Your company just approved new positions, and you’ve been assigned to recruit some high-quality candidates for the openings. You write the perfect job description and you post it everywhere on the internet.
There’s an initial influx of applicants, but no one is a great fit. Eventually, the applicants stop coming in, and you still haven’t made a hire.
So what happened?
You are not getting enough qualified job applicants because 70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent, and 30% is made up of people who are actively applying to jobs (LinkedIn).
What this ultimately means — when you post a job, you are only interacting with 30% of the total candidate pool. When it comes to finding a qualified candidate through a job posting, the odds are stacked against you.
And to make matters more difficult, the active 30% may already be going through the recruiting process with other companies. The best candidates are off the market in 10 days. (LinkedIn)
If you are struggling to find the right candidates or if your ad has fizzled out, then it’s time to attract, engage, and recruit passive talent (and Forbes agrees).
What is passive talent?
Passive candidates (70% of the workforce) are people who are employed and not actively looking for a new job. However, with the right messaging and approach, passive candidates would leave their current role for a new and exciting opportunity.
Here are some findings on passive talent from TestGorilla.
- About 15% occasionally reach out to their personal network for new opportunities
- 45% are open to talking to recruiters
- The remaining 40% are content with their current roles and don’t want to change jobs
The last category is called super passive candidates. These candidates are not open to changing jobs but may be interested down the road. A great recruiter networks with super passive candidates in order to assist them when they are ready to find a new position.
How to attract passive talent
Every passive candidate has a different pain point. Passive candidates are unlikely to change jobs if the same conditions exist. Therefore, employers have to offer candidates a motivator to make the switch. Motivators may include:
- Better salary and benefits
- Employee development opportunities
- More responsibilities and a title advancement
- Remote work options
- Flexibility and work/life balance
- Better company culture
Why recruiting passive talent is hard to do
You will need time and resources to be successful when tapping into the passive candidate pool. Here are some metrics from ideal that shine a light on the time it takes to recruit passive talent:
Metric 1: It takes 13 hours a week to source for one position
Metric 2: You will need to speak to approximately 72 passive candidates in order to find your ideal hire.
Simply put, sourcing passive talent takes a lot of time!
There are endless choices of technology resources to help you reach passive talent. Talking about each individual resource in detail is outside the scope of this blog, so I will outline the general framework that you need.
- Candidate Database
- Email Finder
- Outreach Sequencer
What’s the alternative?
Call the experts!
The best way to find top talent in a candidate-driven market is to work with a qualified recruiter. At Arcanium, we have the expertise to connect you with qualified, passive talent.
We utilize a meaningful, customized, and personal approach to attract, engage, and hire passive talent. Unlike most agencies, our sourcing strategy always involves nurturing candidates at every step of the hiring journey, which ensures a positive candidate experience.
Need help recruiting passive talent? Contact Arcanium today.
