What the 'hidden job market' really is and how to make it work for you

Business Insider

2 days ago

Sometimes, the best way to land a job at a company is to get rejected by them first.
In the months before graduating from Cornell University in 2023, Jahnavi Shah said she applied to over 500 jobs and secured five interviews, but none led to a full-time offer — at least not right away. Several months later, she'd be fast-tracked into a role thanks to a contact she'd made during that stretch. All it took was a good initial application, a LinkedIn connection — and a little patience.
"It's a great reminder that even if an opportunity doesn't work out immediately, staying on the radar can make a difference," said the 24-year-old, who lives in San Francisco.
Here's what happened: Disappointed to not land a role she'd interviewed for at identity verification startup Persona, Shah connected with the recruiter on LinkedIn anyway. Months later, she'd accepted a part-time contract role but was still looking for full-time employment. When she received a congratulatory message from the Persona recruiter, Shah checked Persona's careers page, where she saw a new job posted just a few days earlier. She applied, landed an interview, and received an offer after sharing three references. Shah said she was told only one interview was required because the company was already familiar with her.
"I believe my previous interview experience gave the team a solid understanding of my profile and potential," she said.
Shah is among the workers who have battled a challenging job market in recent years. Amid economic uncertainty, ranging from tariffs to the early impacts of AI adoption, US businesses are hiring at nearly the slowest pace in more than a decade. Open roles are taking longer to fill — if they're filled at all — and some job seekers say they're sending out dozens of applications without ever hearing back from employers.
In this environment, it can feel like hiring happens behind closed doors — like there's a membership to an exclusive club that some job seekers simply don't have access to. In some cases, a club of this sort does exist, but getting in is more accessible than it seems. Landing an interview, even if you're rejected, can sometimes be enough to secure future opportunities.
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Getting into the 'hidden job market' can give candidates an edge
Bonnie Dilber, senior manager of talent acquisition at the automation software company Zapier, said she believes the vast majority of roles are publicly posted on platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed — with some exceptions, such as senior executive positions, jobs at stealth startups, and roles at small mom-and-pop businesses.
However, she said some companies do regularly hire through what she calls the "hidden job market" — prioritizing a select pool of candidates and, in some cases, skipping a public job posting altogether. Often, though, that pool isn't full of people with insider connections, but of prior applicants who stayed on the company's radar, she said.
Over her career, Dilber said she's hired "countless" people who impressed during interviews but were initially rejected due to factors like timing or location. When circumstances changed, the company reached back out and fast-tracked them for other openings.
At her company, for example, she said they might post a role like technical support specialist or account executive — positions typically filled in high volumes — and hire a handful of candidates. A couple of months later, when new openings arise, they might revisit the same applicant pool rather than reposting the job. If a strong runner-up had made it to the final round, they might extend an offer without even conducting another interview.
"Someone could look at that and think 'no job was posted but someone got hired,' but in reality, those are applicants from existing candidate pools that a company makes many hires from," she said.
Other employers are also finding ways to give rejected candidates a second shot. Sean Barry, Allstate's vice president of talent acquisition, said the company implemented a system last year that flags qualified candidates who were initially turned down and recommends them for other roles. So far, it's helped Allstate hire more than 100 people, many of them for claims positions.
"While they might've been a no-go for that role at that time, it certainly doesn't mean that they're not a fit for the company and potentially a fit for another need," Barry previously told Business Insider.
Dilber said she's benefited from processes like this herself. On two occasions, she applied for a role and was the runner-up — only to be contacted shortly after about a different opportunity, with a shorter interview process since the company was already familiar with her.
She said her top advice for job seekers is to focus on submitting applications for roles they're well qualified for — and to use networking and referrals to strengthen those efforts whenever possible. Even if it doesn't lead to an offer right away, a strong application — especially one that leads to an interview — can open doors down the line.
"Your best bet is always to apply with a strong application — and a referral if possible — rather than worrying about jobs that were never posted," she said.
When a rejected job application turns into a dream job offer
Sometimes, getting rejected doesn't lead to a job at that employer — but it can open doors elsewhere.
In 2024, Alicia Strata applied for an administrative assistant job but didn't get the position. However, the third-party recruiter the company worked with suggested a part-time office support role at another company that he thought might be a good fit — so she decided to give it a shot, even though she wasn't particularly interested in the position.
During the interview, Strata said she kept getting asked marketing questions that didn't align with the job description. Halfway through, she learned there had been a mix-up: the company was actually looking to hire a marketing professional. It was exactly the kind of role she'd been hoping to find since graduating with a degree in marketing communications.
The interviewers thought she seemed like a great fit, and she started working at the company a month later.
"It was amazing to walk into the interview not even wanting the role, and walk out thinking it could be my dream career," she said.
Landing jobs through connections made during interviews isn't a new phenomenon. After graduating in December 2007 with a degree in communication arts, Allyson Noonan struggled to land a job, so she worked part-time at Anthropologie and babysat.
One day, someone who interviewed her for a job she didn't get contacted her, saying she had a friend in the industry looking for an entry-level position that she thought she'd be a fit for. This position turned out to be her first full-time job at a PR agency, which she started in June 2008.
"This experience taught me that it's wise to take every interview you can — even if you're not sure it's a good fit," she said.