Here’s something that happened during my own mid-career job search years ago, that I wish I’d known sooner.
I ended up with three job offers within 24 hours of one another.
One came from a role I applied to after tracking down who I thought was the hiring manager and reaching out directly.
One came from a straightforward application.
And the third, the one I accepted, came from a confidential posting for a role I didn’t even want. It was below the level I was targeting and I had no idea what company it was.
I went in anyway, had the conversation, and they ended up offering me a completely different role, one at the level I wanted, that wasn’t posted and wasn’t being filled for another seven or eight months.
That third offer is the one I want to talk about today.
At the time, I thought it was just good timing. Now I understand it’s simply how a significant portion of hiring works.
About 70% of roles are filled through the hidden job market. That number matters because it should change how you spend your time during a job search.
Most people spend the majority of their effort applying to posted roles, which makes sense because that’s the most visible part of the process.
You can see the jobs, apply to them, and track everything in a spreadsheet. It feels productive and organized.
The problem is that if the role you really want is more likely to come through a conversation than through a job posting, then spending most of your time on applications means focusing on the most crowded and competitive part of the market while missing a large portion of the real opportunities.
The hidden market works differently.
It opens through LinkedIn when your profile is set up to attract the right kind of attention.
Recruiters and hiring managers use the platform every day to find people for roles that haven’t been announced yet.
If your profile isn’t aligned with the role you want, you’re far less likely to be found.
It opens through your network when you’re having real conversations with people who know your work and who are connected to companies you’d want to work for.
This doesn’t mean mass outreach or awkwardly asking for help. It means staying visible and staying top of mind with the right people.
It also opens through targeted outreach to companies you already know are a strong fit, even when there’s no open role posted.
The right conversation at the right time can create an opportunity that didn't exist the day before.
I know that firsthand.
One of my clients did exactly this.
We optimized her LinkedIn profile and she started showing up on the platform the way I recommend.
A few weeks later, a hiring manager’s boss reached out to her directly about an opportunity with a large company that wasn’t even on her radar.
She hadn’t applied. She hadn’t heard of the role.
She was simply visible in the right way, and the opportunity came to her.
She’s now interviewing with them.
The job you’re looking for may already be out there.
It may simply be in places most people aren’t paying enough attention to.
Let’s talk about how to position yourself to access those opportunities.