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I was just giving an example to show that you can't attack the hidden job market without your friends knowing someone important. Of course I moved on because they don't hire unemployed applicants
Sometimes you need to open up the jobs you will work, I had a job for twenty years I planned on keeping only for a few years until the economy recovered.
I don't know what it's like now - - but can't imagine it's much different than 3 yrs ago, with UE in NJ again close to 10% - but I was UE for 1yr, 8 mos, 3 weeks --- agghhhh. Got an offer the 1st month and then the economy tanked & the employer froze hiring.
I sent out AT LEAST 1 app every day [not just 1, but at least 1!] I don't even want to do the math. Many many hundreds, but each job I applied for I was qualified for and would have taken. Each one was measured. Each had an individualized cover letter. At the moment I tweaked each letter I really wanted that job.
What it eventually took was:
-finely tweaked resume which was built around results - problems I solved for past employers - took a while to get to the format but it is a great sell
-personal recommendations from people I met by volunteering
-researching co's I applied to so I could sell myself as fitting into their "culture" & fill a need
Honestly, I got the interview for my current job by writing a great introductory email. [I've asked] Interview Friday, thank you & follow up email same day, hired Monday.
Resume # ????????? I gave up counting - numbers didn't - can't - don't matter - - each one was the first one..and hopefully the last. Hard to psych yourself up to start fresh every day, but I wanted to come out halfway sane on the other end
The number of applications is irrelevant. You can send thousands without getting an answer. On the other hand, 2-3 well placed resumes may bring a job offer. Cold calling is almost doomed. However, it depends heavily on the industry, location, your skills and experience.
The number of applications is irrelevant. You can send thousands without getting an answer. On the other hand, 2-3 well placed resumes may bring a job offer. Cold calling is almost doomed. However, it depends heavily on the industry, location, your skills and experience.
I was just giving an example to show that you can't attack the hidden job market without your friends knowing someone important. Of course I moved on because they don't hire unemployed applicants
Hidden job market is not about who your friends know.
It's about getting your name out there to as many people as possible, conversing with as many people as possible.
I'm not talking about finding a job through your friends. That's hard to do unless you're very popular, or as you say, have friends with powerful connections. I'm talking about casual acquantainces ... like nj185 saying he/she found a job partially through leads based on people met through volunteering.
I'd recommend to any job seeker to spend a couple hours reading some of the books out there about finding jobs, written by people with recent experience placing people in jobs. Plenty of books like that are out there. None of them are complete, but reading a couple books about job seeking is worthwhile. As a job seeker your job is looking for a job. So it makes sense to take the "career development"/"training" step of reading books about how to look for jobs. Would you learn how to do your job only by reading stuff on the web ? No, you'd learn by reading published material. That's where books about job seeking come in. Don't just learn about how to write a cover letter or resume ... learn how to get your resume read ... and the way to do that is to talk to as many real life people as you can.
Hidden job market is not about who your friends know.
It's about getting your name out there to as many people as possible, conversing with as many people as possible.
I'm not talking about finding a job through your friends. That's hard to do unless you're very popular, or as you say, have friends with powerful connections. I'm talking about casual acquantainces ... like nj185 saying he/she found a job partially through leads based on people met through volunteering.
I'd recommend to any job seeker to spend a couple hours reading some of the books out there about finding jobs, written by people with recent experience placing people in jobs. Plenty of books like that are out there. None of them are complete, but reading a couple books about job seeking is worthwhile. As a job seeker your job is looking for a job. So it makes sense to take the "career development"/"training" step of reading books about how to look for jobs. Would you learn how to do your job only by reading stuff on the web ? No, you'd learn by reading published material. That's where books about job seeking come in. Don't just learn about how to write a cover letter or resume ... learn how to get your resume read ... and the way to do that is to talk to as many real life people as you can.
Are the books free or is a unemployed person expected to spend money they don't have?
Ever heard of a library ? And if the book's really good, maybe you can skip your next dating opportunity so you can afford to buy a copy.
those books are a waste of time
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Numer of Applications
