Do "hidden" corporate jobs actually exist or is it just something career coaches made up to sell courses?
Okay so I've been job hunting for a few months now and I keep seeing this advice everywhere - "80% of jobs are never posted online, you need to tap the hidden job market." I've heard this from LinkedIn influencers, career coaches, even some HR people.
But I genuinely cannot tell if this is real or if it's just a narrative that keeps the resume coaching industry alive. So I wanted to ask people who actually work in HR, recruitment, or have been on the hiring side -- what is actually going on?
Here's what got me thinking about this:
I've been applying to a bunch of companies and noticed some patterns that don't add up. Some companies post the same role every few months but never seem to actually hire. Some roles disappear from job boards after a week with zero updates.
So what exactly is happening behind the scenes?
Some things I'm genuinely curious about:
Is the 80% stat even real or is it made up? I've never seen a credible source for it and it gets repeated like gospel.
Why do some companies post jobs they have no intention of filling? Is it for legal compliance? To build a talent pipeline? To make it look like the company is growing to investors? I've heard all of these and I don't know which is true.
What actually happens to applications that go into the void? Does anyone read them? Are they sitting in an ATS that no recruiter ever opens?
When a role is "unposted" does that mean it got filled internally, the headcount got pulled, or the hiring manager just changed their mind? Because from the outside it looks identical in all three cases.
How common is it for a role to be created specifically for someone who came through a referral or was headhunted? And if that's happening, what does applying on a job board even accomplish?
Is there a difference between large corporations and smaller companies when it comes to this? My assumption is that big companies have more process and compliance requirements so they have to post publicly, while smaller companies just hire whoever the founder knows. But I could be wrong.
My current theory (tell me if I'm off base):
I think the "hidden job market" is real but it's been massively oversimplified. What people actually mean is a combination of things -- roles filled before they go public, roles that only get posted internally, roles created for specific people after a conversation, and roles that get cancelled but never formally closed on job boards.
None of that is a conspiracy. It's just organizations being disorganized and humans preferring to hire people they already have some connection to. Which is frustrating but makes sense.
The part that bothers me is the career coach framing of it -- like there's some secret door you can unlock if you just network hard enough or pay for the right course. That feels like it exploits people who are stressed and desperate during a job search.
What I actually want to know from this thread:
If you work in HR or talent acquisition, can you give an honest breakdown of how roles actually get filled at your company before and after they hit job boards?
If you've ever been hired for a role that was never posted, how did that actually happen? Was it a referral, cold outreach, LinkedIn DM, or something else?
If you've ever been a hiring manager, have you ever had a candidate in mind before the role was even approved? How did that process work?
I'm not looking for the usual job hunting advice. I just want to understand the actual mechanics of how this works because the information out there is either too vague or too obviously trying to sell me something.
Appreciate any honest answers, especially from people who have been on the hiring side.