Uncovering The Hidden Job Market
Looking for new job opportunities or a career change? Key to finding meaningful work is understanding the ‘hidden’ job market.
It’s estimated that 70-80% of available jobs are not advertised. So if you’re waiting for suitable jobs to come up on Seek, you’re missing out on the majority of jobs available in the city.
This is how you open yourself up to the hidden job market.
Research
If you’re interested in a particular industry, investigate businesses and the types of roles available. Look them up, find ‘careers’ pages, or search on LinkedIn to find out more.
Most industries require a range of roles. Tech companies, for example, require HR, marketing and administration. Not all roles are technical. Make a list of the companies you’re interested in and get ready to make connections.
Check out some businesses doing cool things in our growth sectors.
Connect
Reach out to companies and people that interest you via LinkedIn, their website or email. This could be the HR/P&C team, the CEO, or people working in roles you’d like to work in. Tell them why you’re interested in their business, and suggest a coffee to learn more about what they do. Don’t take it personally if they say no - reach out to someone else.
Go in with curiosity mindset rather than a jobseeker mindset. Ask about their role, their career pathway and what they love about it - plus any extra tips they might have.
Follow Up
Focus on building your connections. Attend in-person networking events and make it clear that you’re looking for work and what you’re looking for. They might not have any available roles, but they might know someone who does.
There are lots of events happening in Ōtautahi Christchurch – check them out.
Top Tip!
Canterbury Tech is one of our most active networking groups. If you’re looking for a career in tech, or within a tech company, they are a great place to start connecting! Their monthly meetups attract between 100-200 people and are a great place to grow your network. They also run webinars and a sell-out annual summit that attracts over 800 attendees.
Join as a member and get free access to monthly meetups, or attend casually for $35. Students are free. Join now.
They also run online webinars plus a sell-out annual summit that attracts over 800 attendees.
If you’re new to the scene, let Canterbury Tech know and they’ll make sure someone is there to help connect you with people.
