Hidden Job Market for Directors: Access 70% of Roles Before They’re Advertised

Most Head of and Director-level professionals assume the job market is driven by advertised roles.

It is not.

At senior level, a large proportion of hiring happens before a role ever reaches a job board, recruiter, or formal process. By the time a position is advertised, much of the real decision-making has already taken place.

Understanding this changes how you approach your career entirely.

The Reality of the Senior Job Market

Roughly 70% of Head of and Director-level roles are filled before they are ever advertised externally.

Recruiters account for a portion of the remaining market, typically around 30%.

The majority of senior hires, however, come from a different source:

• People the hiring manager already knows

• Individuals recommended through trusted networks

• Professionals who have proactively built relationships ahead of need

This is not a new trend. It is how senior hiring has operated for years. The difference is that many professionals still structure their job search as if the advertised market is the primary path.

It is not.

The Problem With Relying on Applications

If your strategy is based on applying or waiting for roles to appear, you are competing in the most crowded and least efficient part of the market.

You are effectively targeting:

• The one-third of roles that become visible

• The segment with the highest volume of competition

• A process designed to filter, not differentiate

This creates a structural disadvantage.

Even highly experienced candidates are reduced to:

• A resume

• A set of keywords

• A comparison against other applicants

At senior level, this is not where your value is strongest.

Where the Real Opportunities Exist

The majority of opportunities exist in what can be described as the pre-advertised market.

This is the space where:

• Business needs are identified but not yet formalised

• Roles are shaped through internal discussion

• Hiring managers explore options before committing to a process

These conversations happen quietly.

They take place in:

• Internal leadership discussions

• Board-level conversations

• Informal exchanges between peers and advisors

By the time a role is formally defined and advertised, the initial shortlist often already exists.

The Conversation Before the Role Exists

At senior level, hiring is rarely reactive.

When a business identifies a gap or opportunity, the first step is not to write a job description.

It is to ask:

• Who do we already know who can do this?

• Who has been recommended recently?

• Who have we seen operating at this level?

These questions define the initial candidate pool.

If your name is not part of that conversation, you are not being considered at this stage.

And once the process moves forward, entering it through an application becomes significantly harder.

Why Most Senior Leaders Miss This

The challenge is not that these conversations are hidden.

It is that they require a different approach to access.

Most professionals are conditioned to:

• Wait for roles to appear

• Respond to opportunities

• Engage only when there is a defined vacancy

This reactive approach works in structured, high-volume hiring environments.

It is far less effective at senior level, where roles are often shaped around people rather than filled through open competition.

The Strategic Shift: From Reactive to Proactive

To access the majority of the market, you need to operate before roles exist.

This requires a shift in how you think about your job search.

Instead of asking:
“What roles are available?”

The more effective question is:
“Where are conversations happening, and how do I become part of them?”

This moves you from competing in the visible market to participating in the formation of opportunities.

Becoming Someone Who Gets Remembered

The goal is not simply to be available.

It is to be known.

Specifically, to be known by the right people, in the right context, for the right reasons.

At senior level, this comes down to:

• Clear positioning

• Consistent visibility within relevant circles

• Meaningful, peer-level relationships

When these elements are in place, your name surfaces naturally when discussions begin.

You are not chasing opportunities. You are being considered as they are created.

Why the Shift Feels Small but Has a Large Impact

On the surface, the change is subtle.

You are not dramatically increasing your workload. You are not applying to more roles. You are not relying on volume.

You are changing where and how you operate.

But the impact is significant.

You move from:

• Competing with large pools of candidates

• Reacting to defined roles

• Being evaluated through a standardised process

To:

• Engaging in smaller, targeted conversations

• Influencing opportunities earlier

• Being assessed based on reputation and relevance

What This Means for Your Next Move

If you continue to focus only on the advertised market, you will always be working within its constraints.

If you shift your focus to the pre-advertised space, you access a significantly larger set of opportunities.

That does not mean abandoning traditional methods entirely.

It means recognising their limits and building a strategy that reflects how senior hiring actually works.

At Head and Director level, the most important conversations happen before the role exists.

Positioning yourself to be part of those conversations is what changes outcomes.