Who Are Passive Candidates?
Passive candidates are the most desirable potential recruitment employees because they often bring a wealth of experience and industry knowledge. All currently employed professionals belong to this category. These workers are not actively seeking new employment, as they are already engaged in a job role. However, they may consider additional offers when they appear.
Motivational Factors
Unlike active candidates, they are typically driven by factors beyond salary and benefits. The possibilities for professional growth and development play a tremendous role, as does the need for new challenges and making a meaningful impact in their field of work.
Recognising these key motivators allows recruiters to adapt their approach and come to the candidate with opportunities that align with their career aspirations.
Building a Strong Employer Brand and Relationships
When your company’s values are aligned and embedded deeply into its culture, it is much easier to be recognised by internal employees and potential external candidates. This is an example of a strong employer brand that stands out, is acknowledged, and is respected by a wider audience. You can identify them not by the quantity of their commercial advertisements but by the amount of word-of-mouth circulating between people in their niche sector, especially among competitors.
When trying to recruit passive candidates, building strong relationships with this niche audience is crucial. Good recruiters know how to maintain friendly contact, even if they don’t need the professional right now. Sooner or later, the top-of-mind company of choice for this particular professional will become the company of the experienced recruiter from this example.
Showcasing Company Culture
To attract passive candidates effectively, you should highlight and share your company’s culture through various channels. Potential candidates are always curious about what’s on the market. They choose and follow their favourite companies based on their match in personality, beliefs, and values, as they are looking for more than just a job.
Leveraging Social Media
Many digital channels and social media outlets are available to spread positive word about the company. They are the most powerful tool for passive candidate engagement. Maintaining an active and engaging presence on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram gives you a fast and effective news board for sharing your company news, industry insights, and, most importantly, connecting with potential candidates in a more informal setting.
Utilising LinkedIn Effectively
LinkedIn is particularly valuable for reaching passive candidates. Its professional focus and strong search capabilities make it an ideal platform for identifying and engaging with potential candidates.
To maximise your company’s LinkedIn outreach, use these steps:
- Optimise your company page on LinkedIn with relevant information but also with engaging content
- Encourage employees to share updates and job opportunities
- Join and participate in relevant industry events
- Use its advanced search features based on specific search criteria
Personalised Outreach
Once you have successfully identified your choice of passive candidates, it is time to contact them. However, stepping up with a sales approach, directly and professionally, would diminish the likelihood of the potential candidate’s positive impression. What you need here is tailored communication that will demonstrate your genuine interest in the person you are contacting.
Crafting Tailored Messages
To create effective personalised messages, ones that show you really care about the candidate, follow these rules:
- Research the candidate’s background and achievements
- Reference specific aspects of their experience that align with your job opportunity
- Explain why you believe they would be a good fit for your organisation
- Highlight how the opportunity aligns with their career goals and interests
Building Relationships Before Opportunities Arise
Maintaining a network of professionals who work in your niche industry is what networking is all about: building relationships with passive candidates way before the need for them arises. By nurturing relationships with potential candidates over time, you create a talent pool to tap into when opportunities emerge.
Creating Engaging Content
Videos are an effective way to capture the working atmosphere and potential colleagues – the two most important factors to engage passive candidates with their future company. Instead of just sharing industry insights and company news, let your employees and leaders comment on them in a video format. You don’t need a film studio: your offices are your most genuine environment, and your personal smartphones can now record high-quality videos with a few clicks. Moreover, the video content outperforms every other form of social media content, meaning your video will reach a bigger and more relevant audience.
Developing Thought Leadership Content
There is no better way to demonstrate your company’s expertise and vision than through thought leadership content. Write blog posts on industry trends and challenges. Film podcasts with your valuable employees and guest industry experts; this one is extra popular. Digitally publish whitepapers or e-books offering in-depth analysis and explaining the acquired data. For this step, you will need the help of a graphic designer.
Webinars and Virtual Events
Hosting webinars and virtual events provides an excellent opportunity to engage passive candidates. Choose a trending topic, select your guests and co-speakers, and save a date. The next step, spreading the word, is done by your digital marketing team, but you could also use your and your employees’ network to share the event. The final step is the live broadcast. Social media platforms provide easy ways of doing this in a few clicks. Just hit the record button, and the floor is yours. Passive candidates would feel you closer once they see you in person and hear your thoughts.
Leveraging AI and Advanced Sourcing Techniques
Using artificial intelligence and advanced sourcing tools like an applicant tracking system can significantly enhance your ability to identify and engage passive and active candidates. Utilising them can help you analyse large datasets with potential talent and predict which passive candidates are more likely to open to a new opportunity. Also, you can set up an automated outreach and a follow-up process at scale, which you can fine-tune with personalised messaging.
Closing the Deal
Converting passive candidates’ interests into a successful hire is this process’s final and most significant step.
Crafting a Compelling Offer
When presenting an offer to passive job candidates, it is crucial to go beyond just salary and benefits. You should also consider the opportunities for growth and development inside your organisation. Job seekers would like to know the impact they can make and the value they can bring to your company. And lastly, they would like to know the flexibilities and the perks your company provides. In most cases, this is the tipping point that drives the candidate’s decision.
Smooth Onboarding Experience
Whether your new employee should be your latest success story depends on the smoothness of the whole onboarding process. You should ensure and provide clear communication right from the start. To do this more efficiently, set clear expectations and goals for the first few months of their discovery phase. Assign a mentor or someone who will be there to help them answer all the questions immediately and help them adapt to all the company processes. And last but not least, new employees should feel valued from day one – check their status regularly.
Reach Passive Candidates with Olive Recruit
Find passive candidates efficiently with Olive Recruit. We specialise in helping organisations engage and attract top passive talent. Our expertise in crafting personalised outreach strategies and leveraging advanced sourcing techniques can significantly enhance your ability to connect with potential candidates.
Partner with Olive Recruit to tap into our extensive network and innovative recruitment strategies. Let us help you build a strong pipeline of passive candidates and secure the talent your organisation needs to thrive.
