Historic unemployment levels mean most of the terrific employees you’re trying to recruit are already working for someone else. 70 percent of the workforce today is passive talent. Finding candidates and enticing them to apply to your company takes perseverance, finesse, and a lot of hard work. Here are some tips from our top recruiting experts to help nurture and attract more passive candidates to your company.
Start With a Good Ad and Promote It
Writing a thought-provoking or interesting ad focused on the benefits of working for your company is still important. You would be surprised at the number of passive candidates you could reach by simply appearing in a news or Twitter feed. Candidates who are following your company for business reasons may be enticed if you take the time to promote your openings on social media. You can also use the ad to personally invite candidates to apply for the role.
Use LinkedIn
LinkedIn is hands-down the number one recruiting tool in the nation. Hiring managers and recruiters use its Boolean search features to target and communicate with passive candidates who join the network to improve their business connections. You can search for job skill keywords and the city you’re recruiting into and potentially find good candidates who haven’t applied for your job yet. Then you can ask to connect with them by emailing a short note saying you’d like them to apply to your company. While the passive candidate may decline your connection request, it’s still a good method for searching for the passive candidate.
You can also use LinkedIn to see who you are connected to and if they are connected to the person you’re targeting. Engaging a passive candidate by using the power of a referral is a great way to reach more people.
Use Your Connections
When was the last time you asked your employees to refer you to a potential job candidate? Using your business and personal connections is one thing, but you can immediately widen your search by using the power of your employee’s social connections. Once you’ve placed your job ad, why not send an email or Slack message to your employees and ask them if they would consider reposting the job ad on their social media platforms?
Pick Up the Phone to Mine Former Candidates
Another tip to find passive candidates is to reach out to people who have applied to your company in the past. You may even have a resume from someone who will be a good fit for the role you’re hiring for today. Try texting, emailing or calling the applicant. Explain that you’re recruiting for a new position and ask if they know someone who might be a good fit.
Use a Recruiting Firm to Nurture Passive Candidates
These techniques are just a few of the ones the recruiters at Exelare use to ferret out passive job candidates. We have tools and can provide extensive experience to help you find the candidates you’re searching for. Talk to our team and schedule a demo today!