3 Methods for Finding Hidden Jobs

Hi there, I'm Natalie Fisher, and this is the place to be if you want to be excited for work every morning. Who doesn't want that, right? Today we're going to dig into a topic that a lot of people ask me about, and this question comes from Tanya at And she writes, I've got about 11 tabs open in my browser window right now, and they're all for different job postings. I'm flipping back and forth trying to decide which ones should I apply for. Some I'm not even sure I'm that excited about, but I figure it couldn't hurt to try, right? I've sent in at least 49 applications. I haven't received any responses yet, but I know that my resume is on point because I've had someone look at it. I'm beginning to feel frustrated, debilitated with this process, and waiting to hear back is all I seem to be doing these days. I've had enough. Is there anything more that I should be doing? Sincerely, Tanya. Good news! Thank you, Tanya, for this question. The good news is: A, you're not alone. So many people struggle with this, including me. Not anymore. B, there are other ways Let's talk about 3 of the ways right now. Turn strangers into allies for your job hunt. If you're restricting your job hunt to the job boards, your odds are slightly better than winning the lottery. In other words, the odds of you winning are very, very low, but you could get lucky. For some jobs, you could quite easily be one of more than 1,000 applicants, which means that it's nothing personal that you're not getting replies because it doesn't really have anything to do with you. The application likely reads very similar to the other ones, and it's hard for the person reading to see what an awesome person you are. So possibly there isn't even a human reading the resume on the other end, and they're being sorted by keyword tools on a computer. So what should you do instead? When reaching out to hiring managers or people who can connect you to them over LinkedIn or by email, tests show that on average, 1 in 10 people will reply to you if you do it right, which we'll talk about in a minute. Even better, if you're reaching out to college alumni, 1 in 3 are more likely to get back to you. Which odds do you like better? Another misconception is that contacting everyone in your existing network and asking them to let you know if they hear of anything is enough. The problem with that is if you had someone in your existing network who happened to be a hiring manager or knew the hiring manager for your dream job, that would be great, but most people don't. So you need to reach out to strangers or acquaintances that you don't know very well, and that's where most people get really uncomfortable and they panic. So the trick is to be able to contact new people without sounding needy, sleazy, or desperate. So here's an example of how you could do that. First, you tell them about how you found them. So for example, you say, I found you when I was researching Project management. Two, a respectful check-in. I hope you don't mind me reaching out to you. Three, a sincere compliment. I found your experience to be really, really motivating and interesting for whatever reason. Mention something specific that you admire about them or something they've accomplished. Your current status. I myself am doing my degree in blah, or I'm working at blah, and I'm really excited about what. going to be doing in the future. Make your request. I also am inspired by you. I thought that I would— if you would have time for a quick coffee or a phone call. Attached is my resume so you can have an idea of my background. Thank you sincerely, your name. And that's the first method. Number 2 is the blurb method. So when my sister and I lost our jobs Several years ago, we worked for the same company that went bankrupt. We both tried a bunch of different things. We tried job boards first, and we quickly realized that we weren't getting the results from those. We needed to change it up. While my tactic was to go for coffee with everybody using the script that I just gave you, my more introverted sister used a slight variation of this approach, which also worked really well for her. So from her efforts, she got 11 meetings in 2 weeks. And even now, years later, she keeps in touch with some great company owners and hiring managers who call upon her for advice, offer her work, sometimes even contract work or full-time job offers. Here's the blurb that she used to get these results. You can of course adapt it to your own industry and situation. So first I'll tell you that her approach was contacting companies through their website with a similar message. Subject line, quick question. And here's what she said. Hi, my name is Alison and I'm a digital marketer. I hope you don't mind me reaching out to you. I'm passionate about topics such as email marketing, landing page optimization, and Google AdWords. I read your website and I was inspired by what your company is doing and how far you've come. It's the people who create the culture and the environment. Which is where the great ideas grow and things happen. If you think you might need someone like me in your organization, I would love to hear from you. Sincerely, Alice. Right. And she also said, attached is my resume at the end. And then she attached her resume. So number 3 is the free pitch method. So if you can afford to do so, you can offer to work for free at the beginning. So this— many unpaid internships are very successful in helping people launch their careers, and this is an especially viable option at smaller companies or startups where there often isn't a need to hire someone before there is money to pay them. So if you can get yourself in that way and do a good job, then there is It is reasonable to assume that the job will already be yours when the revenue starts to roll. So as a bonus, you may be able to negotiate stock options in lieu of salary. This is an option to approach, and you would do it by emailing them, and this is what you would say. Here is one way to approach the offer. Hi, my name is insert your name. I hope you don't mind me contacting you. I noticed that on your website you have some videos and I would improve upon them by— and then you insert what you would do if you're a videographer, for example. I would like to offer you my help in producing videos that will not only be— say how they would be better, but help you do— and then tell them how that would benefit them, what you're going to do. If you're interested in talking about these improvements, I'd be happy to help you out with this at no cost. Let's have a chat. Attached is a copy of my resume so you can get an idea of how my skills can help you. Signed, your name. That being said, I've had clients use a variation of the scripts talked about here and still apply through the job boards and have a lot more success. So it goes to show that you can get through the clutter With the power of authentic, original, sincere words, but it is more difficult. So you're now free to start getting connected and playing the game right. So armed with this new information, I'm pretty sure you're going to be unstoppable and ready to make your competition irrelevant. If you like this video, feel free to click the like button. If you didn't like this video, feel free to click the thumbs down button. I don't mind. You won't hurt my feelings. If you want more information from me, I have a free guide called The Definitive Guide to Setting Up Coffee Chats That Lead to Job Offers. Now you can grab it right now by clicking the link below. And let me tell you about what you'll learn in this guide. So the first thing you'll learn is how to reach out to strangers who can really help you in your career without being needy, desperate, or salesy. And I include the script that I talked about in this video. How to get introductions to important people who can help you the most in your career. You'll learn how to turn a one-time quick coffee chat into a longer-term career advancing relationship, and you're also going to learn how to follow up effectively after the coffee chat or the phone call. You're going to find out how to get more important people. People to forward your resume or to help you with getting a job interview. And last but not least, how to find almost anyone's email address. And there you have it. Thank you so much for watching. I'm Natalie, and I hope to see you on the other side.