Episode #189 – How to Access the “Hidden Job Market” for Animal Health Jobs and Veterinary Jobs
Julea: Welcome to “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter, Stacy Pursell, founder, and CEO of The VET Recruiter, provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary companies hire top talent, while helping animal health and veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
In today’s podcast episode, of “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider”, we’ll be talking about how to access the “hidden job market” for Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Julea. As always, I am glad to be here with you.
Julea: Stacy, we’ve referred to the “hidden job market” before on the podcast, but we haven’t devoted an entire episode to it, is that right?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. And I wanted to talk about it today because I think there are some people who have misconceptions about the “hidden job market” and what it is. Not only that, but I also believe that some people are even under the impression that it no longer exists because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession.
Julea: Really Stacy? That is interesting.
Stacy: Yes, and I think that’s a mistake. If you believe that, then you could be missing out on great employment opportunities.
Julea: Where would you like to start today Stacy?
Stacy: I would like to start with the basic blueprint for career success for Animal Health and Veterinary professionals.
Julea: That sounds great! What is that blueprint?
Stacy: Well, there are three main parts. First, to be successful, in your Animal Health Career or Veterinary Career, you must have access to opportunities for success. Second, to have access to opportunities for success, you must know about them. And third, to take advantage of these opportunities, you must be willing to consider them and then explore them.
It doesn’t matter how talented you are. You can’t take advantage of opportunities if you don’t know about them. It also doesn’t matter how many opportunities you know about if you’re not willing to consider and explore any of them.
Julea: It sounds as though being successful is all about having opportunities and being able to recognize them.
Stacy: That’s right! No matter what you do, being successful is all about opportunities. That’s because you can’t become successful until you have the opportunity to become successful.
And now, I have a few statistics that I think our listeners will find interesting.
Julea: What statistics are those Stacy?
Stacy: I have three, actually. First, according to ExecuNet, 80% of executive-level jobs are not posted online. For our purposes and for the purposes of ExecuNet, an executive-level job is one that involves a starting salary of $150K or more. Second, according to Business Insider, at least 70% of jobs are not listed online. And third, according to Forbes.com, approximately 80% of jobs are not listed or posted online.
Julea: Wow, those are some eye-opening statistics. I have some questions, though.
Stacy: Yes?
Julea: First, do these statistics reflect jobs in the employment marketplace overall? And do they translate to Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs?
Stacy: They do reflect jobs in the employment marketplace overall. However, I have been an Animal Health executive search consultant and recruiter for more than 20 years, and I can tell you that these numbers are in line with what I have seen in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. They are NOT the exception to the rule, they are the rule.
Julea: Okay, my second question is related to something you said earlier. The pandemic hasn’t affected these numbers at all, is that right?
Stacy: If they have, it’s very little. I can tell you from my experience that the “hidden job market” exists every bit now as it did before the pandemic. And that’s especially the case for Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs.
Julea: Why is that?
Stacy: Because there is still a lack of quality candidates in these industries, especially the Veterinary profession. There is a shortage of veterinarians and other veterinary professionals in veterinary clinical practice. As a result, there is also still plenty of opportunities available for veterinary professionals who are willing to explore those opportunities and have leverage.
Julea: So why are these positions not listed online? Why don’t the organizations that are trying to fill the jobs want to do that?
Stacy: The “hidden job market” exists for a number of reason and one reason is because there are employers that want to fill open positions within their organization on a confidential basis. They do not advertise these positions through traditional means, such as online job posting sites.
Julea: And why are these employers conducting confidential searches?
Stacy: For one thing, they may want to conduct their search without their competition knowing what they’re doing. I’ve seen this happen countless times during my career. For another thing, they might want to replace an underperforming employee without that employee knowing that they’re doing so. I have also seen this happen with regularity. Perhaps they are expanding or moving into a new market and do not want their competition to know what they are doing.
Regardless of the reason, just know that for every animal health or veterinary position you see posted online, there could be anywhere from two to three other Animal Health jobs or Veterinary jobs that exist in the marketplace.
Julea: Wow, that is definitely something to think about! Especially if you think about that blueprint for success that you presented earlier.
Stacy: Yes, you cannot take advantage of animal health job opportunities or veterinary job opportunities if you do not know about them. And employment opportunities that are in the “hidden job market” definitely fall into that category.
Julea: So, what should Animal Health and Veterinary professionals do? What is your advice Stacy?
Stacy: There are many things they can do. As I said, Animal Health and Veterinary professionals must become aware of these opportunities. And since they’re not posted online, you can’t do that by searching through job boards.
The first step is networking. Unfortunately, many professionals “shoot themselves in the foot” by not networking as extensively as they should within the Animal Health industry or Veterinary Profession. As you’ve probably heard countless times, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Of course, I like to use a variation of that saying: “It’s both what you know AND who you know.”
If you’re not engaging in networking activities on a consistent basis, then you’re hurting yourself professionally. Yes, having a LinkedIn account is a start, but that’s all it is: a start. True networking efforts extend beyond the Internet and social media. They include attending Animal Health and Veterinary conferences and conventions and meeting your peers and others within the Animal Health industry or Veterinary industry, even if it has to be virtually because of the pandemic. There are a lot of Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession associations that are conducting their meetings virtually these days. That is not an excuse not to attend. After all, the person who lets you know about an opportunity could be an employee of the organization attempting to fill the position or it could be a recruiter hired to help fill it.
Julea: Because animal health employers and veterinary employers use animal health recruiters and veterinary recruiters to help fill animal health positions and veterinary positions in a confidential fashion, is that right? The ones that are part of the “hidden job market”?
Stacy: Yes, as we have discussed before, there are many advantages to building a relationship with an experienced Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter. An Animal Health recruiter and Veterinary recruiter has access to the Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs that exist in the “hidden job market.” When Animal Health employers and Veterinary employers choose not to advertise their open Animal Health jobs or Veterinary jobs online, they instead hand those jobs directly to an experienced Animal Health recruiter and say to them, “Find the best candidates for us!”
And also, as we have discussed before, Animal Health recruiters and Veterinary recruiters have inside knowledge about these Animal Health employers and Veterinary employers. They know about the company culture, they know about the management and leadership, and they know about the history and vision of the organization, among other things. An experienced Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter who has a relationship with you will share this information, and they can give you an advantage over other job candidates who are being considered for the position.
But there is still a very important step to the whole process.
Julea: What is that Stacy?
Stacy: Being open to considering an opportunity and actually exploring it when it’s presented to you, no matter who is presenting it.
When I say consider the opportunity, I mean truly consider it. Don’t just simply dismiss it right away. Remember, it’s okay to consider an opportunity and then decline it, but only if you truly consider it. Not every opportunity you come across will be the one for you. However, all it takes is one opportunity to change your life forever, both personally and professionally.
Julea: Right, we’ve discussed this before. There’s no harm or risk in just considering an opportunity, or even exploring one, is that correct?
Stacy: Right! There’s no risk in at least considering or hearing about a new opportunity. Doing so does not mean that you’re making a commitment of any kind. You are simply gathering information about what is available to be able to make the best decision for your Animal Health career or Veterinary career.
Success is absolutely ALL about options and other employment opportunities represent those options. So a person’s attitude toward those opportunities will dictate how successful they ultimately are. When a person is unwilling to consider or explore other opportunities, it’s often due to fear or an unwillingness to leave the comfort zone.
Julea: So what would you tell the members of our listening audience?
Stacy: The first thing I would say is to be proactive and not reactive in regards to your professional life and your career. This means not waiting for good things to just come to you, because you’ll find out that doesn’t happen as often as you might think.
Second, network as much as you possibly can. Networking is a prime way to find out about the Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs available in the “hidden job market.” Third, be open to opportunity, including hearing about a new employment opportunity if one is presented to you.
Fourth, don’t allow yourself to become too comfortable or become enamored with maintaining the status quo. When you make being comfortable your top priority, it becomes more difficult to move forward and to grow. And fifth and perhaps most important, don’t allow fear to rule the decisions that you make about your career. Decisions that are made out of fear are usually poor decisions, and the people who make them often have regrets later on.
Julea: Stacy, we’re just about out of time. Is there anything else that you’d like to add before we end today’s episode?
Stacy: Yes, there is. I’d like to reiterate that if you’ve built a relationship with an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter or if you’re aligned with a recruiter, then you’re more likely to hear about the job opportunities that exist in the “hidden job market.”
Since success is all about options and opportunities, you want to have the most options and opportunities possible. You should want to know about all of the Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs that exist, including those that are in the “hidden job market” and not just the ones that are posted online.
It doesn’t matter if you’re actively looking for a position or not. The bottom line is that if you want to grow your Animal Health career, or Veterinary career, then you must be proactive about it. If you aren’t, then you will decrease the chances that you’ll have access to the opportunities that you really want.
From a purely numbers perspective, this means there are many more opportunities for you to grow your career than you realize. For the vast majority of people, this should be exciting news!
Julea: Yes, it should be exciting news, and I certainly hope that those in our listening audience view it as such!
Stacy, thank you so much for all of this great information. And speaking of Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs, for those people who are considering a change, there are a number of Animal Health job and Veterinary job opportunities located on The VET Recruiter website, aren’t there?
Stacy: Yes, there are. For those listeners who want to change their current situation and are interested in exploring Animal Health jobs or Veterinary jobs, I invite them to visit our website at www.thevetrecruiter.com. If you are an employer needing to hire Animal Health professionals or Veterinary professionals reach out to me through The VET Recruiter website.
Julea: Once again, the website address for The VET Recruiter is www.thevetrecruiter.com. Stacy, as always, thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: It has been my pleasure Julea, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!