Tassie's Hidden Job Market revealed
Posted on by mike.brindley@rdatasmania.org.au
About four in 10 successful Tasmanian jobseekers are being employed through word of mouth and the "hidden job market", an expert says.
Source: Sean Ford The Advocate 3rd June 2021 Titled " James McCormack says Tasmanian jobseekers can benefit"
James McCormack, the federal government's employment facilitator for Tasmania's North-West and North, believes many jobseekers are missing out on employment opportunities if they only hunt for work through the more formal methods.
"In Tasmania, and it's a very Tasmanian phenomenon, the hidden job market is important, and how people use their networks to see what's around," Mr McCormack said "If you know someone who's working, ask how they got their job, is their workplace looking at recruiting, how do they recruit ...
"Word of mouth down here in Tasmania is a bigger phenomenon than elsewhere in Australia." He said employer surveys showed it accounted for about 25-30 per cent of hiring nationally and was regularly higher in Tasmania, including about 40 per cent in the most recent survey.
"Use your networks, talk to people you know who are in employment, broaden your search," he said.
There was also likely to be less competition for those jobs than for those which were advertised.
"There are jobs out there," Mr McCormack said.
"Across hospitality, disability services, aged care, freight and transport, manufacturing, forestry ... pretty much every employing sector you look at there are employers looking for people who will fit well into their organisations." He said employers regarded qualifications as important, but the right "fit" was also important, including factors like the ability to work in a team, communication and digital skills and reliability.
Mr McCormack said opportunities for jobseekers had improved since last year's economic crash brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. "We're working closely right across the service system with Jobactive providers and others to connect them (jobseekers and employers) as best we can," he said.
Asked about people who were having trouble getting jobs despite growing opportunities, he said the government extending the Local Jobs Program supporting jobseekers out to 2025 was in recognition of that."There is assistance out there to help, Jobactive providers, assistance with literacy and numeracy and a number of training and personalised assistance options are there," he said.
He also recommended the jobjumpstart.gov.au website as a way to get a start in what could be a bewildering array of material on the internet for jobseekers."I would highly recommend it to any jobseeker as a good starting point," he said.
He also urged jobseekers to be flexible in how they looked for work, including through jobs websites, companies' websites, social media pages and more.