3 Secrets to Recruiting Passive Candidates
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April 12, 2018Hiring companies tend to love passive candidates. First, what is a passive candidate? A passive candidate is one that is not actively looking for a job. When a company fails to find the right candidate through posting strategies and network referrals, sourcing for passive candidates is often the next step.
Yet, sourcing for passive candidates is not an easy undertaking. It may require a substantial investment of time and money to effectively source passive candidates that meet strict criteria on industry, experience, location, and compensation. Once a qualified candidate is identified, you may still have to scale a few hurdles to get a passive candidate to consider your opportunity.
There are three stumbling blocks your recruiting efforts may encounter with passive candidates:
Compensation
For lateral moves, the average bump in pay needs to be 10-20% to have a solid player move over to your side of the court. If the position is a promotion with more responsibility and higher expectations, the percentage may rise to 20-30%. Are you prepared to offer a passive candidate a big raise? And, would a big raise push the hire’s compensation above that of current employees doing the same job?
Happy & Successful
Let’s say you offer a big raise to a passive candidate. Consider this . . . is the raise enough of a motivator for the person to leave the devil they know for the devil they don’t know. For candidates, this is a risk/reward decision. If they are happy and successful at their current employer, money may not be enough of a motivator. You will need to find what would motivate and drive their decision to take a risk with a new employer.
Career Growth
What would a superstar candidate want besides money? Did I give you a clue? Yes, it is career growth. A superstar candidate needs to see a future that is golden. If your company does not offer the next step in their career growth, why should they make the move? Superstars move for upward career growth, not lateral moves. Promotions, new challenges, and dynamic company growth plans are a few things that an ignite strong interest for superstar passive candidates.
The passive candidate recruiting game can be challenging. Be prepared to show your best hand if you want to recruit a superstar.
If you have a difficult to fill position and you believe passive recruiting is the next step, give us a call at 317-578-1310 to discuss effective recruiting strategies.
