The Key to Attracting Passive Candidates

This has been a tough year for employers and candidates. Employers had to make the tough decision of cutting pay, hours and jobs. During this time, the CARES Act that provides unemployment insurance was launched, aiding individuals who lost their job or experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19. Along with the unemployment checks, individuals also received three stimulus checks. With this sum of money, a lot of people were making more than they did when they were working. Now that things are getting back to normal and employers are starting to hire again, they are struggling to fill those positions. Here are four tips to attract passive candidates.

1. Social Media
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have built-in tools that maximize how many people see your job posting or company posts. In addition to traditional recruitment efforts, be sure that your corporate social media channels are also promoting your events, job postings, and corporate culture to give potential candidates a sneak peek into what it’s like to work for your organization.

2. Invite Candidates to Apply
Through social media and talent sourcing websites, you can search for and reach out to candidates that you believe would be a good fit for the positions you need to fill. Personally, reaching out to someone to let them know they’d be a good fit, instead of hoping that this passive candidate finds your job, is often more effective.

3. Host Hiring Events
I have attended virtual events that created a more intimate connection to the company I was considering working for. During these events, the employer usually has a live chat where they answer questions in real time. Events that are interactive weed out any candidates that aren’t that interested in the company and those who are become part of your talent community. In fact, 54% of job seekers who have joined a company’s talent community are passive candidates. At the end of the event, it is a good time to schedule potential one-on-ones and schedule first round interviews with candidates of interest.

4. What makes you special?
Hiring right now is challenging. Employers are trying to make their jobs stand out from the rest. Most companies will lean towards the usual stuff such as benefits and PTO (paid time off). Those are important, but there’s nothing particularly special about them. It’s important to target your niche when you include other things within the job description. Do you have flexible hours and high compensation? Do you offer student loan help or tuition reimbursement? It’s beneficial to be specific with these unique benefits, one of them might be so intriguing that it converts a passive candidate into an active candidate. Here are three reasons why you need to update your job postings to accommodate the new normal.