Freelancing? How to Uncover the Hidden Job Market
Whether you’re freelancing or in the market for a full-time job, you need to know about the hidden job market.
What is the hidden job market? It’s job or project opportunities that are never advertised. Stats say that between 40 and 80 percent of jobs opportunities are hidden.
How do these jobs get filled? Typically, companies ask their employees or contacts: “Do you know anyone who would be right for this?”
They might post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Facebook Groups. I often see Twitter posts that say, “I’m looking for a copywriter…” followed by a short description, then DM me.
Why are Jobs Hidden? Why Don’t They Advertise?
There are a few good reasons why companies don’t advertise jobs.
First, it saves time and money. Advertising a job takes time to write and place the ad. It also costs to place ads.
More importantly, it takes time to sort through the responses. Depending on the job or project offered, a company can get overwhelmed with hundreds of applications. It takes forever to sort through them. (I’ve been there, done that. Not fun.)
But the main reason they don’t advertise is that other techniques can bring faster and better results. They’ll try these techniques before they place an ad.
Employers Ask Employees for Referrals Because It Works
A favorite technique that I used at my agencies was to ask employees whether they knew someone for the job.
We believed in using our employees as a filter. An employee knows the company and its culture and recognizes whether a friend or acquaintance might be a good fit.
Employees are careful about who they recommend because it reflects on them. Employers know this and use it to their advantage.
This is why you can find job opportunities if you have friends at companies where you’d like to work.
Reach out to them on social or by email. Let them know what you’re looking for.
You want to get recommended by someone on the inside. That can lead to a quick interview without competition.
Companies Also Use Employees’ Social Media
Companies often use social media to reach out to their communities. Many times, it’s not the corporate social media accounts but rather an employee’s account.
Why? Because the employee has more followers than the company. In some cases, the employee would be in charge of the person applying.
Social media also acts as a filtering mechanism by sorting out who sees the post. The viral aspect of social media makes it easy to spread the message within pre-sorted groups quickly and cheaply.
Hidden Jobs Can be Freelance Opportunities
A company may think they’re looking for a full-time employee. But maybe you don’t want a full-time job but would be interested in working for them freelance.
If you hear about a full-time opportunity, get in touch with them and propose that you work for them freelance. Tell them why this would be an excellent solution for them.
Why might they listen? It takes time to fill a full-time job. In the meantime, they may need help. Also, they may see that working with a freelancer could save them money and reduce their obligations. It’s easier to switch freelancers than to let go of an employee.
So, any time you see an opening for a full-time job, hit them up with your freelance proposal.
Your Website—Be Ready to Crack the Hidden Job Market
When you hear of an interesting opportunity, you want to act fast with minimal effort. That’s why you need a website. It takes a minute to send a short note with a link.
Here are five key elements that belong on every freelancer’s site:
An introduction to you and your services
Client testimonials
Your portfolio
Your resume, both in HTML and PDF
Contact information
Let’s break that down.
Introduction to You and Your Services
Write this from the perspective of a person considering hiring you.
What do you do? For what niches/business types?
How long have you been doing this?
Who have you worked for? Logos will help.
You also need a good profile picture. Ideally, get a photographer friend to shoot portraits. People want to see who they’re hiring. (Use the same portrait on your website and your social media. One shot for everything.)
Testimonials from Happy Clients
Let your clients speak for you. It’s much more powerful when the messages come from clients. If you don’t have testimonials yet, put it on your To-Do list.
Be sure to feature these testimonials. Don’t bury them.
I wrote about getting testimonials in this post, Freelancers: How to Get New Clients
Showcase Your Portfolio
At the very least, your site should include a “standard portfolio” of your best work. Five to 10 samples are fine.
If you’re a developer or use a platform to create new pages or sections, consider building custom portfolios for various opportunities. Relevance is important. Portfolio examples that relate to a prospective client are more convincing.
I wrote about what to include in your portfolio in this post Freelancers: Build Your Confidence, Grow Your Billing
Your Resume in HTML and PDF
Why a resume? Because people want to know. What have you done before? Who did you work for? Which clients?
Resumes can open up conversations too.
“Oh, you worked at Company A with Joe Smith? I know Joe, great guy.”
“You worked on this (massively successful campaign) for Company B? Loved it when I saw it.” And so on… Resumes help readers know you better.
Why do you want a PDF of your resume? So that people can download it. Some companies want resumes, and a PDF is convenient.
Make it Easy to Contact You
People should be able to contact you by phone, text, and email. Put the contact info in a prominent place. It’s surprising how often contact information seems to be an afterthought.
You may also want links to your social media if it’s relevant to your work. It’s a very personal thing, so your call.
Hidden Job Market Tip 1: Contact Companies You’d Like to Work For
Think about what companies or organizations you’d like to work for. Make lists. Any time you come across an interesting company in your niche, make a note.
Then do your research to learn more about them. If you like what you see, search for people who work there. That’s where social media comes in. Then contact them.
Find out who’s in charge of hiring someone like you. Since you don’t know whether they’re looking for help, your pitch is to introduce yourself. Tell them you’ve been following them, why you’re attracted to their company, and how you might work together.
If you can’t find out who’s in charge of hiring, look for any senior employee. In an ad agency that could be an Associate Creative Director. Contact them. Talk to them. They’ll often chat with you, giving you the inside scoop.
From experience, I can tell you that most people will be flattered that you’ve taken an interest. There may not be an opportunity right now, but you’ve made a good first impression. Follow them on social to stay in touch.
If they’re even a bit interested (but don’t have work for you right now), you can keep them up to date with any new relevant projects. It’s the soft sale, the “hey just wanted to let you know what I’ve been working on, etc.”
Hidden Job Market Tip 2: Use Social Media to Let Your Network Know You’re Looking
Post your own “ad” on social media. Let everyone know what you’re looking for and that the link in your bio goes to your website.
From experience, I can tell you that the marketing community on Twitter is very helpful in this scenario. Ads get retweeted and referred to friends. Put the power of friend of a friend to work for you.
I see many people saying “I’ve got an opening next month for…” and getting responses. “Just sent you a DM, etc.”
Hidden Job Market Tip 3: Get Serious About Search on Social Media
Most social media platforms have sophisticated advanced search functions that let you find any available information. Learn how to use these functions.
Here is the guide to the Twitter Advanced Search Function.
Here are LinkedIn’s Tips for Searching Like a Pro on LinkedIn.
And here is how to Search on Reddit.
Hidden Job Market Tip 4: Go Direct and Avoid Competition
Ideally, you want to find your contacts at the companies or organizations (see tips 1 and 2) before they place an ad. This is much better than answering ads on Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
Yes, these can be effective platforms but realize they are highly competitive, and you’re up against everyone else in the world. Try to stay away from that scenario.
Your goal is to avoid competition. You want to be chosen for your skills, experience, and ability to work together easily. You want to be 1 of 1, not 1 of 1,000.
Find who you want to work for, and go to them directly.
Hidden Job Market Tip 5: Get Organized Now
Even if you have enough work, now is a good time to prepare. Get your website up, collect testimonials, expand your network.
Then you’ll be ready to act quickly when you need more work to fill your calendar.
Learn more about the best ways to find new opportunities in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for freelance graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
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