Jobs via word of mouth?

falko89

When I was made redundant a couple of weeks later a friend of my wife's was telling her about a job at her company that would of suited me down to the ground but someone had just started it the week previous, it wasn't advertised etc, gained purely through word of mouth, I am wondering how common this is? With the lack of jobs being advertised etc around here and people are still getting jobs I am getting the feeling its all who you know.

Metranil_Vavin

I think there is a lot to be said for hearing about opportunities through word of mouth and contacts.

I was on maternity leave last year, and due to go back to my full time job in a particular industry in January of this year. However I decided in November that due to the fact the company were unable to offer me more flexible hours, and with the commute to the office and cost of full time childcare being so prohibitive, I would hand in my notice. A very scary and stressful decision given that it was a good job, I'd been there 7+ years and the thought of looking for something new that would fit around my son was a very daunting prospect!

I had spoken to a friend in the same industry earlier in the year and mentioned I would like to find something p/time, and she got in touch with me in December and after a couple of interviews at her company I was offered a similar role to the one I had before, but on a 3 day week basis. I am actually working from home for them until early April when I will start working at their offices Mon-Weds. This fits in so much better with my son/partner etc, and it's completely down to having contacts. There's no way I would have got it through an agency..in fact when I contacted a few agencies about p/time roles, they basically told me straight off that I'd be very lucky, and I never heard from them again!

It's a shame you missed out on that job OP, but definitely worth you keeping the word out amongst your friends and contacts that you are looking so they can let you know as soon as something else comes up. Good luck!

Eliza_2

Yes, happens all the time. I was quite shocked at first having moved from NHS and local government into the private sector. However the independent shop I was in, only recruited from friends / relatives/someone in the same village as an existing staff member at that time , completely word of mouth. If they're really desperate now they will put a small ad in the window but it's still mostly word of mouth or friend of friend. I got the job there by chatting with the manager while buying something as a customer! Unintentional as I wasn't job hunting but it worked out really well. Completely unrelated to my previous senior professional role but it was fun and taught me new skills as well as helped pay the bills!

If you've just started job hunting all the advice tells you to get out there and call in to workplaces and get your face known as well as use all your previous networks. I believe there's a statistic somewhere that gives the percentage of jobs that are actually advertised and it's very small. Why would a company want to spend money on recruiting when they can get good staff without doing so? It's one reason why you never know how many vacancies are out there.

I now run a small business and now employ a friend of my daughter's, her partner's mum and two weekend teenagers, one of whom was a regular customer and one of whom is his friend. All brilliant staff!!

Good luck with the hunting but don't rely on adverts!

CKhalvashi

falko89 wrote: »

When I was made redundant a couple of weeks later a friend of my wife's was telling her about a job at her company that would of suited me down to the ground but someone had just started it the week previous, it wasn't advertised etc, gained purely through word of mouth, I am wondering how common this is? With the lack of jobs being advertised etc around here and people are still getting jobs I am getting the feeling its all who you know.

We don’t often advertise jobs that are available, they either go internally or to someone local by word of mouth.

I’ve built up quite a considerable business like this (although the company is based in one of London’s largest Russian/Polish communities)

I know it’s common in this game, but not so much otherwise

CK

falko89

I know in my last job it was very rare to see a job advertised, people would just appear in on a Monday morning, it then turns out they are related to or a friend of the boss, we didn't even know there was a vacancy. Sadly I am very much a lone ranger in that I don't really have any family or friends.

falko89

CKhalvashi wrote: »

We don’t often advertise jobs that are available, they either go internally or to someone local by word of mouth.

I’ve built up quite a considerable business like this (although the company is based in one of London’s largest Russian/Polish communities)

I know it’s common in this game, but not so much otherwise

CK

Yes I've found this with Eastern European, one gets in and eventually gets his mates in to.

getmore4less

In my sector of the IT industry it is very common and often supported by recruitment bonus.

Cheaper for the company to employ through networking, agency fees are high.

The pool of potential good/best employees have over the years tended to work for the same places.

One of our offices was closed and most of the engineering staff now work for Google, they had poached a few before closure .

Another office that closed 12 ended up at places that were allready employing other people that knew them and got them the interview, CV goes straight to recruiting manager, sometimes they will be peoplel you have worked with/for before.

Eliza_2

Yes you do have family and friends! You have a wife, she has friends. You presumably go shopping, to the library, the bank etc. If you fancy working there tell them you're interested or ask if they know of anywhere else. You have ex work colleagues, let them know you're interested. And go through all the other usual advice for job hunting.

Companies are bound to recruit from friends of friends as if they have one good worker, it's a good guess that their friends are reliable and efficient too. Makes no difference where they come from.

You sound a bit as if you're defeated before you start!!

LTL

The company I work for has several roles going right now and they don't advertise them through agencies / internet sites. I've found quite a number of people either having a connection with a colleague or a returning member of staff.

Quite common I think in the private sector (do not know about public.)

falko89

LTL wrote: »

The company I work for has several roles going right now and they don't advertise them through agencies / internet sites. I've found quite a number of people either having a connection with a colleague or a returning member of staff.

Quite common I think in the private sector (do not know about public.)

Its all about having contacts I think, My ex work colleagues where all took back when my firm got bought over so they are out of the question, My father put a word in for me at his work but he says not to hold out much hope as he has people in weekly looking for work, so other than that I don't have a lot of options.

CKhalvashi

falko89 wrote: »

Yes I've found this with Eastern European, one gets in and eventually gets his mates in to.

I’m Georgian and used to live in that neck of the woods, another reason we haven’t moved the company out of London is because we know we can always get staff with about 5 minutes notice if need be

I have literally done that before! :eek: