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How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

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21–30 of 43 posts

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#21
post #14

At least within the area of the UK which I lived in until recently the idea that there are lots of unadvertised jobs is a myth. When I was unemployed I did the experiment of applying both via "the usual channels" and also speculatively based upon fairly elaborate analysis to try to identify suitable organisations. The number of "conversions" - which means inquiries turning into job interviews - was vastly higher for…

What makes you think your methodology was a good one for finding the unadvertised jobs ?

Plenty of unadvertised jobs will go through networks, word-of-mouth and personal recommendation - obviously cold-calling wouldn't give you good results in such cases.

Generally it's estimated that roughly 40% [for 2009-2010] of jobs are unadvertised, and that's calculated using US BLS data (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.htm) comparing number of job openings companies state they have versus actual hiring numbers.

While there might be variation between countries, I doubt that there's significant difference between the UK and the US.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#22
post #12

Well this is unfortunate: http://i.imgur.com/41Yn4ye.png

quick fix to make it readable on firefox, I right-clicked on the paragraph -> Inspect Element, selected the div.single-content and removed the "float:left" CSS rule.

You can also make the large Google screenshot smaller if you use the Image Zoom plugin (or know how to change it using Firebug or the default dev tools). I believe that is what's causing the layout to freak out.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#25
post #12

Well this is unfortunate: http://i.imgur.com/41Yn4ye.png

quick fix to make it readable on firefox, I right-clicked on the paragraph -> Inspect Element, selected the div.single-content and removed the "float:left" CSS rule.

View -> page style -> no style.

One of my favorite features.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#26
post #18

" When you see a job posted on (insert leading job board name here) somebody paid to have it advertised there. You know where it’s free for a company to post all of their jobs? Come on, guess… If you suspected a company’s own careers website, you would be correct!" If somebody paid for it recently, it is a strong signal they really have an opening. Jobs on companies' own sites might only be there to: a) show to custo…

My last job we were advertising and interviewing for a position that did not exist on the belief that somebody wanting job X could be talked into job Y instead.

I don't work there anymore.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#27
post #21
post #14

At least within the area of the UK which I lived in until recently the idea that there are lots of unadvertised jobs is a myth. When I was unemployed I did the experiment of applying both via "the usual channels" and also speculatively based upon fairly elaborate analysis to try to identify suitable organisations. The number of "conversions" - which means inquiries turning into job interviews - was vastly higher for…

What makes you think your methodology was a good one for finding the unadvertised jobs ? Plenty of unadvertised jobs will go through networks, word-of-mouth and personal recommendation - obviously cold-calling wouldn't give you good results in such cases. Generally it's estimated that roughly 40% [for 2009-2010] of jobs are unadvertised, and that's calculated using US BLS data ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.…

I think my methods were good. They were based on data mining company information for all companies registered with Companies House, such as changes in numbers of employees, net worth, main products and the like. I tried to apply scientific method to the task of finding employment.

If the unadvertised jobs cannot be detected by any empirical evidence then I would suggest that they be treated like other mythological phenomenon.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#29

Isn't it better to let a recruitment company do the hard work for you? In a technical job market there are recruitment consultants that know all of the companies, what might work for you and where there might be a need. In my experience they do provide a very good service. However, we tend to dislike them when they are not needed so we might overlook them as our first point of call.

Isn't it better to let a recruitment company do the hard work for you? If you want to entrust your professional future to someone who doesn't understand the work you do and whose interests aren't necessarily aligned with yours, sure. Recruiters aren't all bad - they can be one prong of your job-search strategy. (I just found a great startup job through a recruiter.) But don't put them in charge. And read Ask The Head…

There are also a number of people looking for jobs who simply refuse to use recruiters/headhunters. Most just need to fill a quota. It's very rare to find one who truly wants to find the right job for you.

Re: How To Find Unadvertised Jobs

#30
post #27
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think your methodology was a good one for finding the unadvertised jobs ? Plenty of unadvertised jobs will go through networks, word-of-mouth and personal recommendation - obviously cold-calling wouldn't give you good results in such cases. Generally it's estimated that roughly 40% [for 2009-2010] of jobs are unadvertised, and that's calculated using US BLS data ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.…

I think my methods were good. They were based on data mining company information for all companies registered with Companies House, such as changes in numbers of employees, net worth, main products and the like. I tried to apply scientific method to the task of finding employment. If the unadvertised jobs cannot be detected by any empirical evidence then I would suggest that they be treated like other mythological ph…

Did you miss my link to the BLS data showing the difference between hiring number and job openings ?

There's plenty of empirical ways to show that unadvertised hiring occurs. Another alternative way would be simply to survey companies and employees and ask them.

The fact that unadvertised recruitment happens doesn't mean that the jobs will be available to anyone who attempts to apply via cold-calling.

A company that receives a strong recommendation for a candidate via someone they trust may well create a new role especially for that person, but obviously such a role wouldn't exist if someone unknown tried to apply speculatively.

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