Landing the Unlisted Job

     I'm all about creating and finding the best kind of opportunity out there: the unlisted job!  Over half of the positions inside some of the world’s most sought after companies are unlisted due to internal hiring and employee referrals.  So how does one break and enter into a company, brand, or agency to score a dream job?  It’s simple: stop spending so much time applying for the jobs that are listed and focus in on some specifics:

1. UNDERSTAND: Understand the brand or agency you want to work for. Understand their industry, their competitors, their business.  Look into their recent hiring activity on LINKEDIN (follow the company on linkedin). Understand what you do best and how you can present yourself as an asset to them.

2. FOCUS: Make a long list of these companies and focus in on the area (for example, creative or digital marketing) that you want to work in and connect with.  Be serious about this step, make an excel sheet or keep a running word document or Gmail label for company names.  Be open. Investigate startups.

3. CONNECT: Email an HR representative at the company you’re interested in by connecting on Linkedin (connect with them as a friend and put a one or two sentence introduction inside your message about how you’re interested in their company and want to share your experience). Kick it up a notch and be super savvy by getting their emails from older postings across the web.

4. STAY CONNECTED: This step cannot be repeated enough! It’s only natural to encounter a few no’s along the way, but you need to archive these email contacts and be sure to follow up. A few months from now, or even two to three years from now, you might be looking for your next big position and bam, you remember…your contact just waiting for you to follow up and show continued interest in their brand.  Think of this part like cutting the line, and think of these steps as a cyclical process.