Hidden job market: this expression is thrown around a lot by career counsellors, executive search people, and others involved in the job market. It is widely believed that up to 70% of the positions available at any time fall into this category.

But what is this market, and why is it hiding? Well, it's not as mysterious as it sounds. The hidden job market is composed of positions for which there is no advertised vacancy. These positions can become available in either of two ways:

The first, and most common, way is as a result of some upcoming change in an organization --- expansion, acquisition, new product line or program, new technology, new markets, reorganization, promotions, transfers, etc. A new opening will be created. It hasn't been advertised yet. It may not even be clearly defined. But it is coming, and there is someone in the organization who knows it's coming.

The second way that these positions arise are as a result of problems. Remember that old chestnut that says, "One person's problem is someone else's opportunity?" Every organization, no matter how successful, has problems. Now, if your organization had a problem that was costing you money or time or customers or public support, and you became aware of someone who had the know-how to solve that problem, what would you do? Right! You'd create a job for that person. Probably immediately.

Obviously, the keys to opening these hidden doors are knowledge of the organizations involved, and contact with the right individuals within those organizations. If you do your homework, you may be able to anticipate their changes and identify their problems with a fair degree of accuracy.

All of this, of course, requires a very creative approach to the job search, and some hard work. But we must remember that one-third of today's jobs didn't even exist ten years ago, and new ones are being created every day.

Tapping into this hidden job market is very much a matter of being in the right place at the right time. That makes it a numbers game, but a somewhat selective one. The idea here is to identify the organizations that would likely be a fit for you. That means those that are active in your field, are mounting programs or planning projects that could use you, are expanding product or service lines, licensing new technology, launching new ventures, creating a new department, replacing retired personnel, and so on.

The target list of organizations can come from a number of sources --- tips from insiders, newspaper articles, trade and professional journals, blogs, updates on social media like Facebook and Twitter, directories, friends in the industry or profession, etc. Your contact should be with the most senior executive in the part of the organization that is involved.