Old-school networking still key to landing a job, recruitment experts say

Brandie Weikle · CBC Radio

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

When Rose Asgharzadeh moved to Calgary successful 2023, she wasn't disquieted astir uncovering a job. Her 14 years of acquisition teaching quality resources astatine a assemblage successful Iran made her a literal adept connected uncovering a job.  

But aft 500 applications connected LinkedIn and Indeed — mostly to firm HR departments — Asgharzadeh had received virtually nary response, isolated from a small feedback that she lacked Canadian occupation experience, oregon was overqualified owed to her PhD.

"It was precise frustrating and precise disappointing," Asgharzadeh told Cost of Living. "So what should I do? Should I delete my PhD from my resume?"

Asgharzadeh took courses and workshops to boost her cognition of the Canadian quality resources landscape. She'd walk 5 oregon six hours regular scouring jobs posts, tailoring her resume and applying to astir 10 positions each day.

But it wasn't until she pivoted to in-person networking, going connected a whopping 79 java meetups, that she landed a job.

Asgharzadeh stumbled upon an important and somewhat astonishing information astir the labour market: Even successful a satellite wherever online occupation applications look to beryllium the norm, it inactive takes in-person networking to uncover a important information of the opportunities.

While there's nary definitive information connected the subject, immoderate estimates and surveys person suggested the "hidden" occupation market" whitethorn relationship for anyplace betwixt 50 and 70 per cent of each positions.

Employers effort 'lots of antithetic methods'

Brendon Bernard, elder economist for occupation tract Indeed Canada, says it's hard to quantify exactly, but information from Statistics Canada's occupation vacancy and wage survey supply immoderate adjuvant insights.

For each vacancy reported from the survey's representative illustration of each industries, employers are asked to prime each their methods used to capable that role. 

In the 3rd 4th of 2024, the astir caller for which information is available, online occupation boards were selected the astir often, astatine 79.8 per cent. But conscionable down were idiosyncratic contacts, referrals and informal networks, astatine 72.5 per cent. 

Company websites and societal media were the 3rd and 4th astir popular.

"It's wide that companies are trying tons of antithetic methods," said Bernard.

April Dyrda, a registered scientist and vocation manager with Canada Career Counselling, says if you're lone applying for jobs online, you could beryllium missing out.

"One of the tips that we ever urge is for each 1 occupation exertion you taxable online, effort to marque 2 genuine funny connections extracurricular of that," said Dyrda, who lives successful Calgary. That tin mean letting your web cognize you're looking for enactment successful a peculiar field, she said, reaching retired to individuals you cognize successful that manufacture to inquire if they cognize of opportunities, oregon approaching caller radical for java chats, similar Asgharzadeh did.

Pushing past discomfort

Asgharzadeh said she was initially uncomfortable astir reaching retired to radical to chat. Still, she made herself connection hundreds of strangers connected LinkedIn who worked successful her field.

She'd present herself, outline her experience, and accidental she was caller to Canada and anxious to larn the ropes here. If idiosyncratic said they were too engaged 1 period but unfastened to gathering the next, Asgharzadeh would enactment that successful an Excel spreadsheet and travel up accordingly.

"It took fractional of my time getting dressed, being ready, taking a autobus oregon whatever, going and uncovering that place, gathering idiosyncratic and coming back."

On immoderate days she'd person 2 oregon 3 java chats: "It was precise energy-consuming, precise time-consuming," she said.

But those meetings yet led to 3 occupation offers.

Why immoderate jobs aren't posted

There are galore reasons wherefore employers whitethorn not database each occupation accidental online, says Cheryl Nakamoto, managing spouse of McNeill Nakamoto Recruitment Group successful Vancouver.

If it's a tiny enactment with a tiny HR department, "they whitethorn not post, conscionable due to the fact that they can't support up," said Nakamoto.

And successful a tighter labour market, similar the 1 we're successful now, hiring managers are much apt to beryllium inundated with applications, she said. They whitethorn effort to debar that concern done much focused recruitment efforts or word-of-mouth recommendations.

There tin besides beryllium confidentiality issues astatine play. If a unit subordinate is astir to get laid off, says Nakamoto, "they don't privation to alert, wrong the company, that there's this presumption coming up."

Then there's the wage transparency piece. 

More provinces are passing authorities requiring companies to see wage ranges with occupation postings, a determination advocates accidental tin assistance adjacent the wage gap. Hiring without posting is simply a mode to get astir that, Nakamoto says.

Nakamoto recommends that occupation seekers besides scope retired to recruiters arsenic portion of their networking efforts, due to the fact that they're successful the cognize astir upcoming opportunities.

The networking grind yet paid disconnected for Asgharzadeh, who inactive vividly recalls however she felt erstwhile she got an connection for an adjunct prof relation astatine Mount Royal University past summer.

"I cannot explicit my feeling successful words due to the fact that I was connected the unreality successful the sky."

Asked what proposal she has for others, Asgharzadeh stressed the value of staying focused connected the extremity game. 

"I cognize however frustrating and overwhelming it is," she said. "But the constituent is that you person a extremity and you request to spell and get it…. Don't fto thing halt you."

There is 1 happening she has stopped, though: "I don't portion java anymore."