How to Recruit Passive Candidates and Unveil Hidden Talent

Two-thirds of HR leaders globally say the labor shortage is getting worse. Talent acquisition teams are struggling to get enough qualified candidates in the pipeline to reach their hiring goals.

In the United States, for example, there are nearly two open jobs for every unemployed job seeker and 61% of U.S. business leaders say it’s challenging to attract top talent. Job seekers have many opportunities available to them, creating a lot of competition in the talent market.

Recruiting passive candidates can help.

Passive candidates are workers who aren’t actively looking for a new job, but may be open to the right role. A recent study by Achievers estimates that passive candidates account for 39% of the talent pool. This represents an enormous opportunity for employers to fill their talent pipeline with candidates who aren’t actively considering other roles.

Here’s how to maximize this recruitment strategy for the best results:

Start with an intake meeting

Efficient recruitment processes often begin with a hiring manager kickoff meeting to learn about the role and ideal candidate profile. (An intake form will also suffice if you prefer to work asynchronously or have a longstanding relationship with the hiring manager.) Get an understanding of required and desired qualifications and what can be learned on the job.

Challenge any unnecessary job requirements such as a degree or specific company background that may exclude otherwise qualified candidates. This is a common practice in a tight labor market; employers reduced degree requirements for 46% of middle-skill positions and 31% of high-skill positions when hiring was extremely competitive between 2017 and 2019.

Take time during your intake meeting to source a few candidates with your hiring manager so you can demonstrate what the talent pool looks like and get detailed feedback on candidates. Show how adding or removing qualifications can change the makeup of the talent pool so you can fine-tune your search and uncover the best candidates.

Proactively source passive candidates

Job postings only yield active job seekers, which is a fraction of job candidates available. Proactively sourcing talent will help you tap into more of the talent market to ensure you have a highly qualified and diverse talent pipeline.

Effective candidate sourcing channels include:

Recruiting tools. Online sourcing platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter can help your talent acquisition team quickly identify and engage skilled candidates for your open positions.
Your applicant tracking system. Search through your existing candidate database, paying particular attention to Silver Medalists and candidates you have an existing relationship with.
Employee referrals. An employee referral program is a great way to uncover candidates who are already connected to your team members, making them more likely to engage.
Internal talent. Considering current employees for your open roles can help you fill roles faster, while enabling career growth and improving retention.
Company alumni. Your former employees have gone on to learn new skills and gain new experiences. Why not bring them back as boomerang hires?
Professional associations. Get your team involved in professional associations so you can leverage the association’s events, directories, and communities.
Social media platforms. Leverage your network and participate in community conversations to identify and engage talent.
Conferences. Conference attendees have committed to growing in their field and speakers are often subject matter experts. You may also find talented sales and marketing professionals on the Expo floor, as well as PR professionals covering the event.

Write engaging candidate outreach

Passive candidates aren’t looking for new opportunities. You need to capture these candidates’ attention and convince them to consider your organization. A well-crafted outreach message can make all the difference in starting meaningful conversations and enticing passive candidates.

Here are some best practices to engage passive candidates with cold outreach:

Craft a short, catchy subject line. Talented candidates are usually inundated with emails. A message with the subject line “job opening for X” isn’t likely to elicit a view — let alone a response. Instead, try pointing out a shared connection or personal interest to get the candidate’s attention and tempt them to read your message.
Name drop. Candidates are 46% more likely to accept an InMail if they're already connected to someone at your company. Use employee connections to your advantage by mentioning them by name in your outreach.
Personalize your message. LinkedIn data shows that personalized InMails perform about 15% better than ones sent in bulk. Show that you did your research by mentioning one of the candidate’s skills, interests, or accomplishments that stood out to you.
Share “what’s in it for me?” If your candidate isn’t looking for a new role, what can you offer to help them consider yours? It’s hard to know what would appeal most to each candidate, but LinkedIn data shows that work-life balance, compensation, benefits, colleagues, and company culture are a great place to start.
Share next steps. Conclude your message with a call to action that encourages your candidate to respond. Sharing your calendar or asking the candidate to offer a few time slots they’re available to chat can help you get a response.
Keep it brief. There’s so much you want to cover in your candidate outreach message, but be careful not to overdo it. LinkedIn data shows that InMails between 200 and 400 characters are 16% more likely to receive a response. Stick to the high-level details that entice your passive candidates to respond and learn more about your opportunity.

Have a casual conversation

Have a quick phone call, video chat, or a coffee meetup with your passive candidate to explore whether your opportunity could be a good fit and to sell them on pursuing it.

It’s important to start this conversation by listening so you can tailor your talking points to the candidate’s specific wants and needs. Learn why your candidate agreed to chat with you and what they would need to consider leaving their current employer.

For example, if your candidate is interested in career growth, you should focus the conversation on your L&D program and share career paths that your current employees have taken. If your candidate is interested in work-life balance, you should share your flexible work options like remote work, flex hours, and paid time off.

Tailoring your conversation in this way can help you sell the candidate on your opportunity so they feel it’s worth their time and energy to continue with your recruitment process.

Be prepared to discuss topics related to the common reasons people leave jobs or take on new ones, including:

Compensation
Career and personal growth opportunities
Intrinsic enjoyment of the work
Relationships and connection to others
Professional autonomy
Flexible work opportunities
Mission and values alignment

Even if the candidate isn’t ready to make a move, take this opportunity to build a relationship with them. Find out what’s holding them back so that you can reach out again when the timing might be better.

For example, if your candidate is waiting to launch a major project at work or reaching some big milestones in their personal life, you might reach out in six months to a year to follow up. Or if your candidate just started a new job, you might reach out in a year or two to see how it’s going and reiterate your interest in having them join your team.

Simplify your candidate evaluation process

Once you’ve identified and engaged passive candidates, be careful not to lose them to a clunky evaluation process. Passive candidates aren’t necessarily looking for a new role and won’t waste their valuable time on processes that take too long, require too many steps, or put their current job at risk.

Simplify your evaluation process, including your:

Application process. Passive candidates don’t typically have updated resumes or the patience to complete a tedious application. Simplify your application process by eliminating unnecessary steps. For example, can you use the candidate’s LinkedIn profile in lieu of a resume or to prefill your job application?
Interview process. Passive job seekers don’t want to take excessive time away from work to complete your interview process. Consider how you can make it effective, but brief. For example, leverage video interviews to eliminate travel time, remove unnecessary interviews, and shorten your skills assessment.
Reference checks. Employed candidates aren’t likely to offer a current manager or colleague for reference checks. Candidates may also hesitate to provide former contacts if they believe it would jeopardize their current job. Be flexible with the type of references you request, considering past managers, peers, direct reports, instructors, classmates, freelance clients, and mentors.

Any changes made to your evaluation process should be made for all job seekers. This will help ensure a fair recruitment process — and it can help you keep your most in-demand active candidates engaged in your process as well.

Final thoughts: Continue talent pipelining for future roles

The typical hiring process yields a single new employee, leaving the rest of your high-quality candidates without a job offer. Make sure you provide each of them with a positive candidate experience so they’ll consider future opportunities with your company.

Build-long term relationships with your candidates by keeping in touch periodically. For example, connect with your candidates on LinkedIn so you can engage with their content, congratulate them on birthdays, and check in around work anniversaries. When a new opportunity within your organization opens up, you’ll have a talent pipeline full of potential candidates ready to go.