(By Dan Simmons)

In our previous blog post, we discussed the “new math” of the marketplace.  According to that “new math,” there are roughly as many superstar candidates in your industry right now as when the recession started. That means those superstars might be theoretically more difficult to find—especially if they’re passive—since they’re far outnumbered by active job seekers, who are much more aggressive in their pursuit of your open position. Are you ready to audit your hiring processes for hiring those passive candidates?

Your Passive Candidates Should be Treated Differently

Hiring managers may find that the majority of their time is devoted to dealing with active job seekers—their applications, their interest, and their resumes.  Because of this, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit of treating every candidate like an active job seeker. There are distinct differences between a passive candidate and an active job seeker—their motivation, their approach, how they’ll respond during the recruiting and hiring process, etc.  These differences are often easy to forget at the beginning of the process, but they should not be forgotten.

Two things to remember:

  1. By and large, superstars are more likely to be passive candidates than active job seekers.

  2. Treating passive superstar candidates like they’re active job seekers will turn them off, thereby ensuring that they don’t give your company serious consideration.

The Audit

It’s imperative that you closely examine your process for finding, recruiting, assessing, and hiring passive candidates. Lou Adler also provides a great overview he likes to call the “10 Commandments of Recruiting Passive Candidates.” Click here for a quick read.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is this process different than the process you have for active job seekers?

  • If it is different, how is it different? If it’s not that different, what changes should you make to rectify the situation?

  • If you were a passive superstar candidate, what would you think about the process?  Would it entice you to want to work for your company?

Passive candidates need to be convinced that working for your company is the best move they can make.  Will your hiring process convince them of that?  If not, you should address this issue immediately . . . before these candidates are wooed by your competition.

Dan Simmons Bio

Dan SimmonsDaniel C. Simmons is a Certified Personnel Consultant who has been recruiting since 1991. Dan has won over twenty awards in the last decade with the Top Echelon Network, America’s leading placement network including Placer of the Year in 2009 & 2010.

Frequently Dan also is a recruiter trainer and has been featured at various Top Echelon Conventions and online as a speaker for various webinars. He has also been published in The Fordyce Letter the recruiting industry’s #1 magazine.

Need Assistance Recruiting Passive Candidates? Contact Dan Today!