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Passive candidates make up 70% of the global workforce, while semi-active and active candidates make up 30%. Companies cannot survive by recruiting from only 30% of the available talent pool. To scale and succeed through the talent wars, companies must attract both active and passive candidates to fill every open position.
Who are Passive Candidates?
Passive candidates are not actively seeking employment and might be very comfortable in their current jobs. However, presented with the right opportunity, a passive candidate might accept an offer.
What is Passive Candidate Sourcing?
Passive candidate sourcing methodology includes the practice of proactively employing recruitment strategies to attract passive candidates. The task of attracting happy or complacent talent challenges recruitment teams to find smarter and more creative ways to convince passive candidates to consider leaving their positions for new jobs.
Four Effective Passive Candidate Sourcing Channels
Every organization has different requirements that must be considered. Regardless, finding and hiring passive candidates is a long and complex process that should be implemented with a unique recruitment marketing strategy, strong employer branding, and the right recruitment software.
- Go Social. Social recruitment is a must for those hoping to recruit Gen Z talent. By deploying social recruiting strategies, recruiters can easily source the right candidates from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which have billions of active users. LinkedIn is also one of the most used social sites to hire candidates. Using social media for posting and promoting jobs and using #hastags in stories and posts are common practices.
- Source From Job Boards. Job boards like Monster, Indeed, Naukri, and Careerbuilder are the biggest sources for finding passive candidates’ resumes and profiles. Most of the job boards have paid subscriptions to access tons of resumes and to engage with top talent in the marketplace. With job boards, you can market job requirements and entice passive candidates to apply.
- Employee Referral Programs. Around 41% of hiring in large companies comes from employee referrals. Currently, organizations are strengthening their referral programs to attract the best talent. With an updated, successful employee referral program, employers have the opportunity to cut down on the cost of recruiting, lower the time spent on headhunting, and meet required conversion rates.
- Leverage Existing Databases. A hiring database should include candidates that applied for the job, shortlisted candidates, rejected candidates, and potential candidates. Using an existing database of candidates is one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to look for passive candidates. Therefore, HR teams try to maintain databases of candidates based on many criteria, such as skills, location, industry, experience, expertise, etc. But, to utilize the database to gain maximum ROI, it needs to be consistently updated and organized with the help of recruitment tools like an AI-powered applicant tracking system (ATS), which helps recruiters automate their candidate database management and build powerful talent communities.
Is Sourcing Passive Candidates Enough?
The answer is NO! You have to level up to hire passive candidates. Sourcing passive candidates is not enough, you have to consistently engage with those candidates and nurture them to build long-lasting relationships. Candidate engagement is one of the crucial things to adopt in modern recruitment strategies. Candidates decide whether they want to accept a job offer based on the hiring organization’s employer value proposition, social media accounts, and reviews about the company’s culture on third-party sites and career sites. Candidates also value information about the hiring organization’s DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) track record when considering career jumps. So, to nurture these candidates, companies should consider adopting candidate engagement methodologies to create an amazing candidate experience that strengthens an employer’s brand.
Using Recruitment Software to Automate
A variety of applicant tracking tools provide passive candidate sourcing solutions, which can automate redundant and repetitive tasks for recruiters. They can manage their complete database of candidates; publish job requirements on job boards and social sites with a single click; and start conversations with candidates with timely and engaging emails, newsletters, text messages, and even chatbot conversations. Sourcing passive candidates is not just about finding more candidates but also about keeping them engaged. An advanced ATS can tailor the application process for candidate convenience to attract more top talent.
