6 Ways to Attract Passive Candidates
Over the past few years, the talent market has shifted for HR professionals and hiring managers. In 2020 and 2021, the so-called “Great Resignation” rocked hiring and resourcing, making finding and retaining top talent that much more challenging. Even through rounds of layoffs at notable companies and fears of a global recession in the years since, most experts agree that in 2024, talent still holds the upper hand in the labor market.
Many companies have adopted alternate recruiting strategies to help attract top candidates in a highly competitive market. This includes embracing the concept of passive candidates.
Passive candidates are qualified candidates who may not be actively seeking new opportunities. They may be happily employed, pursuing a degree, or starting a solo venture. The one thing all passive candidates have in common is the experience and expertise that could propel your organization forward.
Has your organization adjusted its recruiting strategies to reach these non-traditional candidates? If not, now is the time to get started. Here are some of the most effective tactics for engaging and attracting passive candidates in a competitive job market.
1. Identify and Target Passive Candidates Through Networking
You won’t find passive candidates in traditional places. They’re not scrolling through job boards or applying for open positions on company websites. To reach this hidden talent, you must employ some outside-the-box thinking. The key is to build a talent pool before a specific need arises.
Networking can help you find and identify passive candidates in various scenarios. You might meet them by attending industry conferences, workshops, and events. Strike up a conversation, discover common interests, and showcase your organization’s mission and company culture.
You can also participate in online discussions relevant to your field to connect with skilled professionals and show you are an industry leader. Cultivating these relationships helps you build a network of passive candidates in ways that traditional recruiting methods can’t match.
2. Personalize Outreach and Highlight Career Growth Opportunities
Generic job descriptions and mass emails won’t work with passive candidates. Invest time in personalized outreach. Leverage LinkedIn or industry databases to identify individuals with relevant experience. Tailor your job postings to their interest. You must create a killer job ad to attract their interest.
Highlight specific milestones from their career paths and demonstrate how your organization could be their next logical step. Highlight professional developent, internal training programs, mentorship opportunities, and leadership development initiatives. They demonstrate your organization’s commitment to employee growth.
3. Showcase Company Culture and Benefits
More than any other sector of the talent market, passive candidates are likely content with their current jobs. They’re well-compensated and not necessarily ready to make their next career move. How do you instill in them the notion that they could be happier elsewhere?
To pique the interest of passive candidates, you must offer more information than salary and benefits. Create a compelling message that highlights your company culture. Send employee testimonials via video or blog posts. Highlight a positive work culture and sense of belonging.
With more and more companies going back into the office, remote jobs are becoming more an more popular. With work life balance is shifting more towards a work life fit, promote your company’s work-life balance initiatives, remote work options, or flexible work hours, and show your committement to employee well-being. Consider offering unique benefits like wellness programs, continuing education reimbursement, or paid time for volunteer opportunities with causes of employees choice, not the company’s choice. (Company volunteering can backfire when the cause is not something employees are behind. It can cause friction and resentment. Many employees feel exploited by company volunteer programs. They feel it is just a PR move.)
4. Leverage Employee Referrals and Professional Networks
Your current workforce can be a valuable resource for recruiting the top talent who’s not yet looking for new opportunities. Your employees will likely have connections with skilled individuals who share similar values and work ethic.
To capitalize on this, encourage employee referrals by promoting referral programs with attractive incentives. Invest in building a strong employer brand that communicates a reputation for employee satisfaction and fosters a culture of innovation and flexibililty. When your workforce spreads this message, it will help organically attract referrals from passive candidates within your employees’ networks.
5. Maintaine Communication with Passive Candidates
Long-term relationships are the secret to attracting passive candidates. Do not expect a quick buck. Keep candidates informed with email newsletters or social media updates about your company’s accomplishments, industry insights, or thought leadership pieces written by your team members.
Maintain communication — either online, by email, phone, or social media — to show them you are the expert. The goal is to build a lasting connection. This ongoing engagement keeps your organization in a passive candidate’s mind. When they are ready for a change you’ll be the first they’ll call. Afterall they are familiar with you and your company.
6. Build Passive Candidate Strategies for Recruitment Success
Effectively engaging with passive candidates requires a strategy built on creating connections, tailored communication, and highlighting your organization’s unique value proposition. Focus on relationship-building, demonstrate your company’s exceptional career growth opportunities, and promote your unique company culture.
Conclusion
With these strategies, you can attract top talent—even if the results aren’t immediate. Recruiting a pipeline of high-value assets outside your current team requires careful strategy, time, and relationship building.
Just remember that filling open positions ASAP may not be possible. Instead, it’s about creating a talent pipeline that provides the foundation for your organization’s long-term success. Subscribe to Neeljym Search Group’s updates for more insights on the present and future of hiring.