Tough Economy Jobs

Note: This post is extracted and adapted from the HuntingToHired free eBook titled “Forget Everything You Know About Looking For A Job… And Actually Find One!“

So, having figured out what value you’re offering and how to communicate that value, you still have to actually go out and find the jobs – and like I said, want-ads are the last place to look.

So where do you find the good jobs? In her book called “The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking”, Patrice-Anne Rutledge writes that:

Everyone has heard about the hidden job market – that percentage of jobs found through personal connections and not through advertisements on Internet job sites or in print publications. The actual size of the hidden job market is hard to pinpoint, but most experts estimate it between 50 and 85 percent of all positions, depending on your job level, industry and field.

So how do you access the gold-mine that is the Hidden Job Market? Networking!

Actually getting out there and networking is the best way to find your dream job. The ability to make connections on both a personal and a professional level will be by far the most valuable skill you’ll be using in your career search.

Now, networking isn’t about attending cocktails and collecting business cards. It’s about making connections that mean something – not in a transactional sense, but in a human one. I’m not saying that there will be some divine and holy intervention caused by establishing human connections, but I am saying that what you get out of life correlates with what you put in to it.

The concept of building relationships with good will depends on adding value where it is needed most in your network. Once you add value for someone else, they will be way more inclined to do something for you.