One of my clients ended up getting a very good professional job through information meetings he had through people he connected with through LinkedIn and you can too. With the right effort you can open the hidden job market.

Here is how he did it. First, he searched LinkedIn for people working in the industry and profession he had education and experience, and the geographic area he wanted to work it. He made a polished a connection invitation to send to 200 people he identified that he wanted to connect with. He personalized that message for each of those 200 people and sent it to them. About half, 100, accepted his invitation to connect. He then sent a personalized request for an in person information interview to each of those 100 new connections. Of those 100, 10 agreed to meet with him. He went each of those 10 meetings with no expectation or pressuring of the other person to help him secure work. They spoke like colleagues about areas of mutual interest. In the middle of one of those meetings, he said the person he was speaking with shifted the tone and direction of the conversation to something more like a job interview. At the end of the meeting when they parted company, he thanked her for the experience without yet knowing if there was actually any concrete job opportunity for him. Within a couple of days she called him asking him to apply for a job in her group. He thoroughly prepared his cover letter and resume to reflect the company’s needs, thoroughly prepared for the interview which he aced and got the job!

From the start to finish it took him less than 2 months to land this amazing opportunity. The secret of it all is to leave the person you are speaking to with the freedom to offer to help if they want to. For other clients, I have seen the big break come when the interviewee refers the interviewer to another person that can help connect them the insider side of the job market. This approach takes planning, tenacity and resilience. If done properly, success is inevitable! Remember to pay it forward and in future help others as you have been helped. Stay tuned for advice on impeccable information interviewing