5 Tips on How to Source Passive Candidates

November 20, 2018

 

iCIMS Staff

4 min read

If your organization is looking to increase their talent pools, passive candidates are a great resource to connect with. Passive candidates are currently employed and not actively searching for a new job opportunity. Their current employment status often indicates that they will be mindful when selecting the correct next step in their career. Although they are currently employed, there are still numerous ways to peak their interest in your company.

Engaging with these candidates can persuade top talent to join your organization and help you grow a strong candidate pool. In an iCIMS survey, more than half of surveyed job seekers were willing to discuss new employment opportunities although they were not actively looking for a new job.

Once your organization has the proper tools to collect passive candidate’s information, like iCIMS Connect, you can begin to secure a stronger pipeline of talent. Below are five tips on how to gain and keep the attention of passive candidates:

1.      Utilize events

Career fairs, conferences and other networking events are key for communicating with candidates. While most of the following tips I’ve provided require a digital presence, events require face-to-face interaction and brand representation. There’s no better advocate for your company than its happy employees. Further, iCIMS’ candidate relationship management (CRM) software can collect information, such as resumes, so you can keep track of the passive candidates that you meet.

2.     Optimize job postings

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to strategically increase the rankings of your content within search results, therefore increasing the number of viewers. Optimizing your career site and job postings with the right keywords will help your organization with recruiting passive candidates.

Google for Jobs improves the job search experience by providing candidates with detailed job opportunities, easily and efficiently. Candidates can passively view all potential options that participate in Google for Jobs – whether it be a job board or official company career site – in one search.

3.     Personalize your business

Personalization of your business and its employees will help passive candidates get a look into what the day-to-day is like in your company. A fun way to get their attention is by creating a video to show who your employees are, the jobs that they do and what they love about working at your company. It’s more likely for a passive employee to be interested in your business if you can show them what it’s like to work there.

4.     Promote employee referrals

Your employees are an invaluable asset to your company, and they have a network of great people that they can refer to your business. Tap into that network by encouraging employee referral programs and incentives. By getting their skin in the game, your best assets can source even more great additions to your recruitment pipeline.

5.     Send newsletters

Once you’ve gotten the attention of passive candidates, sending newsletters will help remind them all the great things your company has to offer. Let them know of upcoming events, company accomplishments and celebrations.

Attracting a passive candidate requires a proactive plan. Further, having a recruitment plan to capture these candidates begins with having the right systems and content in place. The top five types of marketing content preferred by candidates has been identified as: company values (49%), company culture information (42%), employee testimonials (41%), products and services information (38%), and “why” people want to work here (36%), according to the 2017 North American Candidate Experience Research Report. These tips can be incorporated to the five tips above for recruitment success.