Could it be that many roles are filled without ever appearing on public job boards or company websites? Instead of broadcasting openings, do organizations quietly rely on hiring from their trusted circles, effectively eliminating external intruders? And does this under-the-radar ecosystem slip beneath the surface of traditional job searches, leaving applicants who depend solely on public listings completely in the dark? Plenty of people would agree—and so do I, in a way.

What Is the Hidden Job Market?

Let’s begin by exploring what the ‘hidden job market’ actually is. You might imagine it as some secretive job board tucked away in a digital underworld, run by a shadowy cabal of HR sorcerers—but it’s nothing of the sort. In reality, it simply refers to the fact that certain roles may be filled without ever being publicly advertised. These opportunities typically fall into two basic categories:

• Internal opportunities filled through promotions or transfers within an organization;
• External unadvertised positions sourced via employee referrals, internal recruiter outreach, or hiring managers’ networks.

Why Does It Exist?

So why do these jobs remain ‘hidden’? Companies sometimes prefer not to advertise certain vacancies for several strategic reasons:

• Leverage internal talent. Promoting existing employees creates growth opportunities, strengthens the employer brand, and improves retention.
• Save time and effort. For niche roles or highly specific skill combinations, public advertising can be very inefficient. Direct search is usually faster and more successful.
• Reduce hiring risk. Internal candidates with a known track record—performance, skills, work ethics, character, and cultural fit—are safer bets compared to external applicants.
• Rely on trusted referrals. External candidates recommended by existing employees or hiring managers come with better credibility, lowering the risk of poor hires.
• Maintain confidentiality. During restructuring or senior-level transitions, discretion is key—especially when a current employee is being replaced or when revealing a gap in a critical role could signal instability to competitors.
• To leverage employee referral programs. These programs reward staff for bringing in friends, former colleagues, or classmates—often resulting in high-quality hires and stronger employee engagement.

How Big Is It?

Some would-be ‘career experts’ claim that as many as 70-80% of job openings aren’t posted anywhere. That’s a huge number and if it was true, I am afraid that anyone who is simply relying on public job advertisements is missing a lot of opportunities. However, I’m afraid this claim may be more myth than reality. While something resembling a ‘hidden job market’ certainly does exist, a more realistic estimate would be that it accounts for only about 10% of total job opportunities.

Why is that? Because in reality, many companies follow formal hiring policies that require job vacancies to be posted both internally and externally—often for compliance reasons or to promote transparency. This is especially common in publicly traded companies, highly regulated industries, and mature organizations with well-established HR practices.

On the other hand, small businesses and startups typically don’t have a large internal talent pool to draw from. In many cases, HR responsibilities are handled by a personal assistant, admin staff, or outsourced entirely. For these companies, posting a job ad on a popular job board is quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive.

Probability of being Advertised	Job Category	Typical Roles	Rationale for Not Advertising
Lowest (Highest Probability of being Hidden)	C-Suite & Executive Leadership	CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CMO, President, Board Members.	Confidentiality: Advertising a departure at this level can signal instability to investors, competitors, and employees. Trust: These roles set company strategy and require a track record of deep trust and proven results, making referrals and headhunters essential.
	Highly Specialized or Niche Experts	Chief Architect, Head of M&A, Distinguished Engineer, Proprietary Trader.	Scarcity: The pool of qualified candidates is small and well-known within the industry. Candidate Passivity: Candidates for these roles are typically not actively seeking new opportunities and, if desired, must often be directly poached from competitors.
Medium-Low	Senior Management & Director Level	VP of Sales, Director of HR, Regional Manager, Senior Program Director.	Internal Mobility: Companies prioritize career pathing and retaining talent by promoting proven employees. Cultural Fit: These leaders directly influence company culture, so an internal resource or  referral from a trusted source is highly valued to ensure alignment.
	Internal Operations & Strategy	Chief of Staff, COO, HRBP, Product Managers, Technical sales roles.	Internal Knowledge: These positions require deep, specific knowledge of the company’s internal workings, products, processes, and procedures, which is best found internally.
Medium	High-Volume Professional Roles	Sales / Account Managers, Mid-level Engineers, Finance Controllers / Analysts (especially in small/mid-size firms).	Cultural Fit: Companies can use employee referral programs to quickly fill these roles with pre-vetted candidates who are a good cultural fit. Quality of Hire: Advertising can lead to an unmanageable flood of low-quality applications.

How to Access the Hidden Job Market

Despite the so-called “hidden job market” being relatively small in reality, there are certain roles that almost never get publicly advertised—see the table above for examples. That’s why it’s important to understand how to tap into these unseen opportunities and what strategies work best:

• Reach out to your existing network—former colleagues, customers, vendors, classmates—and let them know what you’re looking for.
• Join and engage in professional groups, alumni associations, and industry forums both online and in person.
• Leverage social platforms to connect with potential hiring managers and share your expertise in targeted conversations, secure informational interviews with them to demonstrate value and learn about upcoming needs.
• Partner with specialized recruiters or headhunters who specialize in your niche or maintain tight relationships with your target companies.

Read more here: The Power of Networking

Good luck!

You may also like:

• Navigate Your Job Hunt with Confidence to Attract the Best Opportunities (Plus a Free Resilience Worksheet)
• Harness the Power of AI in Your Job Search (Plus 10 Best ChatGPT Prompts)
• Why Your Job Search is Taking So Long—and How to Speed It Up

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Do you need my personal assistance? Simply send me your resume and a link to your LinkedIn profile at vaclav@getyourdreamjob.co and I will come back to you!