Finding the Passive Candidate
Most recruiters say that some of their best hires were passive job candidates. What is a passive candidate?
It’s someone who is currently employed and not actively looking for a new job, however, who might be open to a solid career opportunity if it came along.
Regardless of how happy and dedicated job seekers are in their current role, the truth is they would at least listen if a better offer came along.
According to this report from Indeed, 71% of actively employed workers admit that they would be open to a new (better) career opportunity. The survey also found that most passive job seekers are interested in 3 things:
- More money
- Opportunity for advancement
- Better work and life balance
In this short post, we have created a list of steps any HR professional can take to target passive job candidates.
Utilize the Help of an Experienced Recruitment Specialist
Many passive job candidates keep in touch with reputable and experienced staffing agencies to stay connected with the job market.
That could be the single most important source for employers to find suitable candidates to fill their positions, as long as they can trust the staffing agency for their talent database and their ability to identify the right individual for the job.
Employee Referral Programs
One of the most popular ways to identify potential candidates is through employee referrals so make sure your company’s employee referral program is regularly updated and reviewed.
We recommend visiting your competitors’ social media pages and career websites to benchmark your referral program against other successful ones in your industry.
Get in touch with other HR professionals in your industry and talk to them about how you can track metrics to gauge the effectiveness of your program and improve it.
Utilize the Power of Social Media
LinkedIn, Facebook, and other professional social media networks have proven to be rich landing spots for passive job seekers as well as recruiters.
You can use the “advanced people search” tool in LinkedIn to find passive job candidates. Just enter your criteria for an ideal candidate for the job profile you have in mind.
You can also post job openings on your company’s Facebook page and request your current employees to share the post. This could dramatically increase your reach to potential candidates as news travels fast via social media.
Engage with the Potential Candidates
A little creativity will go a long way in identifying the best passive job seekers for your company. In order to keep the potential passive candidates interested, consider establishing a continuing relationship with them.
You need to remember that these people are usually happy with their current job and will not be willing to leap into your arms without serious deliberation.
That’s why relationship building is a super crucial step when trying to engage these potential candidates. You can talk to them about their short- and long-term career goals and really listen to them.
But don’t put too much pressure on passive job seekers to make a final decision. If you are not authentic in your communication, they will sense it a mile away.
Press Releases
Whether you have a big business announcement or an employee has received a promotion or won an award, consider promoting it through your local newspaper. Yes, we said newspaper and not a blog or an online magazine though those are stellar options too. Newspapers are not what they used to be.
This can bring a lot of attention to your business. When people read about a company in, say, the Sunday paper, they usually tend to go online and research them. This is the kind of good exposure you want in order to attract the right people.
