PM POWER Moves: Breaking INTO Project Management - Vol 012: “Hidden" Job Market

Welcome back to the PM POWER Moves newsletter! If you missed any of the other iterations, check my profile to read!

I've been actively engaged on LinkedIn since April of 2022. In that time, I've developed a niche of aspiring project managers looking to translate their existing experience (like I did) to gain new opportunities in the project management field. My desire for my content (and this newsletter) is to be able to help YOU do that!

I will be publishing this newsletter every other Sunday and covering a wide variety of content to leverage in your own experience and career to help provide you opportunity!

This week's topic: “Hidden" Job Market

If you’ve been following me on LinkedIn for any amount of time, you know my stance on networking.

It is THE key to getting a job in today’s market.

I’ve said many times, you should be spending 90% of your time networking and 10% of your time applying (and I’m not the only one).

But if you’re new to LinkedIn or you haven’t been a job seeker in a while, you probably don’t know how to start.

I’ve got mucho content on building your LinkedIn network with people that do the job you want to do and commenting/engaging on their posts regularly to build a relationship with them and their audience (find one here).

That’s not today’s focus though.?Today’s focus is on taking your job search to the next level by leveraging the “hidden job” market.

FYI: it doesn’t actually exist, but this is a great way to tailor your job search to find the role you want and have a real shot at getting an interview for it, especially if you’re looking to transition from a different career and your experience isn’t in formal project management.

So, you’ve taken the time to find a handful of jobs that you actually would like to do and apply for (can be from any source – LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, job boards, etc).

But you’re just 1 applicant in a sea of applications, right?

Let’s change that.

First, you’re going to find a job you’d like to do.?I’ve chosen one from Brianna Doe ’s job board (this is a phenomenal resource, use it when you can and connect with her).

For this example, I’ve chosen a Team Lead (Project Manager) Branding position with Verve.

Read the job description, if you meet at least 60-70% of the qualifications, go ahead and apply.

Next, go and find Verve’s company page on LinkedIn.

Search Verve and click Companies, look until you find their logo (it’s on page 2 as they’re a smaller company, which works well for these tactics and this example).

Once you’ve found and clicked on their company page, click on “See all employees on LinkedIn.”

Narrow down your search through these employees by searching for “recruiter” to connect with the recruiter directly (Verve doesn’t have their own recruiter so you’d skip this step).

To find the hiring manager and/or other PMs to connect with, search “project manager” instead.

There are 10 employees that currently fit that description but only about 4 of them truly work as project managers.?Reach out to the ones that have PM titles (and are active on LinkedIn) to get some insight and more info on the job.

But to find the hiring manager, you’ve got to dig a little bit.?Sometimes they’ll have titles like “director” or “manager” or “senior”, as well as “lead.”?In this case, we’re going to want to go with the Team Lead for Project Management.

Click into their profile to see if they’re active on LinkedIn (shows under their Activity section).

If they are, look through their content, like and comment on anything fairly new and relevant (do this for the PMs you reach out to above as well). Once you’ve engaged/commented for a few days, reach out to them via a LinkedIn DM and start up a conversation and go from there to start funneling the conversation toward their open job and how you can contribute/provide value to their needs.

Now, what if they are NOT active on LinkedIn or maybe they are but you’ve tried to engage with them, and they don’t engage back?

One other option is to work to get your information in front of them using their email.

In their profile, you’ll see Contact info, click it and sometimes their work email will come up.

If not, you can try to find their work email using free email finder tools like Mailscoop.io.?These email finders suggest potential work emails using the person’s name and their employer.?It’s not a 100% guarantee for a match but it gets you closer and helps get your info to them.

For a direct message to their work email, I would keep it professional.?Introduce yourself, highlight your interest in the position, state your qualifications and attach your resume and a project portfolio (if you have one).?Again, state your interest in the position and a desire to connect if they want more information and thank them for considering you.

Follow-up 1-2x over the course of the next few weeks to ensure that they received it and to restate interest and ability to provide additional context if they’d like to chat.

This can be done for pretty much any job seeker in any career! Pivot for your needs!

Now, does all of the above take effort? ?YES

Is it more impactful then “spraying and praying” job applications by the dozens to any available PM position??AB-SOLUTELY!

Spend your time where the most value lies (hint, it’s networking).

LinkedIn “Hack of the Week”

If you've been on LinkedIn for any amount of time, you know that there are many ways to use it for professional development. I stumble upon these often and would like to share a relevant one with you when I can.

Want to find project management jobs with companies that have employees you’re already connected with (so that you can reach out to them for a connection)?

1. Search the job you want in the LinkedIn search bar ex: “project manager.”
2. Go to All filter and scroll down to “In your network”, check it to On.

You now have a list of jobs with people who actively work there that are in connected to you.?They may not be project managers at the company, but they may be able to connect you with one directly.

Use the tactics above to connect with them and get some “insider information” on the company, their PM roles, the team culture, and anything else you can uncover.?You could leverage that relationship to meet the hiring manager or develop that relationship and it may even become a referral opportunity.

Keep building your network, the sky’s the limit.

Thank you for reading! Hopefully this week's newsletter has resonated. I'd love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for future topics that you'd like me to cover. Please let me know in the comments below or DM me!