When the labor market is tight, attracting the passive candidate is a recruiting imperative. Passive candidates are the workers that aren’t actively looking for a job. That makes them very hard to find; after all, it’s not like they’re answering your hiring ad.
Today, attracting the passive candidate takes skill and perseverance. Enticing the passive candidate away from the job they’re currently in can feel like an uphill battle. Here are four tips you can apply to your recruiting efforts now to help you find those hidden passive job candidates.
1. Start with the employee referral.
Referred candidates are the best employees. When you can get a current employee to talk up your company to a passive candidate to the point where an introduction is made, it gives you a huge advantage. Your current employees understand the company culture and job requirements often better than the recruiting team. Current employees are a great channel for telling the story of your company because they’re living in it. But the statistics also say the employee referral is also a better hire. The Undercover Recruiter says:
- Employee referrals have the highest conversion rate; only 7% apply for a job but this group accounts for 40% of all hires.
- Referred candidates start the job quicker than applicants from job boards.
- Referred applicants have higher job satisfaction.
- They also stay longer at their jobs; 46% of referred candidates stay more than a year, 45% remain over two years, and 47% over three years.
2. Make better social media connections.
The best way to find passive candidates is to look for them on social media. You should engage in connecting with potential candidates even when you’re not hiring. The benefit is that even if you can’t entice the candidate now, you should stay connected and in front of candidates so that when they’re ready to make a change, you’ll be there waiting.
Beyond making social posts about your culture and company happenings, you can also blog, upload pictures or videos about the team, or even share testimonials from your current employees.
3. Get out in the community and attend events.
Conferences, meetings, events, training, and meet-ups are all great ways to meet people. It’s a great way to start up conversations with people that may not respond on social media. Your company may even want to sponsor events as a way to build your brand. Make sure to then connect with the people you met on social media after the event.
4. Never stop recruiting.
Building a talent pipeline requires a slow steady effort to add potential candidates into your network. Connect with students in career fairs, reach people on social media, and get to know people at events, but do this constantly. That’s the best way to build a talent pipeline of potential candidates for the future. A pipeline is a database of potential candidates to call upon down the road. Stay in touch with these candidates over time.
Talk to Gecko Hospitality about supplementing your passive recruiting efforts. Our recruiters are experts in this process, having built their networks for years. Contact us today to get started.
