In your job search, the challenge is to keep your own job goal in mind, while also trying to fit into what is available in the job market. This becomes more difficult as money starts to run low, and circumstances can often change your priorities as you search for work. Looking for a job in standard ways is often not the most effective way forward. Your challenge is to find the jobs that aren’t advertised – the hidden job market. Everyone else is applying for the advertised jobs, and the particular job and employer may not suit your job goal.
The following chart, adapted from Richard Bolles’ What Colour is your Parachute, helps to understand the difference between how employers hire and how job searchers search for work. It stresses the importance of building your network as a job search tool.
The Way Most Managers / Supervisors Look for Employees
(Hint....this is the direction you should look for a job!!)
Step 1 Promotion from within the company
Step 2 Someone known to the manager / supervisor
Step 3 A referral from a friend or co-worker
Step 4 Resumes in manager’s file - names of people who have contacted the manager recently about a job
Step 5 Human Resources Department - resumes on file
Step 6 Personnel Agency - resumes on file
Step 7 Newspaper Advertisement / Internet Posting
The Way Most People look for Jobs
Adapted from What Color is Your Parachute, by Richard Bolles
