The job market is more dynamic, competitive, and complex than ever. And due to this situation, two types of professionals are distinguished:
- Those who have a plan, a strategy, a clear idea of how to function, and the know-how to generate and materialize good opportunities.
- Those who get carried away in their professional careers do not know how to lead their future and believe that good opportunities are a matter of luck.
To design a strategy and an employability plan that allows you to grow as a professional and have exciting opportunities, it is necessary to follow the following steps:
- Have complete clarity of your value and what you bring to the market.
- Have a short and medium-term objective defined with ambition and realism and aligned with the type of position and organization in which you want to work.
- Design a plan to achieve all of the above, including a strategy and a networking plan to connect with the people interested.
The hidden market as a source of employment
The hidden market represents at least 80% of the not published opportunities. Therefore, it is the largest source of employment. And this figure is higher, up to 100%, for positions of greater responsibility in an organization. Despite this, it is a great unknown to many, while other professionals know it is their natural market.
Getting the most out of this market depends on your ability to relate. Therefore, there is a direct connection between the hidden market and networking.
If you have a network of contacts or know how to generate it, you will do well in the hidden market, and the opposite will happen if you do not know how to do it or are not interested.
If you choose this last position, you will be subject to the opportunities published on job portals, and you will be one of those professionals who gets carried away and is at the mercy of what happens in their environment. For example, waiting for a headhunter to contact you and tracking an offer of interest to appear to be able to send your CV, and you are fortunate that they call you.
Also Read: Job Interview: Body Language As A Success Factor
The advantages of dominating the hidden market
If you are still not clear on the importance of dominating the hidden market, these are its main advantages:
- Offer better quality employment. They are better opportunities since there is less competition, fewer people apply for those jobs because they are not public.
- There is greater flexibility, the positions are less defined, and thus you can better address the needs of that organization from your value.
- By accessing these opportunities through the recommendation of someone who knows you, you already have part of the way. Therefore, they will treat you and see you with different eyes.
Other important nuances are:
- The hidden market is reached through conversations by those who bet on you, know you, and take you into account, so it is essential to take care of your entire network and continuously generate contacts if you want to tackle new professional challenges.
- In the hidden market, there is a key figure: the promoter, that person who supports you and defends your candidacy and is worthy when faced with an opportunity and, above all, alerts you to new opportunities.
- The way to approach these new people, who can be your promoters, must always be done from the generosity and putting their interests before yours, asking how you can help them and generating trust naturally and authentically.
The best proposals and opportunities will always come to us through people who know us, are clear about our value, and trust us.
Trust is a chain. Build good relationships and act as a connector between people, and thus you will create more and better connections to have conversations with more professionals. This way, they will keep you in mind and consider you, and recommend you when there is an open opportunity where you fit in.