If your hiring practices are dependent on people looking for jobs or actively applying to your open positions, you could be missing out on the best candidates.
Passive candidates are those who are happy enough in their current position that they aren’t actively looking for a new opportunity. They’re content and not disgruntled and aren’t unhappy to the point where they’re looking for an exit. Talking with these candidates, even if they wouldn’t consider themselves candidates, means you’re providing information to someone who doesn’t have a chip on their shoulder and could be persuaded to join your team not out of spite or frustration but because they’re excited about what you can offer.
Here are some of the other benefits of seeking out passive candidates and trying to convince them to join your team:
-
They could be the solution to a talent “shortage.”
We’ve heard so much about the Great Resignation lately, and so many blogs and thought leaders are talking about reluctant workers. But workers who are happy and haven’t quit their jobs aren’t factored into those doom-and-gloom scenarios. Passive candidates, by one estimation, make up 70% of the worker pool these days, a healthy majority! By reaching out to these candidates, you’re instantly providing yourself with more options when it comes to setting up interviews or testing the waters.
-
The transition time will be faster.
If a passive candidate agrees to join your team, there won’t be any lapse in time between employers. They’ll come from one working mindset to another, excited about the opportunity in front of them and eager to learn and become a productive part of their new team. Someone who was picked up as a passive candidate is coming to your company out of enthusiasm and curiosity, not frustration, meaning they’re already more invested than an “active” candidate who was just looking for a change of scenery might be.
-
No reason to embellish.
Passive candidates have nothing to lose and no reason to tell tales on their resumes to impress you. They’re content where they are, so when they provide a resume after you’ve asked for it, odds are very good there won’t be any inflated truths or grandiose claims on it that could be a little too good to be true. You’re getting a more honest candidate, most likely, who will have no reason to provide anything other than truthful, straightforward, unvarnished, and plainspoken details about their career, their accomplishments, and what they’re looking for in a job opportunity.
-
They might be a known entity.
Depending on your kind of work, approaching an employee at a competing firm could mean you’re allowing someone’s reputation to precede them. That means you already have a sense of the person before getting to know them a little better, which can change the kinds of questions you ask in the interview and the expectation of what kind of worker they’ll be for your company.
-
Less pressure on everyone.
When you’re dealing with “active” candidates, they’re waiting on your decisions and next steps and instructions. With “passive” candidates, they’re already working. They have a job to do, and they’re not necessarily waiting by the phone for your decision. You can take your time considering whether this person is the right fit for your job, and if not, there’s no harm done.
Passive candidates might take a little more work to find because they’re not metaphorically knocking on your door, but the extra effort upfront can pay dividends if they’re the right candidate for your job and the right person for your team.
In the meantime, if you’re looking to find new employees, Debbie’s Staffing can help! We have excellent candidates who are looking for the right opportunity to join a new company, some of whom might already be in the workplace but open to possibilities. Give us a call today, and let’s see how Debbie’s Staffing can help.
