Have you spent the summer break trawling through job ads and sending out applications without any success?
Research tells us that, on average, 70 per cent of all jobs are unadvertised. This is often referred to as the ‘hidden’ job market. Further, it’s estimated that approximately 95 per cent of all job seekers will be competing for the 30 per cent of jobs that are advertised. So if your only job search activity is to check the postings on seek.com or in The West Australian, not only are you accessing only one third of the market, but you’re in direct competition for those positions with almost the entire job seeking population. You don’t have to be a mathematician to see those odds aren’t stacked in your favour!
How do I access the hidden job market?
Unlike traditional job search, which involves sending out job applications in response to job advertisements, the hidden job market is accessed through your networks. Your network is made up of anybody and everybody you know; friends, family, neighbours, colleagues from your current and past jobs, lecturers, tutors, practicum supervisors and the list goes on. Pause for a moment, grab a paper and pen and begin to list every person you know. Now think of every person they might know, and who those people might know. At this point, you should begin to realise just how big your network of existing contacts really is, as illustrated in the figure above.
Other opportunities to meet useful contacts include through your professional association, on LinkedIn and by attending industry events like seminars and conferences.
How do I use my networks to find a job?
Now that you have at least one contact to start networking with, you need to think about how you will connect with this person. Most job seekers make the mistake of asking for a job or sending a resume. This is often unsuccessful. Why? Would you ask someone you just met at a party to borrow $20 for a cab ride home and expect a positive result? Of course not! You would ask a friend, someone who you know and someone who knows that you’re trustworthy and will pay the money back. Put this into the context of your job search and you can see that the initial connection should be all about you getting to know your new contact, and them getting to know you, on a professional level. Relationship building is the key to successful networking; the job opportunities, just like that borrowed cab fare, come later.
How do I start building these relationships?
Get to know your new contacts by asking them questions about their work. Most people find it easy to talk about what they do with interested people and, as an added bonus, you’ll increase your own knowledge of the industry and occupation you want to work in exponentially. Make sure you use open-ended questions (those that start with who, what where, when, why, could you tell me more about...) and think about how to gain information that is going to be useful to you in your own career and job search. Examples could include:
Equally important is to share some information about you. Aim for 60/40 – 60 per cent about them, 40 per cent about you. Keep it professional and think about what information might be useful to this person if they were viewing you as a prospective employee. Examples could include:
Where to from here?
Once you’ve made the initial connection, you need to keep in touch. Send a thank you note or email following the initial conversation, then touch base with the person at least once a month. This could be in the form of a quick email to ‘check-in’ and see how things are going or by sharing information about an upcoming event of interest. Find ways to be useful to your new contact and keep in their frame of mind so that when the job opportunities are available, you’ll be one of the first to know!
It’s all a bit too hard
Yes, networking is a lot more work than picking out a job from Seek and sending off a resume but just remember those statistics and the benefits of being one of the 5 per cent of job seekers who has access to over 70 per cent of the available jobs! Networking is an ongoing investment of your time and energy and, as with any investment, the more you put in the more you’ll get out. Guaranteed.
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