4 Keys For Recruiting Passive Job Candidates

Enscicon Corporation – Award-Winning Engineering & Construction Staffing and Recruiting Agency

Denver, Colorado

4 Keys For Recruiting Passive Job Candidates 

n 2020, the job market for employers is tight. There are lots of openings and seemingly fewer and fewer qualified candidates to fill them. Add to this the fact that in the engineering industry, there is a growing skills gap, filling your open engineering positions is tougher than ever right now. If you have waded into the current talent pool of job seekers and have yet to find the right candidate or, have important job openings coming up in the near future, you may want to consider focusing your search on passive job seekers. Here are 4 keys for recruiting passive job hunters. 

What are Passive Job Candidates?  

Passive job candidates, as you may know, or have deduced from the name, are people who are not actively looking for a job at the given moment but would be open to a new job if the right opportunity came along. According to a LinkedIn talent survey at any given time, only about 20% – 30% of employees in any industry are actively looking for a job. That means 70% or more of the top talent in your industry is not looking at your job openings. Of that 70% however, 87% would be open to moving to a new company and new position if a great opportunity came along. 

This opens your job opening to a whole new pool of top talent. This is a big part of the reason that passive candidates are so valued by hiring managers. A report from the job site Glassdoor says that sourcing passive candidates are twice as effective as sourcing active candidates. Once hired, research shows that passive candidates are 120% more likely to make a strong impact on your company.  

4 Keys for Finding Passive Job Hunters 

1. Position Your Company as an Industry Leader

One of the best ways to attract the attention of passive job hunters is to get your company’s name out there as a leading company in your industry. This will give a passive job hunter a positive association with your company before they are even contacted about an open position. Some of the best ways to do this are by: 

• Creating a robust and useful blog or vlog to position your company as an expert in your field. 
• Maximizing your social media to create a strong employment brand. 
• By sponsoring community and industry events and allowing your employees to participate in such events. 
• Apply for industry, local and regional HR awards to show that your organization is considered a top employer. 

2. Focus on Culture and Growth 

Many employers first thought is to wave more money in front of passive candidates but that is usually not an effective strategy. Yes, you will probably need to beat their current salary to attract the best candidates but what really motivates people who are not looking for a new job is workplace culture and the potential for growth. You need to be able to demonstrate how making the leap to your position will improve a candidate’s life overall. Also, you need to paint a compelling picture of what their career path forward looks like at your company versus what it is now. If you can demonstrate these two things, you are more likely to entice passive candidates.  

3. Work with a Specialized Staffing Company

As a hiring manager, you have a lot on your plate and it is simply unrealistic to maintain a massive working database of the best passive candidates in your industry. Luckily, that is exactly what the job description is for a specialized staffing company like Enscicon. At Enscicon, we have up-to-date databases of the best engineering taken in a variety of industries such as Oil and Natural Gas, Mining and Minerals, Power, Water and Wastewater, Environmental, and Transportation Infrastructure. We will be able to connect you with the right passive job hunters for your position and help make the hire happen when it is the right fit for all involved. 

4. Remember, You Called Them

Once you have caught the attention of a passive candidate, you need to make sure the application and interview process is tailored to them. Passive candidates will not be interested in long, complicated applications or combative interview questions like, “tell me why I should hire you?” There is also a good chance they have not done a ton of research on your company because they have been busy with their current job. The interview process with a passive candidate is as much about you selling your position to them as them selling themselves to you.  

Conclusion 

As the job market sits in 2020, recruiting passive candidates is a great way to fill the unfilled or high-leverage positions in your organization. By following these four steps, you will be able to find the nest overall person for your positions, not just the best active job hunter.