About 80% of jobs are not advertised to the general public.
When an organisation is looking to employ someone, their starting point is to understand the organisational need and define a role, this may be driven by someone leaving, so therefore a replacement is needed quickly, but these decisions can also be made to deliver the longer term demographics required by the organisation.
Once a role has been defined an organisation will decide where to look for their new employee, the majority will start in house, who do they already have in the organisation; who else do they know? They will look to their networks and ask their present employees for recommendations, only when they are satisfied that they cannot find the person they need internally, will they advertise externally. This is more effective for the employer in terms of time and money. If there is a specific skill set, technical knowledge or experience that has been identified or is new to the team/organisation, they may go straight to an external job market.
All organisations, whether an SME, large corporate, academic institution or other will follow a process when then want to fill a role, you need to understand what you need to do to influence that process. Here is a typical process organisation’s may use and what you need to do.
Your role is to make sure you are networked into the organisations you are interested in: are you speaking to the right people? (not necessarily Human Resources)
- Will people recommend you?
- Do you have a champion in the organisation? So that when asked an employee can say ‘I know just the person’.
You might ask how you find the right people to talk to:
- Look at your present networks, who knows whom and will they make an introduction.
- Use social media – do you have a LinkedIn profile or a Twitter account, find out how organisations engage with their customers/audiences and engage with the organisations and industries you are interested in;
- Do you attend conferences in your chosen area; are you a member of relevant membership organisations and institutes for your subject matter;
- Do you have a coffee and a chat with interesting people?
If the word networking is a scary one for you, just think about it in terms of building relationships, do it your way.
As you move through your career you are more likely to get the role you want through your networks, so start now to build and maintain the relationships you need in the areas that interest you.
Useful Reading
| Give and Take | Adam Grant | Why helping others drives our success |
| The Network Effect | Tony Newton & Judith Perle | A practical guide to making and Keeping the connections that can make your world go round |
| The Humble Inquiry | Edgar H Schein | The gentle art of asking instead of telling |
| Networking Pocketbook | Jon Warner | Tips, tools and techniques |
| Mindset | Carol S Dweck | How we can learn to fulfil our potential |
| What Color is your Parachute? | Richard Bolles | A practical manual for job hunters & career changers |
| Presence | Amy Cuddy | Using ‘power poses’ for personal power, confidence, ’presence’ |
| Quiet | Susan Cain | The power of introverts in a world that won’t stop talking |
| How to Build the Ultimate LinkedIn profile | Andrew Macarthy | Boost your branding |