Hidden Job Market: How to Get Jobs by Referral
As a career issues enthusiast, and from my many personal experiences, this is one of the best topics I like to discuss.
Almost half of the jobs are not advertised.
Reasons:
1, It saves cost of advertising
2, When a company urgently needs a replacement to an exiting staff , there is usually no time to advertise
3, Some companies trust the judgment of their employees who are familiar with their corporate culture already and know the type of person that can fit in
4, Many small companies don’t have the resources to go through the long process of recruitment – sieving through many CVs, etc
Small companies tend to use job by referral more, but big companies also use it.
This is not just a Nigerian thing, it is a global thing. In fact, I first saw the term “hidden job market” from an American career website.
How does hidden job market operate?
1, The recruiting person (who could be HR person or the head of recruiting department or even the CEO if it’s a small company) could talk to people around him that he needs CVs of say 5 people with so so qualifications for a role.
2, Some companies actually do send email to their employees to recommend people with good CV
Does hidden job market run against merit?
Absolutely no, inasmuch as:
(1) the recommended people have the required qualifications
(2) there is no documented law or policy that says the job must be advertised
(3) it is not a government company
2 and 3 are the reasons why it was abused by government entities like CBN and FIRS. I think it is statutory for government companies to advertise positions, and even if there is no documented law for that, I think for lower cadre jobs, referral is not fair, because unlike private companies, government outfits are set up with taxpayers’ fund, so it should be open to all citizens. A private company may decide to use any recruitment policy it deems good for it. If it prefers referral, no harm in it.
How to penetrate the hidden job market?
1, Have a quality network of friends
2, Be prepared. Equip yourself with job enhancing qualifications. No one will remember you for recommendation if you have a bland CV that does not qualify you for the job.
Finally, referral, in most cases, only gets you interview invite. If you don’t perform in interview, there is nothing anybody could do.
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