Start with a target list of companies and people

When it comes to the hidden job market, less is more.

Make a short list of companies you want to work for — no more than 10 — and let that list guide your search, career coach Emily Liou recommends.

Then, figure out who the decision-makers at those companies are: the people working on the teams you’re interested in, who your potential boss would be, recruiters and human resource managers. LinkedIn and past job descriptions on the companies’ websites are solid places to start.

Having a focused search can help you build deeper, more personal connections, she adds, and those connections should alert you to job opportunities before they’re posted online.

That’s because companies want to hire people who have a strong, veritable interest in their business, Liou explains — and as a jobseeker, it is much easier to build relationships with these decision-makers if you are thoughtful and intentional in your search instead of copying and pasting the same outreach message to 50 people.

“Even if they don’t have an immediate opening, it’s not to say that in a few weeks or months someone will get promoted or quit and suddenly there’s an open role,” Liou says. “If you’re on their radar, you’ll be at the top of their hiring list.”

Take a personal approach to networking

Networking can be intimidating, but building relationships and connecting with new people is the only way to break into the hidden job market, Perkins explains.

For example: One of Perkins’ clients recently told his neighbor he was looking for a new job, and that neighbor said he worked for a company in his field and would recommend him for an opening. Now, he’s interviewing for a position there.

“We tend to discount our personal connections, but alerting family members, friends, classmates and neighbors that we’re looking for new opportunities can open the door to a great position,” she says.

Most of your networking, however, should stem from names on your target list of companies you want to work for: the recruiters, hiring managers, potential co-workers and higher-ups you’d work with.

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