You have likely heard that up to 95% of jobs today are never advertised and that professionals, like you, find those opportunities BEFORE they are ever advertised.
The hidden job market is comprised of:
- Opportunities known to management or the CEO but that are not yet communicated.
- Jobs that do not exist but when the right person presents himself, an opportunity is created.
- Incumbents who are ready to move on because of retirement, promotion or some other reason.
Ideal Company Profile
Clients ask me how to find companies in this manner. The very first—and very important—task is to identify your ideal company profile. After all, if your goal is to move away from the corporate world and transition into non-profit, you will not be targeting corporate organizations.
But there’s more to it. You need to know what’s important to you, what your needs are and what your value proposition is.
Your Values
What is important to you? According to the US Department of Labor Statistics, 70% of individuals in the US are unhappy in their current jobs. Many times it is because they are in the wrong job. Values assessments and other related career assessments are valuable tools to help you identify organizations and careers that match your interests and values.
Your Needs
I live in a city of 495,000 and we have two bridges connecting our twin cities. Rush-hour traffic can be a nightmare and traveling from one end of the city to the other can take up to two hours. A recent client decided that nearly four hours per day commuting was overwhelming and as a single parent, she is unable to endure the journey any longer.
Understanding this, she will not target organizations in the sister city. She will focus her geography within a 10 mile radius of her home.
Your Value Proposition
As a payroll manager, she knows that she will need to target organizations of a certain size, at least 250 employees because this is her sweet spot. She holds the record in her industry for pristine payroll accuracy that results in tremendous year-of-over year savings to her employer. This is her value proposition.
Google Doesn’t Know Everything
Did you now that some companies are not online yet or their presence is stealth? Some organizations deliberately stay out of the limelight and therefore will not be indexed on Google or indexed low.
You can uncover these gems through professional sleuthing. Your reference librarian at your public library is a valuable resource as you begin to identify appropriate targets. There are dozens of excellent resources available to help you, including Dun & Bradstreet, a business directory that lists companies along with those companies’ senior management teams. There are many more resources available to you through the library.
Landing your dream job is easier when you know what you want, what you need and what your value proposition is.
