Get Me Off The Dole » Hidden Job Market

The Truth Behind the Hidden Job Market Myth

Brian — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:34:45 +0000

Is the “hidden job market” a myth? Career experts have for years touted the notion that the vast majority of jobs – published statistics have suggested figures ranging from 75 to 95 percent of the total job market – are never advertised. This portion of the job market that is hidden from public view is behind the rationale career practitioners use to promote the effectiveness of networking in the job search. But, based on a prominent consultant’s assertion that the hidden job market is a myth, Quintessential Careers (www.quintcareers.com/), one of the Web's leading career tools sites, investigated the hidden job market concept and has published its findings in a package of three articles.

The consultant was Gerry Crispin, who in 2009 stated in a career-management discussion group that the hidden job market is one of the biggest myths of job-hunting; that, in fact, it doesn’t exist: “Maybe a few thousand out of 20 million jobs are unpublished, and they are primarily at or near the C-level,” said Gerry Crispin, who with partner Mark Mehler, operates CareerXroads®, which consults with corporations in career planning and placement, contract recruiting, executive search, recruitment advertising, and human-resource management.

With his permission, Quintessential Careers shared Crispin’s opinion with more than 70 experts in the career-management, employment, recruiting, and hiring sectors. The majority refuted Crispin’s opinion that the hidden job market is a myth, though few offered concrete evidence in favor of the hidden market. Some agreed with him. The experts, however, identified two problems with the hidden job market concept:

1. Definitions and interpretations of the “hidden job market” may not reflect reality. “Hidden” may not be the best term for this sector of available jobs since employers don’t deliberately hide vacancies.

2. Those who are skeptical about the hidden job market generally admit it exists but dispute commonly bandied-about figures – that the hidden job market comprises 75-95 percent of the job market — contending that the portion of the job market that is unadvertised is much smaller. The size of the hidden job market may also fluctuate based on the economy, some say.

In Quintessential Careers’ lead article on the hidden job market (www.quintcareers.com/hidden_job_market_myth.htm), Is the Hidden Job Market a Myth? A Quintessential Careers Investigative Report, experts agreed with Crispin’s assertion that employers generally don’t purposefully hide job vacancies from the public, but suggested that situations such as the following may result in unpublicized openings:

Skynet 5D to create around 100 new jobs

Brian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:05:46 +0000

Military communications on operations are to further enhanced, thanks to a new £400 million contract to use a new satellite, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, announced today.

Torbay Business Hub to create 1000 new jobs

Brian — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:53:37 +0000

Residents and traders are being asked for their views on a £6.8m plan to create new, state of the art offices in Torquay to help attract investment into the Bay and hundreds of jobs.

Torbay Business Hub is part of the Castle Circus Regeneration Project, which aims to regenerate the town centre, bring council services under one roof and create major savings.

Torbay Council has now organised a public consultation event to display and explain plans to develop offices on part of the car park behind the Town Hall. Visitors will be asked for their feedback at the event, which will be held on Tuesday 2 March in Torquay Town Hall's Assembly Hall between 1pm and 6.30pm. Information will also be available on Torbay Council's website from Tuesday 23 February.

The council has approved the business case for the Castle Circus Regeneration Project and has already consulted on this proposal. The business case shows that by completing the project the council will save over £1 million a year. Feedback on the project as a whole has been mainly positive and this is another opportunity for residents to express their views, specifically on plans for new offices, before the planning application is submitted.

The Business Hub will create approximately 40,000 square feet of new office space and car parking. It aims to attract more businesses and inward investment to Torbay as well as create a 1000 new jobs. It is envisaged that the opportunities will be felt Bay-wide as associated businesses and suppliers feel the benefit of new, inward investment.

The project has been designed with flexibility in mind so that it will appeal to a variety of office users. A number of sustainable design features have been incorporated, including maximising the use of natural lighting; natural ventilation; solar collectors and a bio-mass boiler which utilises fuels from sustainable sources. If planning consent is granted, work could start later this year.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Councillor Chris Lewis, said:

£300m to revive communities and create jobs

Brian — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:42:39 +0000

Just before Christmas, Housing Minister John Healey announced that communities across the North and Midlands will share £311m this year to boost work already underway to transform homes and regenerate communities.

Get Me Off The Dole on Twitter

Brian — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:25:59 +0000

It seems that every man and his dog are on Twitter these days so I thought I would see what all the fuss is about. At first glance, it looks like a bunch of people with nothing better to do than send silly text messages to one another. You would think that people would have better things to do. If you read some of these messages you’d think everyone’s gone nuts – I certainly did (I still think many of them have anyway).

Where the hidden job market is

Brian — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:31:39 +0000

People are always asking me where is the hidden job market. My response is quite simple, it’s all around you. It’s a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees! Sometimes you need to take a few steps back and look at the whole picture.

You must read between the lines

Brian — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:14:59 +0000

Yes, we all know there is a recession about and we are aware of the job losses. We read about it everywhere. However, if we fall into the trap of believing that there is no hope of getting a job because of all the negativity in the news then we are making it easy for others to find a job.

60% of jobs go unadvertised

Brian — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Statistics indicate that over 60% of the jobs available are never advertised to the public (other sources suggest that the figure is more like 70%). The average Job Seeker believes that all employers would be advertising their vacant positions to ensure that they get the best people for the jobs. Once you make the transition to being a Job Hunter, you'll soon realise that this is not the case at all.