A passive candidate is someone who is currently employed and isn’t currently searching for a new job. This type of candidate can be beneficial when it comes to recruitment, as not only are they rich in experience and vital skills, but they are unlikely to be interviewing with any other companies. So, today I’m going to tell you how to engage with passive candidates!

Passive candidates are 120% more likely to make an impact on your company, 56% more likely to want a company culture that suits their personality, and 33% more likely to want more challenging work – according to The Undercover Recruiter.

So, here are my tips on how to engage with them…

 

Content:
The content you post on your company blog and/or social media pages is important, and should be eye-catching and interesting. Not only will this build up your company brand, it will show that you have expertise and will attract those passive candidates. Ensure that your content is engaging to the audience you want to communicate with, and ensure it is varied (don’t post a blog post on the exact same topic every single week).

 

Social Media:
The content you write will need to be posted somewhere, and – when it comes to how to engage with passive candidates – social media is a great place to promote it. Not only this, social media offers a great place for networking, so make sure you communicate with your audience – reply to messages, like comments, ask questions!

So which social media site should you choose? The majority of LinkedIn users will class as a passive candidate, while Facebook and Twitter are a bit more relaxed and your audience may find it easier to communicate with you through these means, so keep your options open!

SEO:
You may have heard the term SEO before and wondered what it is – if so, I’ve written a whole post explaining everything you need to know about SEO which you can find here. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is important both in the content you publish and in the job adverts you put out for candidates to see. The more candidates view your job posting, the more applications you can receive and the bigger the chance you will receive a high calibre of candidates.

Communication:
Communicating with the people you want to engage with is one of the key ways to attract these candidates. Whether this is online (through social media), on the phone, or even face to face, communication is key. Networking is a great opportunity for establishing connections and building trust with candidates and potential clients, depending on the nature of your business.

 

Hopefully this has given you an idea of how to engage with passive candidates, and you now feel ready to go out and fill your vacancy! If you are unsure of how to write a great job advert, check out our handy guide!