Who Are Passive Candidates?
Passive candidates never reach out to employers because they are already employed and hence do not actively search for new job opportunities.
Traditionally, recruiting focuses on active candidates who are currently on the hunt for a job. But the hyper-competitive nature of today’s recruiting environment requires a focus on engaging passive candidates who are not looking for a job. Passive candidates are tougher to source than active ones simply because they are somewhat, if not entirely, content in their current role and are not actively applying for open positions or regularly attending interviews.
The recruiting process happens in reverse with passive candidates. Employers who want to employ passive candidates who are experienced and have the required skills need to find them and reach out to them instead of completing an employment application or inquiry. Recruiters must steer clear of ancient techniques while dealing with such candidates. It would help if you convinced them that their life would be tangibly better at your company. Various factors can persuade passive candidates, and they vary considerably from person to person.
Consider these four recruiting tactics to engage passive candidates who fulfill all the requirements you want and need in your workforce.
1. Employer Branding
One cannot overstate the importance of the employer brand strength when it comes to attracting passive candidates. These candidates are not actively researching companies as part of a job search, so each interaction with them holds importance. Tap social media sources and reach out to them by making your employer brand engaging and in sync with what the candidates seek. The candidates must quickly locate your website and information regarding the company culture on their first visit.
To arrest their attention and interest in your company, create a strong employer brand presence in the online venues they frequent. Your employer brand should convince them that this new opportunity is worth leaving their current role’s security and familiarity.
Video usage is a very impactful and cost-effective tool for that convincing because it strengthens your brand’s authenticity like no other medium. Give candidates a taste of day-to-day life inside your company using video. It often helps if current employees feature on the video and talk about why they joined the company and what aspects of their job they like the most.
If you do not have an employer brand, start developing one right away, or put your company story out there where the passive candidates you are searching for will see it and easily connect with you and your company.
2. Video Interviewing
One of the biggest recruiting challenges is convincing them to spare time to attend an interview when hiring passive candidates. Hence, offering them the option of a video interview saves them time and money and gives them a way to discuss their skills and experience with you without needing to travel away from a current position. Making the early stages of your hiring process convenient, such as permitting the candidates to do their first stage interview comfortably from their homes, can help bring more great talent into your pipeline.
The candidates control the interview more than traditional face-to-face meetings and can prepare as much as they want, erase, and start again, and even read from a script if they are going to. Candidates can choose a suitable time and record answers to many predetermined questions via any video platform.
3. The Company with A Difference
Passive candidates are not likely to switch from their current role for an almost identical job elsewhere. So, to ensure your opportunity catches their attention, it must have specific unique differentiators.
When you identify a fitting candidate for one of your open roles, then it is time to do your research. Focus on a specific point of concern for the candidate, and highlight that when you reach them. Emphasize how your role can resolve that issue for them. An effective way to win over passive candidates is to point-out and underline their current employer’s weaknesses.
A bit of research should reveal a few shortcomings of their current role. Find out whether that company falls short on factors like under-payment, a work environment that is not conducive, limited growth opportunities, and benefits. If, for instance, when you are hiring a candidate employed at a company with a dull work environment, then highlight what your company has to maintain a lively culture and environment in the form of team building or volunteer activities.
4. Hunting Candidates Online
Look beyond the traditional online job boards. For example, social media, including, but not limited to, conventional platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Find a social forum where the professionals you are seeking gather and reach them there.
Be a patient observer initially, but when you gradually get the hang of the group’s kind of interaction, share your expertise by engaging in conversations but unrelated to the position. When you have attained that comfortable equation with them, you can then reveal your recruitment intentions.
Maintain blogs on your website, shoot vlogs and upload it on your YouTube channel, or via a podcast hosting service, start a podcast series about recruiting, to use the digital sphere to your advantage. It would interest passive candidates beyond the job hunt bubble and add value to candidates’ lives, thereby acting as an incentive in favor of your company.
The advantages of using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to source Passive Candidates:
An ATS is an integral tool often used in the recruitment and staffing industry. It is a platform integrated with various job portals and social media sites to source numerous applicants from skilled talent tools for any given skillset or requirement.
It connects you with potential candidates and minimizes your recruitment process through its useful features.
TrackTalents has previously posted an article on the topic “Post Job ad & Find Candidates in Social Media – ATS,” which describes how an ATS can enhance your recruiting process with social recruiting.
About TrackTalents ATS:
TrackTalents is a leading cloud-based Applicant Tracking System with significant features, a functional, user-friendly interface optimized for low bandwidth usage, and secured with the latest encryption.
TrackTalents will efficiently and effortlessly manage your hiring journey from Job Postings, Resume Management, Communication Management, Onboarding, Timesheets, Invoicing, Payroll, Reporting, and integrations with VMS, Career Portals, QuickBooks, Outlook, etc.,
To know more about TrackTalents, and its significant features, click here TrackTalents – Features or click here to Start a Free Trial.
