Job hunter, have you ever said:
- “I don’t see any ads, so they must not be hiring.”
- “I don’t see anything posted online from them, so there aren’t any openings.”
- “They don’t have anything open for me right now.”
So you think
every
opening is posted on LinkedIn Jobs or Indeed.com?
Oh dear.
I can’t tell you how many otherwise intelligent candidates, even at senior levels, slip into that kind of thinking and say those things to me -- even though they know “the Internet” is not an absolute source for anything (except perhaps for a lot of wasted time!).
Year after year, the sources of successful hires, according to consultants who survey hundreds of companies annually, are shown to be:
Internal referrals, or nominations from valued employees –
biggest proportion by far
To a much lesser extent, these other methods follow in order of use:
- Internal recruiting programs: career days, internal job fairs
- Internet advertising on job boards
- Social media (company’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, similar) – growing fast
- External recruiters
Companies seek nominations,
especially in labor markets when it’s tough to find good candidates. They reward current employees for this with bonuses and recognition. They ask their valued people, “Who are you connected to on LinkedIn who might be a fit for this role?”
To a lesser extent, companies depend on recruiter networks. Good recruiters ask each other, “Who do you know for this role?” because they are all talking with candidates all the time. And remember, recruiters fill jobs that aren’t vacant yet, doing so confidentially because the person currently in the job isn’t performing well.
And there you are, surfing job boards and thinking that because you don’t see a posting, it doesn’t exist.
Instead, leave the computer behind.
Hang out face-to-face and eye-to-eye with the employed in your network.
Give out a bio or networking handbill instead of your resume when you talk with people.
Ask to be introduced to people at companies where you want to be,
because
you
can solve their problems. This is how you get familiar to those closer to these unpublished, unannounced openings.
And how they’ll nominate
you
.
Updated from Joanne's article on LinkedIn Pulse, 8.12.18
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