In April 2021, four million workers left their jobs, and 95% considered it. That represents opportunities for recruiters searching for qualified yet passive candidates on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has 774 million members, making it the nation’s largest portal of potential candidates for you to hire. But in this market, there are a lot of jobs and not a lot of candidates looking for work. How can you overcome the job market by using the resources available on LinkedIn? The answer is the passive candidate search. Here’s how you can use this technique to your advantage and find more candidates for your open jobs.

How to Find Passive LinkedIn Candidates

Start with keywords. Those are the key job description titles/words that will help you find the people you need on LinkedIn. It works the same way as a Google search, really. Type in “Title, City, State,” and you’ll come up with a filtered list of people currently working in roles with similar titles. Then narrow that list by using additional keywords. Once you have a measurable, targeted list you can save the candidate’s profile into your applicant tracking system (ATS). To do this, you simply download it as a PDF. Then drag and drop it into your ATS. From that record, you can reach out to that candidate via email. But what should you say?

Keep in mind 90% (or more) of the candidates you reach out to will at least listen to what you have to say. So, don’t be afraid to contact your targeted list. Some tips for emailing passive candidates include:

• Talk less about the position and more about the opportunity. Lead with something simple, such as, “Are you happy in your current job?” Then give some short bullets about why your position could be a good fit.
• Do tailor your messaging so that it isn’t cookie-cutter. Explain why you’re reaching out. Maybe their current role seems similar to what you’re offering or the candidate has specific credentials that make them attractive. Tell the candidate why you’re reaching out. What made them stand out?
• Be transparent about who you are. If your profile is missing details about who you are that makes the reach out seem less than legitimate. Candidates want to know about you, why you work there, the culture, and the core values that make it a good place to work.
• Build relationships. Starting from a cold start is always hard. So, spend time in groups that are relevant to the types of jobs you’re trying to fill. Pay attention to what other people are posting about and make sure you’re doing your own posting at least once a week to stay in front of candidates.
• Use hashtags. Hashtags with keywords on every post will help your message get noticed. LinkedIn has a nice feature where it suggests keyword hashtags at the bottom of the post you’re crafting. Use them to send your message out to a wider audience.

All of this activity around passive candidates takes time. There are myriad tasks associated with every candidate you try to build into your network. That’s where an ATS like Exelare can help. Our platform enables you to streamline the candidate experience while keeping track of your activities and daily tasks. Talk to our team today about how our software can help you reach more passive candidates successfully.