The Potential Job Market

It's commonplace in the job search field to speak of the "hidden" job market. The term "hidden" refers to the jobs that are not on the job boards.

They may be jobs that are currently posted on internal job boards. Or they may be identified positions that are not yet approved requisitions.

One of my clients recently landed and he met with me to say, "Terry, You were right about the so-called 'hidden' job market. But that word 'hidden' is not exactly correct."

Here's what he meant.

In the course of his job search, he reached out to colleagues in his network, even those from years ago.

One of those, from over ten years ago, was happy to hear from him. They reconnected.

They started to talk about stuff they were doing and stuff they were both interested in.

It became clear, as the conversations went on, that there was mutual interest in working together again.

Eventually the conversation became a job offer and my client went back to work.

My client then said to me:  "There was no hidden job. There actually was no job at all! Just a desire to work together again on an exciting new venture."

So what just happened in that case?

My client discovered the "Potential Job" Market, a market place of relationships where employers meet people they may already know and discover new possibilities for joining forces. 

Terrence Seamon assists people in job search and career transition. Follow him on twitter @tseamon