Winning the Passive Candidate Talent Wars By Catherine Miklaus, GreenJobInterview
There’s a new trend in hiring: attracting the passive candidate. If you’re not familiar with the term, a passive candidate is a qualified candidate who may not necessarily be looking to make a job change, but who may become interested if the right offer came along. According to Jobvite’s 2015 Job Seeker Nation Study, as many as 45% of employed respondents would switch jobs, even if they were content in their current role. It’s clear that as the economy has improved, employees are finding more comfort in making a switch. So how do recruiters attract these employed passive candidates? Many recruiters have made themselves crazy trying to attract passive candidates, stalking them online like a real life private eye. And they’re doing it wrong. I frequently read messages from recruiters I’m unfamiliar with asking to speak to me about vague job openings for positions that really aren’t of interest to me. It feels like a shotgun approach to recruiting gone wrong. If you’re looking to win the passive candidate talent war, try a new approach! It’s time to get strategic.
Win Passive Candidates with a Personal Approach Remember the old days when recruiting took a more personal approach? You know, the days before a few keystrokes could pull up hundreds of LinkedIn profiles of skilled IT professionals. In those days, recruiters had to get personal in order to build a network of qualified candidates and place them. The same theory is true for passive candidates. LinkedIn has become one of the best ways to attract quality hires. In fact, LinkedIn’s 2015 US Recruiting Trends Report cites 46% of companies believe it to be their best source of quality candidates.
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But there’s a right way and a wrong way to use this platform to attract passive candidates. Instead of shooting out impersonal emails, it’s time to get back to the basics and start building relationships again. Once a relationship is formed, passive candidates are often more than willing to talk to recruiters about their career path. Focus on the Candidate in the Candidate Experience You’ve formed a relationship, but now what? How do you reel in the passive candidate? Try personalizing your approach even further. It’s time to put the focus back on the candidate in the candidate experience. Do you know what’s really important to the passive candidate you’re trying to attract? To motivate someone to leave their job, it’s going to take more than dangling benefits in front of their eyes. Often times, there’s an intangible that can motivate a passive candidate to make a switch. By focusing on their individual needs, a recruiter has more opportunity for success. When it’s time to start the interview process, only a quality candidate experience is going to attract passive candidates. Recruiters can continue to deliver a high quality of experience by using video interviews. Video interviews are impressive to candidates, offering an immersive experience with the company’s brand. This allows passive candidates to see themselves as a part of the company. Welcome videos provide deeper insight into the company culture and friendly smiling faces on the other end of the video interview help connect the passive candidate to the position. Next time your recruiting department suggests email blasts to passive candidates, suggest a more personal approach instead. This way, your team can win the passive candidate talent wars.