The jobs that never get advertised, and how to reach them

6 minute read · Updated 2026-09-01

A great many UK vacancies are filled without ever appearing on a job board, including ours. Not because of a secret network, but because advertising costs money and takes time, so employers try the cheap routes first: somebody's cousin, the good agency temp, the person who emailed last month.

Why it happens

• Somebody resigns and the manager asks the team whether they know anybody, that day.
• A temp or agency worker has been doing the job well and is offered it.
• A speculative CV is sitting in a folder and the timing is suddenly right.
• The work grows gradually and a job is created around somebody already there.

None of that is unfair. It is just faster and cheaper than hiring properly, and it is why "who knows you are looking" matters as much as "what you have applied for".

The two things that work for ordinary trades

Most advice about the hidden job market is written for executives with a network. Here is the version that works for a driver, a carer, a chef or a machinist.

1. Tell twenty people, specifically

Not "let me know if you hear of anything". That gets forgotten in an hour. Instead: "I'm looking for Class 1 work in the Midlands, days if possible, and I can start in two weeks." Specific requests get passed on because they are easy to pass on. Twenty people who each know a hundred people is a far bigger reach than any job board.

2. Approach fifteen local employers directly

Make a list of the firms you would work for, whether or not they are advertising. Then a short email or a walk in with a printed CV:

"I'm a Class 1 driver, eleven years, ADR and CPC current, based five minutes from your yard. I'm looking for tramping or trunking work. My CV is attached. If nothing is open now, I'd be glad if you kept it for when something is."

Four sentences, no pressure, easy to file. In driving, care, construction and hospitality this works far more often than people believe, because managers genuinely keep those emails.

Timing beats persistence

Send it again three months later if nothing came of it, once. Vacancies appear at random and the person whose CV is on the desk that week gets the call. That is most of the mechanism.

What not to do

• Do not send the same message to two hundred employers from a bought list. It is spam, it is obvious, and under PECR it can be unlawful.
• Do not pay anybody to "market your CV" to employers. Charging a work seeker for work finding services is unlawful in the UK.
• Do not stop applying to advertised jobs. Do both.

And use the advertised route properly

Advertised jobs are still the majority for most trades, and they are visible, dated and fair. Set an alert here so you see them the day they go up, apply within 48 hours, and follow up once after five working days.

Search the board, or read the week by week job search.