Benefits of Recruiting Passive Candidates

Traditionally, recruiting has been a one-way street. A company puts out a job posting and waits for candidates to come to them. But as anyone who has managed the hiring process knows, this strategy can prove time and labor intensive and deliver uncertain, even disappointing results. In order to improve recruiting strategies, hiring managers are increasingly going after passive candidates – professionals not actively looking for a job but who may be lured to another company. This proactive approach has a number of benefits:

Gain Access to Top Talent

You know who the premier talent in your industry is. They are the ones that steal clients from your company, make a splash at industry conferences, and push the cutting edge forward. With the right strategy, you may be able to lure these candidates away from their current employer and introduce their talents to your own organization.

Fill a Specific Skills Gap

If you need a specific skill on your workforce, you can’t wait around hoping that a qualified but unemployed job seeker sees your posting and decides to apply. The more effective approach is to find a passive candidate that has the skills you need, and put in the work it takes to court them. This tends to produce higher-caliber candidates in a fraction of the time.

Broaden Your Candidate Pool

In traditional recruiting, you have to make do with the candidates that reach out to you. And oftentimes it’s an underwhelming bunch. That forces you to operate longer with a vacancy, or to hire someone you’re uncertain about. Adding passive candidates to the mix is simply a way to give you options during the hiring process.

Eliminate the Competition

When you go after a passive candidate, you may be the only one recruiting them. That puts you at an advantage because you are not competing with hiring managers at other companies. In the alternative scenario, you may have to up your compensation or benefits to win candidates that are weighing offers from multiple companies.

Get an Honest Evaluation

Candidates who come to you are often willing to exaggerate their credentials, misrepresent their level of professionalism, and polish their personality in ways that mask their true character. That makes the candidate evaluation process very difficult. Passive candidates, by contrast, have a lot less to lose and will typically give you a more honest look at themselves. That makes it much easier to hire these candidates with confidence.

Recruiting in the 21st Century is difficult, and it’s always worth it to be open to new strategies and opportunities. If you’re ready to broaden your recruiting horizons, contact the specialized staffers at Morris Bixby.

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