite direction of the employer’s preference of hiring. We tend to focus on job portals more than focusing on people who are in the hiring position.

How to tap into the hidden job market:

1. Search for the fast-growing companies, new branches of existing brands/companies opening up in your city, and the new companies (startups), these are the companies who would be definitely looking at hiring new employees because they need to expand.
2. Once you have shortlisted the companies you want to apply for, search for the talent acquisition managers for those companies. Don’t confuse them with HR managers, a HR manager’s job role has much more than just hiring, they might get involved with forwarding your resume but they aren’t the decision-makers when it comes to hiring. A company might not have a talent acquisition manager, it might be the department head who might be taking that call and you need to figure out that one person who will be responsible for your hiring.
3. With the advancement of technology, we now have resources like Google search & various social media platforms. A little sleuthing is all what it takes to find these hiring managers, you can learn more about them and reach out through email or social media. You might also find some common connection/friend/acquaintance with those hiring managers, in that case, you can ask your common connection to introduce you to the hiring manager and you can take it forward from there. If there isn’t any common connection you can always drop in a message or email them on their work email id. Make sure you don’t stalk them. Be professional and courteous in all communications.
4. Spreading a word in the industry via friends/colleagues that you are looking out for a job also helps. Trust me the right contact can get you your dream job.
5. Be visible in your field of work. It should be easier for recruiters to find you and recognize you as an expert. One can achieve this by doing the following:
   a)  Networking at your industry related conferences, seminars, webinars, business meets, etc is a great way to meet potential employers.
   b)  Being an active member of your industry-related associations.
   c)  Online presence – identify the websites/apps the hiring managers are most likely to be active on and display your knowledge and skills on those platforms.
6. Apply for jobs on job portals as well. Although that’s not as effective as the above-mentioned strategies you never know you might get an interview call through this as well.
7. Ensure your resume is as clean and concise as possible. Use the right keywords Read the job description carefully and incorporate a few keywords from that into your resume for each new job application.
8. Prepare for the interview – do extensive research on the company and the position you have applied for.
9. Most importantly, have a positive attitude. Remember you have a unique skill set that the