Kristin, a former client, was offered an interview at a company she’d had her eye on. The problem – from the job description, the role looked like a lower level than she was searching for. She nearly declined the interview, but at the last minute decided it couldn’t hurt to check it out.
You’ve heard that over 70% of jobs are found through networking. The statistic you may not have heard is about 5% of jobs are created. A created job is one that isn’t officially on the books, but is designed for the applicant.
This can happen in a number of ways. In Kristin’s case, after impressing the hiring team in her interview, they reconsidered the role and approached Human Resources with a proposal to redesign the job (including increasing the job level) to create a competitive offer for Kristin.
This happens more than you might think. Here’s how to spot an opportunity to create the perfect job:
- Create a job internally: If you’ve been doing awesome work at an organization and can identify a need where your skillset will have a positive impact on the bottom line, a created job might be the ideal next step. A client, Ariana, had a record of exceeding her sales goals every year for the Chicago office of her firm, despite declining sales in other offices across the country. Her fiance lived in Florida and while her firm didn’t have an office there, she proposed a virtual training role to help sales grow across the country. The key to Ariana’s success was that her proposed job description included measurable goals, alignment with her core skills, and a sound strategy for solving this pain point in the company.
- Create a job at the interview stage: Companies are always seeking exceptional talent so if they come across an impressive applicant who demonstrates a strong fit with the organization, they may be open to tweaking a role to align with your level or interests (to a point, of course). This is what happened for Kristin. Even if a company cannot adjust the open role for you, if you leave a glowing impression, they’ll most certainly consider you for similar roles they’re hiring for now or in the future (likely before the job is posted to the general public!).
- Create a job the company didn’t realize they needed: If you have a good eye for seeing gaps, this path might be for you. As an outsider coming in, this route takes great insight and connections (also, I’ve seen temporary employees create future permanent jobs this way after networking and learning the company’s pain points!). Pay attention to legislative and policy changes, new technology, environmental shifts, or current events that create opportunities in your market. These literally happen every day – you just need to seize the moment!
Happy hunting!