The Hidden Job Market
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I saw an article on medium.com called, “I Was a Recruiter For 15+ Years And This is All I Know About The “Hidden Job Market.” I think it gave some nonsense answers in a q&a format that I want to correct
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Hi. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for no BS career advice globally, related to a number of different things.
I read an article on medium.com that talked about the hidden job market. It’s titled “I Was a Recruiter for 15 Plus Years And This is All I Know About The Hidden Job Market.’ Like 15 years, I’ve gotten more than double that.
It goes on to say, ‘if you’ve been on LinkedIn in the past few weeks, I’m sure you’ve come across a lot, I mean a lot of posts and opinions about the
hidden job market.’ I’ll just go through the q&a that this person self-created, and what the answers are and what my opinions are, because I don’t think much of this was particularly useful.
So the first thing is, does the hidden job market exist? And her answer is ‘kinda, but it’s not as significant as you believe!’. And it’s nonsense. Most jobs are hidden. It’s really that simple. She claims that they’re ‘not as significant as you believe.’
Why would a role remain hidden or not posted online? ‘This might happen with confidential roles,’ meaning very senior roles (think executive or C level), or if the company is thinking about letting someone go and they need to backfill ASAP.’ Most of the hidden job market in my opinion exists only because companies haven’t advertised them. Now, a C-level role is going to go out to an executive search firm. It’s not going to be advertised. An executive role? Same thing.
But most of the hidden job market is for positions much more junior than that. All it means is they weren’t advertised. So it begs the question of why don’t they advertise them? The answer is no budget. Well, they can just put it up on their website. True. But if their website gets no traffic, they’re not going to wind up getting any results from it so they don’t waste any time. Again, they’re looking for referrals and often, they’re just not going to spend the time posting it on their own site if no one ever comes with or they waste their time with the wrong people.
The next question is any other reasons? ‘Well, sometimes hiring managers like two candidates for one role. And if they can afford to open a second role, they’ll probably hire those two people right away.’ Okay. I don’t agree, but that’s okay.
What about internal roles? ‘Some companies share their openings internally, to offer mobility opportunities to their current employees. But that doesn’t mean the job is hidden, though. It’s just an internal opportunity.’ That part’s true. And, again, it’s not the hidden job market.
I heard startups and small companies have a lot of hidden roles. And her response is to say, ‘Well, sort of. Brand new startups usually don’t have a recruitment team or recruitment process yet. So they hire via third-party vendors or people they know. This isn’t sustainable, though, especially if they grow up.’ The only part of that statement that’s true is the generally, they’ll hire from people that they know. Part of the reason that these people are hired into the leadership roles or the initial staff seniority roles, is because they know people and they come together as a team. The team knows how to work with one another and thus get results. Not, again, not the hidden job market.
Do staffing agencies manage hidden roles? ‘Sometimes, but only if they signed the non-compete agreement with the client. But the roles are posted on their website anyway, unless it’s a confidential role.’ What garbage? There’s so much to unpack there. I just don’t want to waste time focusing on this. To me, once it’s with a staffing agency, it’s done. It’s public. They’re out there advertising the role for the client often. So again, it’s not a useful contribution.
Do executives hire their friends and family all the time? ‘Yes, and no. That part I’ll agree with. Many companies have policies against that type of behavior. But let’s be honest, that might still happen in less structured companies or those startup startups. You know, it’s a waste of time to answer this. I’ll just simply say, of course, they do that but they have to be qualified to do the job.
Again, all the hidden job market is our position. options that are on advertised. The way to find them is through networking. People who you know who know people that you don’t know are the keys to the hidden job market, and involves building a network of relationships, where people get to know, like, trust, and respect you and are willing to recommend you and advocate for you, with firms and with people that they know.
I’m Jeff Altman. Again p,eople hire me for no BS career advice that can relate to job search, hiring more effectively, management, leadership, career transition, workplace-related issues.
If you want to find out more, visit my website, TheBigGameHunter.us. I’ve got more than 12,000 posts in my blog that can help you professionally plus, you can schedule time for a free discovery call or a coaching session for which I’ll obviously charge you. I’d love to help you. Also at the website. I’ve got information about my courses, books and guides. Again, a lot to help you at TheBigGameHunter.us Connect with me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter.
Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2400 episodes.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, and YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me via messaging on LinkedIn or in chat during the approximately 30-minute show.
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