More than 70% of today’s job opportunities come through the “hidden job market”: they’re never advertised, assigned to search firms or internal recruiters, or displayed at job fairs. What’s more, as employers cut recruiting costs, the proportion of “hidden” job opportunities is actually growing. And, since most jobseekers know practically nothing about it, those who do understand it have a powerful inside advantage. Now, two career experts reveal the hidden job market, and show how to use it to dramatically improve your chances of landing a job that fits your passions and skills perfectly. Duncan Mathison and best-selling author Martha Finney help you launch a custom, personal job search that avoids competing with thousands of desperate, laid-off job seekers. Learn how Use the hidden job market to leap-frog salary levels or even change professions Uncover hidden market opportunities, and your target employers’ unspoken needs and wants Tell your story in two minutes, and make people want to know more Get the interviews that count, and run them like a pro Network without sounding phony, lame or desperate Reframe experiences, passions, and hobbies as “transferrable skills” Build a strategic support team of advisors Identify a “dead-ended” job search, and get it restarted Negotiate compensation for “hidden” jobs.
If you're the kind of person who needs to read this book to access the hidden job market, you're not the kind of person who can access the hidden job market.
In one sentence, this book is a "for dummies" version of how to talk to individuals in a way that is productive to both parties of the conversation. Let me elaborate...
Often, the ideal job is not one listed on a job search site. In fact, it might not even exist yet. So, how do you get it? The process is a combination of figuring out your own interests/abilities to build a "Targeted Opportunity Profile" and building on this document and filling in gaps from your conversations with individuals who know the industry (especially important if you are trying to enter a new field) and/or are connected to individuals who could connect you to a job. When you meet with any of these individuals, you are NOT interviewing for a job. You are there to learn, especially about problems that higher-ups in the industry face and would like to have solved for them. Through a series of these conversations -> introductions -> conversations, you could eventually find yourself talking to someone who could use your skills AND has the power to offer you a job.
Just another job search advise book that focuses solely on people who ready have experience and skills. If you have neither of these this is not the book for you.
Short easy-to-digest tidbits of advice for those who know the automated resume-reading machines are a terrible way to do business.
It is repetitive but there is no need to read all the sections, especially if they do not pertain to individual needs.
The sections about how to approach non-interview employment research were quite enlightening to one who was raised in a non-networked family.
Most importantly, the suggested scripts for introverts afraid to make cold calls are really helpful at easing the tension of not knowing what to say or how to word it.
This book offers good advice about proactive networking and the power of the informational interview. For someone introverted like me, it is good to have an action plan for talking to people. None of the material is revolutionary, but it is well documented in one place.