In today’s tight talent market, some of the best candidates will already have a job. These passive candidates are often open to considering a new job, but they’re not actively seeking a new position.
Research by LinkedIn on passive candidates finds:
- 79% of working professionals are passive candidates
- they’re 120% more likely to want to create a positive impact on the workforce
- they’re 33% more likely to want challenging work
It’s important for you to use innovative ways to compete for the attention and interest of passive candidates.
Here are 4 tips that will help you win over more passive candidates.
1. Build a positive employer brand
A positive employer brand can go a long way in answering an important question, “Is this company worth leaving my current job for?”
One strategy that organizations are using to showing their company culture and values is featuring employees talking about what they like about their job and the company they work for in recruitment videos.
2. Offer the candidate something that’s missing in their current role
Try to find what the limitations or gaps of the candidate’s current role are. This can include their work environment, salary, benefits, or growth opportunities.
Once you identify this pain point, emphasize how your role will provide for it when discussing it with the candidate.
3. Customize your messaging according to the candidate’s interests and skill set
As a recruiter, it’s important to differentiate your message by personalizing it to the candidate’s profile or online presence.
Keep in mind that personalization isn’t enough these days, you also need to connect how the candidate’s interests and skill set are aligned with your organization’s needs and strengths.
4. Use video interviewing to save candidates time
Persuading a passive candidate to sacrifice their valuable time for an interview can be difficult. One way to solve this problem is by using a video interview platform and allowing candidates to record their answers in a video format at their convenience.
Sometimes your Applicant Tracking System can help facilitate video interviews. But if not, there is standalone video interview software available on the market. However you do it, video interviewing is a great way to make it more convenient for passive candidates – or any candidate for that matter.
Shiv Kumar Pandey is the Marketing Head of Talentnow RecruitX, a leading Applicant Tracking System for recruitment agencies, with more than 1000 customers from across the globe. Shiv specializes in technology marketing and writes about various aspects of recruitment technology. You can follow Shiv on Twitter @skpunimatrix.