Tuesday, March 25, 2008

HACKING THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET

Majority of the times, the best jobs are not advertised in the papers. And those that are will trigger in a flood of resumes, putting you in competition against thousands of other candidates.

Instead you should try hacking the hidden job market. Here are two ways to do just that.

  1. Apply directly to a company that suits you. This is so obvious that very few people do it, which means you will have far less competition.

    Simply identify the companies you would like to work for, then address your Resumes to the Human Resource Manager of that company, or the person in charge of recruiting.

    Spend some time researching these firms. You would want to familiarize yourself with the each companies products, services, markets and competitors. Most importantly, always come up with at least one suggestion on how your target company's can increase revenue or solve a problem.

    Next send a personalized letter and Resume to each employer. Follow up with another letter or email, if you don't hear back from them in 10-14 working days.

  2. Use your personal network. This is often the most effective (and under-used) job search technique.

    Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job. Call every friend, relative and acquaintance in your address book. If each person can't help you, ask them if they know someone else who can. Your network will soon become massive. Eventually, someone should be able to put you in touch with a decision maker who can hire you.

    Even former employers can help. If you parted on good terms with your last boss, he or she might be able to refer you to hiring managers in other companies who can help.

Written by Schi-baba

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