Hidden Job Market

If you have ever used the services of a career counselor or participated
 in a job search workshop, you have probably heard about the “hidden
job market” and how you should be looking there for available jobs. So
what exactly is the “hidden job market?” The “hidden job market” consists
of those jobs that are never advertised. It is easy to grasp the benefit of
hearing about a job opening that hasn’t been advertised – few applicants.

The two best ways to uncover these jobs are networking and informational
interviews (interviews you set up with an individual that works for a company,
or in a field you would like to work for, or in). I still recommend that people
look for jobs by networking and informational interviews, but with the
widespread use of the Internet, there is now a new hidden job market where
you can find jobs that don’t get as much publicity as the jobs on Monster.com,
Hotjobs, Craigslist, etc.

Many companies choose not to spend the money to advertise their opening
with major job sites and instead only advertise their job openings on their
company’s website. This is the hidden job market created by the Internet.
If the company doesn’t advertise on a job site, how will you know they are
hiring? To find these jobs, you will need to do research. The best place
to start your research is by making a list of all the companies where you want to
work. Check each of these company’s websites for the word career, employment
opportunities, jobs, etc. Click on those links to find out if the company you would
like to work for lists their job openings on their site. If they do list a job opening on
their site, and it is a job you are interested in, they probably have an online
application or e-mail address where you can send in your resume.

If you get through your list of companies that you would like to work for, you
can continue your research by checking the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The
BBB allows you to search by business type, for example, hotel. You will then see
a list of hotels in your city. If you can’t get the results you are looking for with the
BBB then try a Google search with some keywords for the industry you want to
work in. For example, if you wanted to work as an architect, you could type
architects and the city you live in.  The search should list several architectural firms
in your area and you can check their websites for possible job openings. This type
of research can be very time consuming but the pay off can be tremendous if you
find a job that you want that hasn’t been highly advertised.