Cracking the Hidden Job Market

Talk to most job seekers and they presume that the best way to find a job is to discover an open position posted in traditional media or online.  The problem of course with this focus, is that you will only see approximately 15% of the jobs currently available advertised this way, with the remaining 85% or so being referred to as the “hidden job market”.

The actual expression ‘hidden job market’ is a misnomer, in that the jobs are not hidden, or non-existent, it’s just that they are not in plain sight for the majority of job seekers.  These out of sight jobs are created in three ways: [Read more…]

Why referees can make or break your job application

The most important thing to keep in mind, is that employing people is an expensive exercise for employers, so it is important that they hire people that already have what people call “social proof”, namely evidence that you are good and can deliver the results, before they hire you.

The reason a referee can make or break your application, is that whether consciously or subconsciously, seeing or hearing glowing references can make the employer feel safe about hiring you, and could potentially secure you the role.  Likewise, if you have lousy or indifferent references, then it is unlikely that you will be hired.  Yet in spite of this, most job seekers forget to strategically use referees to their advantage.

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