Passive candidates vs active recruiting

Passive candidates are qualified talent that increases a company’s competitiveness. But, you need to know how to reach them.

In contrast to active recruitment, passive recruitment faces the great challenge of knowing how to reach and convince candidates who are not actively looking for a job, so the level of demand will be higher.

In an increasingly competitive environment, where many companies are also forced to downsize, proactive recruitment of passive talent can make all the difference.

To reach this type of profile, companies must know where they are and how to talk to them and convince them with creativity, enthusiasm and a solid company culture that offers them a project for the future.

In order for you to understand the implications of this way of selecting talent, in this article we will discuss passive candidates meaning and how it differs from active recruiting.

What are passive candidates?

Passive candidates are people who are currently performing an activity but who are not actively looking for a job in another company.

They are usually qualified profiles that many companies wish to recruit in order to integrate their talent into the project, but also because this type of recruitment is, a priori, more agile than traditional recruitment, since a smaller number of candidates must be managed.

However, identifying the talent sought may be a more costly procedure in terms of time and resources upstream.

This aspect is based on the assumption that, as recruitment requires an initial analysis prior to the selection of profiles, it is essential to establish the target candidate with precision and to develop a personalized recruitment strategy.

Due to its characteristics, this type of selection is usually outsourced to companies specialized in the detection and contact of passive candidates, such as headhunters.

This type of professionals can reach highly qualified candidates through their own databases, social networks, recommendation systems, and other effective channels.

Active vs passive recruitment: basic differences

Active recruitment focuses on selecting candidates who are looking for a job and who respond to the publication of a vacancy, while the passive candidate is contacted by the company, which takes the first step.

They are usually meticulous recruiters looking for a very specific set of skills that they detect in certain profiles after observing them.

In other words, active recruiting follows a proactive approach when it comes to candidates seeking to join a project, as opposed to passive recruiting, which is reactive, the candidate reacts to a company’s proposal.

While employer branding is key in conventional recruitment, in passive recruitment it is much more decisive because it is not necessary to present an offer but rather to convince the candidate of the suitability of leaving a job to join a new project.

Passive recruiting, therefore, focuses more on creating solid and lasting relationships.

Finally, in terms of costs, passive candidates, having been the target of segmented pre-selection, tend to offer a higher rate of adaptation to the organization and to be productive more quickly than passive candidates, although passive recruitment cannot guarantee the flow of candidates needed in certain circumstances.

In an ideal context, to be able to diversify talent recruitment as much as possible, Human Resources (HR) professionals recommend finding a balance between passive and active recruiting.

Passive recruitment: techniques for a successful one

If you want to know how to approach passive candidates, pay attention to the techniques recommended by HR experts that we have compiled for you. 

Search for passive candidates

Take advantage of the possibilities offered by social networks to approach this type of candidates. Make a selection of the spaces in which they interact, such as social networks and specific platforms, professional discussion forums, etc.

Optimize your searches with the use of hashtags, filters, artificial intelligence and any other segmentation tool at your disposal. This dynamic will also help you to build a talent pool adapted to the objectives of your organization.

Before making a cold proposal, do a mapping of candidates and build relationships in which you should avoid being too insistent.

And of course, don’t give up on physical interviews, remember that sometimes the key to success with a candidate can be to devirtualize.

Work on your employer brand

We have already told you that having a solid, attractive and inspiring employer brand is crucial when it comes to convincing passive candidates to opt for your project.

Make the necessary adjustments in your organizational culture to foster a brand awareness that strengthens your employer branding, since this type of candidates value very much that their long-term expectations match those of the company and guarantee them growth opportunities.

Attending events and promoting networking can be very beneficial in this regard. 

Use effective communication 

All of the above without an effective communication that knows how to transmit the company’s values and reach the right candidates is of little use.

So build a relevant and coherent communication strategy to be able to convince the new profiles, and of course, be patient.

You must understand that not all the people you are going to contact will be ready to leave the current job or may not want to neglect their responsibilities. This, far from being a disadvantage, is positive, since, even if you have to wait longer, you are verifying that they are responsible and committed to their performance.

Remember that you also have to present a value proposition and strategically articulate the many benefits of joining your project.

Consider outsourcing recruitment services

In passive recruitment, it is essential to train recruiters in various tools and techniques since, as you have discovered, it is a different process from active recruitment.

In that order of things, you can value the outsourcing recruitment services specialized in the search for the talent you need. It is certainly an initial investment that can be significant, but the result can increase the profitability of the recruitment process and decrease the employee turnover rate. 

Benefits to recruiting passive candidates

By this point in the article, you have discovered the many advantages of hiring passive candidates. These include how this type of profile can bring top-notch talent and how, with a good strategy, you can stand out more easily as a recruiter, as competition is usually lower.

In any case, incorporating passive candidates into an organization improves its productivity and innovation.

To help you keep up with this type of talent recruitment procedures, Smowltech has designed proctoring plans that will help you build trusting relationships with your most qualified candidates.

We invite you to discover our tools that combine innovation with efficiency and security by requesting a free demo.