Uncovering the hidden job market

I recently did an email interview with Janet White author of Secrets of the Hidden Job Market: Change Your Thinking to Get the Job of Your Dreams. Learn more about her at www.jobmarketsecrets.com.

1. What exactly is the 'hidden job market'? Explain to job seekers who may not understand concept. The traditional system of job hunting describes the “hidden job market” as those jobs not publicized or posted and allegedly make up at least 85% of all available jobs. These so-called “hidden jobs” are supposed to be accessed through networking, through which you hope you’ll eventually meet someone who knows someone who will connect you with someone who can hire you maybe.

In fact, there is no such thing as the “hidden job market” because no one is hiding anything from you. Everything you could want or need to get the job of your dreams is literally right in front of you, at your fingertips or in readily available sources.

It only appears to be hidden because you can’t see it, don’t know that it’s there or don’t understand how to use what’s there, but it is there.

I had a gal in one of my classes that wanted to get into the horse business, and felt stymied because she didn’t know anyone in the industry and didn’t know anyone who knew anyone in the industry. Her real problem was that she wasn’t seeing what was in front of her. She wanted to get into the horse business because she loved horses: she was a regular at the stables, never missed a stock show, shopped at the western gear stores and read all the equestrian magazines.
She was surrounded by people in the horse business, using products made by companies in the horse business and being bombarded with advertising and articles about companies in the horse business.

Because she was literally immersed in the horse business, she had access to and information about hundreds of companies in the industry, but she never saw it because she was looking for a job posting on Monster. She couldn’t see what had been right in front of her all the time.

2. What are the 2-3 biggest mistakes that job seekers make today?

A) Not knowing what you want. Exactly what do you want to do for what kind of company? What does a work day look like? Where are you physically? What are you wearing? How long of a commute do you have?

At least how much money are you making? What are your colleagues like? How does it feel to have this kind of job in this kind of company making this kind of money working with these kinds of people? You get to choose all of the above.

B) Not being clear about what you want. It is a waste of time to say or have as an objective something like "To manage people, interface with customers, and work with highly technical software or hardware applications."

Do you want to be Customer Service Manager for a computer company? Say so! Here’s another example:

"A middle/upper-level management position with responsibilities including problem solving, planning, organizing, and managing budgets."

Since the job of being a middle-upper-level manager automatically includes responsibilities for problem solving, planning organizing and managing budgets, this objective is meaningless.
What kind of industry do you want to work in? What kind of problems do you want to solve? What kind of things need to be organized? How big of a budget do you want to manage? You get to decide, and you have to decide in order to get it.

C). Not believing it’s possible to have what you want. The traditional system of job hunting advises job seekers to compromise or settle for whatever they can get in order to get hired. Well, if you believe you have to compromise or settle to get hired because it’s tough out there, you’re right.

On the other hand, if you believe you have get the job, the money, the position and whatever else you desire, and some lucky company is going to have the privilege of having you on the payroll, you’re right.

The Law of Attraction will bring you whatever you focus on, feel strongly about or believe to be true, so you can focus on easily having exactly what you want and that will show up, or you can focus on getting with difficulty something sort of close to what you want, and that will show up. You get to choose.

3. What inspired you to write your book?
When I was 17, I got into the college of my choice when I didn’t have the grades, the test scores, a scholarship or grant and wasn’t a special case, plus this was the peak of Baby Boomers going to college and this small, private liberal arts university had its pick up who ever they wanted to admit.

My mother and guidance counselor told me to forget it and to face reality that I was going to state university. I simply ignored them; I was firmly convinced that I going to Adelphi, and it didn’t matter what anyone else thought about it. I got the acceptance letter on my 18th birthday; my mother screamed and my guidance counselor shook her head in disbelief. That’s when I knew I knew something.

When it was time to get a job, I used exactly the same approach of following my instinct instead of conventional wisdom. The result was that I’ve gotten every single job I ever wanted for 35 years – easily and effortlessly – by using the principles described in the book.

You and everyone else can do what I did and still do because everyone has intuition and your intuition will always take you where you want to go effortlessly.

The fundamental principle of the Law of Attraction is “Ask and it is given.” That’s why the popular saying, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” should really be, “If it’s going to be, I’ll take three.”

4. Do you have an example of a job seeker you helped to uncover a hidden job? Can you tell us that story? See the above story in “Hidden Job Market.” My book is full of stories how I was always in the right place at the right time and that “hidden job” was simply there. In each case, the Law of Attraction was working at putting me to work because I directed it, believed the job was already mine and never doubted it would show up. And it always did.