Hey {{first_name}},

This might just change how you think about job searching, career security, and honestly, how you show up in your career from this week onwards.

Because I recorded a solo episode this week and it was one of those ones I couldn't hold back on. I've been recruiting for 14 years. I've had my business for nine of those. And there is one mistake I see brilliant, senior, capable women making over and over again that quietly costs them opportunities they never even knew existed.

They rely on the CV alone.

They update their CV. They tidy up their LinkedIn. They apply for the roles and then they wait.

I get it. That's the way most of us were taught to look for a job. Send the application, hope for the best, get chosen from the pile.

But that model is broken. And the sooner you know it, the sooner you can start opening doors most people don't even know are there.

Last week we posted a role at CH Solutions and we had over 400 applications. Out of those 400, I'd say 4 or 5 had actually customised their CV to the role. That's it.

But here's what stood out to me more than the CVs.

Not one person, not one out of those 400, took the next step. Nobody sent me a message. Nobody sent Pam a message. Nobody sent Kyle a message. Nobody said, "Hi Georgie, I've just applied for this role, I'd love to introduce myself."

Nobody.

And this is the mistake I see all the time. Talented women are so busy trying to be picked from the pile that they forget the pile is not where great opportunities live.

The truth: 75% of jobs are never advertised

The best opportunities come through networks. Trusted referrals. Warm introductions. Doors that get opened because someone knew the right person, said the right name, at the right time.

Let me give you a real example.

A head of talent at a large financial company called me a few weeks ago. He said, "Georgie, I need a phenomenal head of delivery. Can you help?"

Within five minutes I was on the phone to one of the women inside my Bold Moves program. Within a matter of minutes, an interview was locked in. Within a matter of weeks she'd been through the process and landed the job.

That role was never advertised. It never hit a job board. It came down to network.

Another woman inside the program saw a role advertised. She knew two people at the company, reached out to them, and they introduced her directly to the hiring manager. She had an interview within days.

This is what's happening behind closed doors every week and most women don't even know it's an option.

Your network is not something you activate when you need a job. It's an asset you build before you do.

Ask yourself this.

If you needed to make a move in the next 12 months, who would you call? Whose door could you knock on? Who already knows your work, likes you, trusts you, and would happily open a door for you?

If your answer is "I'd need to think about it," that's the gap.

Not a talent gap. Not an experience gap. A visibility and relationship gap.

And the good news is, this is completely fixable.

Where I'd start this week

If you're going to take one thing from this newsletter, take this.

Every single month, make a list of the people you want to stay close to. Old bosses. Past colleagues. Stakeholders. Recruiters you've worked with before. Anyone who has seen you in action and knows what you're capable of.

I call it the hot list. It's the network that opens doors before the doors are advertised.

Then a warm list of people you'd like to know better. And a cold list of people at companies you'd love to work for.

You don't need to be posting on LinkedIn every day. You don't need to be at every event. You just need to be intentional about who's in your ecosystem, and consistent about staying in touch.

Because visibility leads to opportunity.

And the best time to build your network is when you don't need anything from it.

Listen to this week's episode 🎧

I go much deeper into this in the episode, including the exact steps I coach women on inside my program, real examples from women who've secured roles this way, and the mindset shift that changes everything about how you approach networking.

🎧 Listen here: Recruiter Reveals The Hidden Job Market - How to Get Hired Without Applying Online

Reply and tell me this:

Who's on your hot list right now? And who have you been meaning to reconnect with but haven't?

Send it through. I want to know.

And, if you’re looking to build your network as an asset, position yourself for the roles you actually want, and stop being invisible in the job market, applications for the August Cohort are open now. I would love you to join.

Details here → Apply For the August Cohort

With confidence,

Georgie 💜