Someone Just Said Your Name in a Room You Weren’t In. That's the hidden market.
Someone is talking about your next career opportunity right now.
At dinner. On a walk. In a board meeting. Over a random text. And the weird part?
You’re not there.
Someone says: “We need somebody who has done this before.”
And someone else says: “Oh! You need to talk to Sarah.”
That tiny conversation can lead to a CEO role, a board seat, an advisory opportunity, a client, an investment, a speaking invitation…
And Sarah may have absolutely no idea it happened.
Welcome to the hidden market.
This is where the really interesting opportunities live
Most people think the hidden market means jobs that haven't been posted yet.
Sure, that’s part of it… but it's actually much bigger.
A founder needs an advisor.
A board needs someone with a very specific background.
A CEO has a problem and doesn't even know what the role should be called yet.
An investor needs an operator.
Someone needs a speaker.
And eventually somebody asks: “Who do we know?”
Notice what they DON'T ask.
“Who has the best résumé?”
They ask who they know, and even that isn't quite right.
Because I may know you and still never think of you.
The real question is:
Who knows what you're incredibly good at, and trusts you enough to put your name on the table?
Because if I’m going to make an introduction, that costs me something too.
If I tell a CEO, “You HAVE to meet this person,” I'm putting a little bit of my reputation behind yours.
That's why collecting 5,000 LinkedIn connections isn't the hidden market.
Relationships are.
And here's the part I find even more interesting
I was thinking about this because Decade in a Day is coming up in two weeks, when a small group of executives will be at my home.
We'll coach. We'll work. We'll build things.
But I already know some of the most interesting moments will have nothing to do with what I planned.
Somebody will hear what someone else is doing and say:
“Wait. Have you ever thought about…?”
And suddenly there’s an opportunity they didn’t know existed.
I see this ALL THE TIME.
“Have you thought about sitting on boards?”
“Why aren't you advising companies on this?”
“You know people get paid to speak about exactly what you know, right?”
“Have you ever thought about buying a company instead of joining one?”
Wait… I can do that?
That might be my favorite part of the hidden market: realizing you have opportunities that you didn’t even know were on the menu.
And if everyone around you has followed roughly the same career path you have, you may be choosing your future from a VERY small menu.
The hidden market has one catch
You can't disappear for four years and suddenly send:
“Hi! Hope you're doing well! Would love to catch up!” 😂
We all know what that means: you need something.
The hidden market is built long before you need it. Just a few ways to tap into it:
Help people.
Make introductions.
Share useful things.
Ask good questions.
Stay in touch with people you actually like.
Let people see how you think and what you're great at.
And, importantly, make sure what you're known for matches where you want to go.
Because if everyone knows you as the incredible person who fixes impossible projects, guess what they'll bring you? More impossible projects.
Not necessarily the CEO role you want, the board seat, the advisory opportunity… you get the point.
People can only bring you opportunities they associate with you.
So here's my question for you:
If I called five people who know your work and asked, “What would you call this person for?”- what would they say?
And is their answer what you want to be doing next?
If not, let’s work on it. Because your next opportunity may already be out there.
The question is whether somebody will think of you when it comes up.
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