Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
The conventional response to a career stall is to add something to the resume, often a certification, a new skill set or a graduate credential. For entry-level roles and early-career moves, this makes sense, but for experienced professionals, it largely doesn’t.
The most valuable opportunities later on in your career aren’t distributed through the systems where credentials get evaluated. They live somewhere else entirely: the “hidden market.”
The “hidden market” includes everything from consulting engagements, advisory seats, board roles, speaking invitations, equity arrangements and income streams that together account for somewhere between 70% and 80% of the most meaningful career moves available to experienced professionals.
