As a job seeker, often the most well-known job boards and LinkedIn are the place to go for finding vacancies to apply to. However, did you know that not all vacancies get publicly posted? For from all actually, a lot of open positions never get posted initially on these public sites and often already get filled before the moment is there to post them online. But, if they never get publicly posted, how can you apply to them? How do you even know these vacancies exist?
Here are a few tips to get you aware of jobs that don´t get publicly posted.
Let people know you´re looking for a job
Be very open and vocal about the fact that you´re looking for a new job. Let family and friends know that you´re searching for a new challenge and encourage them to let you know if they hear about something. If they know you are on the lookout for a new job and they find out about open positions in their company or within their network, they will think about you. If they don´t know you´re looking for another position, it will not trigger a reaction when they find out about vacancies. By letting your whole network know, you increase the chance to find out about jobs that don´t get publicly posted.
Networking
Apart from making use of your existing network, make a specific effort to expand your network. The larger your network, the larger the chances you will find out about open positions that might not get publicly posted. Make use of LinkedIn by getting active in relevant forums for your position and be proactive in reaching out to people. However, it is important to note that you should only reach out when you´re not only reaching out for your own benefit so don´t only get in touch to immediately ask for leads or things you want from them. Instead, only reach out to people when you have a genuine interest to get in touch, an interest that goes beyond finding a job as soon as possible and think about how you can add value to them as well.
Industry events
Become a frequent visitor of industry events, this will not only help you in expanding your existing network but you will also become aware of industry trends and it will give you the opportunity to learn more about possible companies you might be applying to soon. Industry events are also great opportunities to show your value. For example, you can participate in roundtables, discussion fora and other activities and by doing so show your expertise and skills in the field.
Staffing agencies
Since many companies often get the help of an external recruitment and staffing agency, these agencies often do know about jobs that don´t get publicly posted. And, contrary to what more junior job seekers often think, this does not only apply to executive positions. Hence, when you start the search for a new job, make sure to get in touch with relevant recruitment agencies so they can help you find the right vacancies, also those that don´t get published on the major job sites or on LinkedIn.
These are just a few examples; the most important thing to remember is that when you start looking for a new job, that definitely not all vacancies that might be interesting for you, get published on the public job boards and on LinkedIn. A lot of them don´t, so you will have to find alternative ways to find out about these jobs.
What other ways do you know for finding out about jobs outside of what is publicly published? We would love to read about them in the comments section.
