By Connie Felder
 The most popular area of our Resource Room, as evidenced by the bee-line job seekers make to it, is our Job Postings Board where we display the Hot Jobs of the Week. Advertised job openings like these make up what has been traditionally known as the existing "job market". However, they represent only the tip of the iceberg and the last stage of the employment recruitment process for most employers.
Waiting for a job to go public and believing in this concept of a traditional "job market" can be psychologically de-motivating especially for those with little experience or too much experience. The concept of a job market implies there are a limited number of job opportunities which can lead you to be more pessimistic regarding your perceived chances of finding a job for which you are qualified. Entrepreneurial job developers and job seekers do not limit their job search to these finite set of job openings. They seek out job opportunities in what has been termed the "hidden job market". They are hopeful and optimistic that there are innumerable employment possibilities just waiting to be uncovered and know that finding the right job is just a numbers game - the more contacts one makes, the greater the chance of achieving employment success.
We hear a lot about this hidden job market. Denise Bissonnette in her book, Beyond Traditional Job Development , helps us to understand what is meant by the term "hidden job market" by explaining the process by which employers typically go about filling job openings .
First, supervisors will hire someone they know. If they can't find someone they know, then supervisors hire someone a co-worker knows. If a co-worker knows no appropriate candidates, then the job opening goes to the human resource department where they will try to hire someone they already know or have already interviewed. If human resources do not know someone, then the job goes public. The company may contact private employment agencies or non-profit employment programs (like RochesterWorks) and lastly, advertise via the newspaper, websites and/or the internet. With each step of this process, competition for the job increases and risks increase for the employer resulting in a greater rigidity regarding minimal qualifications established for the job. As a result, your chance of being hiring decreases.
What does this mean in terms of the way in which you need to conduct your job search? First, your job search activities need to be prioritized in the same order as employers hire. Most importantly you need to expand your network of hiring supervisors and co-workers who know hiring supervisors. You need to connect with anyone who is already working or knows others who are working in the type of organization you wish to uncover a job opportunity. Connect with your personal service providers, former co-workers and employers, and anyone who knows a lot of people in the community. Participate in any and all job club opportunities or any social or professional functions which increases your connection to the human community.
Second, as you network and increase your connections, you need to think like a problem solver. You need to think about not just uncovering job openings but job opportunities to helping an organization identify a need that can be satisfied or problem that can be solved by hiring you. By so doing, you will truly uncover the "hidden job market" and be one big step ahead of the competition. Instead of simply responding to job openings by submitting your resume for a limited number of exiting positions, you can propose the creation of a new job and the possibilities become motivationally endless.
Is there an opportunity to save or make the company money? Do you have an idea to expand the customer base or give them a competitive edge? What other services or products could be offered as a natural extension of the business? Is there an opportunity to improve the organization's image and thereby gain more business? Instead of submitting a resume, why not write a simple one-page employment proposal to address the business need or problem you have identified?
An employment proposal sounds complicated but it isn't. It is simply a cover letters to employers for jobs that don't yet exit. A huge opportunity to identify unmet business needs exists, in particular, with small growing companies who don't have the time or resources for a formal recruitment process. More than 80% of all job openings are with small to medium sized companies. Think of what this means for job opportunities which have not yet been identified or acted upon. These companies are perfect targets for proposing employment solutions.
Following is an example of an Employment Proposal for a Customer Service Representative. To learn more about how you can make effective employment proposals ask to meet with a Rochesterworks Career Services Advisor. Look for our new workshops series coming in March offering more tips for uncovering the hidden job market.
Employment Proposal for a Customer Service Representative
Marcia Mason
90 Washington Ave.
Rochester, NY 14580
(585) 392-4940
BENEFIT:
Increase your profits by improving the rate of customers who keep their appointments by having a staff person who will primarily serve the following functions:
- Organize customer files and create a customer data bank;
- Contact customers prior to scheduled appointments;
- Keep customers informed of special promotions and keep customer database up-to-date;
- Survey customers for satisfaction to improve and/or expand services.
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE:
I recently graduated from Business Computer Technology Training at BOCES Adult Education. I am an independent self-starter with keen organizational abilities, excellent communication skills and a very cooperative and cheerful demeanor.
To achieve these job objectives I will need access to a computer system with Microsoft word and excel, a filing cabinet and a telephone. I am available to work 30-40 hours per week, afternoons or evenings, depending on the needs of your business.
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:
I am available for work immediately and will provide these services for $8.00 an hour for the first three months. If after this period of time you find my work profitable, I would continue employment with you as a full-time regular employee for $10.00 an hour.
REFERENCES:
Jane Smith, Manager
Wegmans Food Market
(585) 277-3455
Gerald Smith, Instructor
BOCES Adult Education
(585) 393-8383
Robert Wright, Counselor
BOCES Adult Education
(585) 495-3848
Connie is Director of RochesterWorks! Downtown Career Center. She has been with RochesterWorks! for more than four years and previously served as Manager of Business Services. She has more than a decade of experience in adult and community education, and job training programs. |
