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The job seeker in the 21st century faces unprecedented competition. For each open position, an average of 59 candidates apply for the job. To compound matters, only 12% of candidates end up being called in for an interview. With odds like these, it’s surprising that people aren’t volunteering to participate in The Hunger Games instead! Making matters even worse for the traditional job seeker, most jobs these days are not being filled through formal job postings. Every year millions of jobs are found through the hidden job market – jobs that are not ever advertised publicly. It is estimated that up to 80% of jobs are found through the hidden job market! Based on this, you should spend 80% of your time networking to find a job and only 20% of your time (at most) applying online. In this book I present a step-by-step system for how to make the most of your time networking.
Be it business, politics, sports or the arts, eventually the same old model for success ends up turning against the average participant. Like the blackjack table in Vegas, the odds become stacked in favour of the house. The advent of internet job sites such as Indeed, Monster and Workopolis have opened up job opportunities to the whole world. But instead of this helping the average job seeker, this has stacked the job marketplace in favour of organizations that can pick and choose from a long list of qualified candidates. I like to refer to online job sites as “The Black Hole of the Internet.”
I used to rely heavily on applying for work online – it didn’t get me very far. It was only after entering an MBA program, where I learned extensively about the power of networking, that I shifted my approach from applying online to networking with the right people to open up doors. Within just a couple months of shifting my approach and consistently applying my networking system, I landed my dream internship with the largest Canadian consulting firm. Once I finished my MBA, I used the same approach and, in short order, I landed a role in IT transformation with a Top 3 global bank.
Networking is about 3 things:
1. Connecting with the right people
2. Starting a meaningful conversation
3. Creating a professional relationship to uncover opportunities in the hidden job market
Seeing the transformation in my own career over such a short period of time has inspired me to share my system with others who are struggling to land their dream jobs. I give a lot of credit to my mentors and the MBA program in shaping my approach to finding my dream job. It’s now time to pay it forward to you.
I hope you enjoy reading this eBook as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Phil Cawdery, MBA