The advertised job market consists of job vacancy announcements and listings found in newspapers, professional and trade journals, newsletters, employment agencies, and personnel offices. Most people focus on this market because it is relatively easy to find/ and because they believe it accurately reflects available job vacancies at any given moment. In reality/ however, the advertised job market probably represents no more than 25 percent of actual job openings. Furthermore/ this market tends to represent positions at the extreme ends of the job spectrum - low-paid unskilled or high-paid highly skilled jobs. The majority of positions lying between these two extremes are not well represented in the listings. Competition often is great for the low and middle-level positions. Worst of all, many of these advertised jobs are either nonexistent or are filled prior to being advertised.
You should spend a minimum amount of time looking for employment in the advertised job markets. Monitor this market/ but don't assume it represents the entire spectrum of job opportunities. Your job search time and money are better spent elsewhere - on the hidden job market. When you identify an advertised position that is right for you, send a cover letter and resume and follow-up with a telephone call - but keep moving on to other potential opportunities.
However/ you will find exceptions to this general rule of avoiding the advertised job market. Each occupational specialty has its own internal recruitment and job finding structure. Some occupations are represented more by professional listing and recruitment services than others. Indeed/ as we move into the high-tech society of the 2000s, greater efforts will be made to increase the efficiency of employment communication by centralizing listings and recruitment services for particular occupational specialties. These services will be designed to reduce the lag time between when a job becomes vacant and is filled. Computerized job banks may increasingly be used by employers to locate qualified candidates/ and vice versa. Employers in a high-tech society need to reduce lag time as much as possible given the increasing interdependency of positions in high-tech industries. If and when such employment services and job banks become available for your occupational specialty, you should at least investigate them. In the meantime, since the job market will remain relatively disorganized in the foreseeable future, do your research and use job search strategies, such as networking, which are appropriate for this type of job market.
Your research should center on one of the key dynamics to finding employment - helping employers solve their hiring problems. Many employers turn to the advertised job market after they fail to recruit candidates by other, less formal and public, means. The lag time between when a position becomes vacant, is listed, and then filled is a critical period for your attention and intervention with networking strategies. Your goal should be to locate high quality job vacancies before they are listed.
The hidden job market is where the action is. It is this job market that should occupy most of your attention. Although this job market lacks a formal structure, 75 percent or more of all job opportunities are found here. Your task is to give this market some semblance of structure and coherence so that you can effectively penetrate it. If you can do this, the hidden job market will yield numerous job interviews and offers that should be right for you.
Networking is the key to penetrating the hidden job market Consider, for example, the hiring problems of employers by putting yourself in their place. Suppose one of your employees suddenly gives you a two week notice, or you terminate someone. Now you have a problem - you must hire a new employee. It takes time and it is a risky business you would prefer to avoid. After hours of reading resumes and interviewing, you still will be hiring an unknown who might create new problems for you.
Like many other employers, you want to minimize your time and risks. You can do this by networking with your friends and acquaintances - contacting them to let them know you are looking for someone; you would appreciate it if they could refer some good candidates to you. Based on these contacts, you should receive referrals. At the same time, you want to hedge your bets, as well as fulfill affirmative action and equal opportunity requirements, by listing the job vacancy in the newspaper or with your personnel office. While 300 people respond by mail to your want ad, you also get referrals from the trusted individuals in your network. In the end, you conduct 10 telephone interviews and three face-to-face interviews. You hire the best candidate - the one your former classmate recommended to you on the first day you informed her of your need to fill the vacancy. You are satisfied with your excellent choice of candidates; you are relatively certain this new employee will be a good addition to your organization.
This scenario is played out regularly in many organizations. It demonstrates the importance of getting into the interpersonal networks of the hidden job market and devoting most of your time and energy there. If you let people know you are looking for employment, chances are they will keep you in mind and refer you to others who may have an unexpected vacancy. Your networking activities will help you enter and maneuver within this job market of interpersonal networks and highly personalized information exchanges.
