Tips to Approaching Passive Candidates

As the applicant market continues to tighten, becoming savvy with your recruitment strategy is essential if you are to hire the best talent for your business.  Surveys report that 70-80% of people are open to opportunities but the vast majority of them are not applying for jobs.  We call these “passive candidates”. Sites like LinkedIn and job boards have made searching for passive candidates more accessible than ever before, and recruiters have been approaching these candidates for years.  However, now is time for the employer to have access to this talent too - as Flat Fee Recruiter launches a unique partnership with the Reed CV database search. You may be well versed at approaching candidates who have applied for your job from an advert, but approaching candidates who know nothing about you, your company or the job role is slightly different and Flat Fee Recruiter has put a few tips together to get you started - so that you make the most of your CV database search results.

1. Use your employer status

Most candidates are used to recruiters ringing them with “I have the perfect job for you” but won’t tell them anything more until they have been “interviewed”.  Use your employer status to your advantage and really make yourself stand out by being open and honest from the start with who you are and why you are calling them.

2. Don’t waste your time

If a candidate doesn’t look quite right, don’t bother.  It is highly unlikely that you are going to get a candidate to travel across a city or take a pay cut to move to your business (even if you have the most amazing opportunity).

3. Be considerate of their time & situation

Emails before phone calls work well, but if you do phone them on the fly, be aware that they may be at work and may not be able to talk.  Always check that they are free to talk and find an appropriate time if not (usually outside of working hours) or leave your details for them to call you back and always leave a message should you get through to an answer phone.

4. Do your research

If you are approaching a candidate, then at least try to look like you know what you are talking about.  Refer to the CV and build depth to your conversation rather than just get the repeat information.  Asking someone to repeat what you should already know is a huge turn off with the passive audience, after all, you are phoning them because you think they are a good fit - WHY?

5. Don’t Sell

You want to ensure that the candidate has a positive impression of the job and your company and understands why they should be interested in the job. But, there is a fine line between a sales pitch and showing them an insight into what the job and responsibilities are and what this could mean for their career.  Try to match up what they want with what you can offer and be realistic and honest.

6. Don’t take “No” for an answer

Just because a candidate doesn’t respond to your email or says not interested immediately, doesn’t mean that they are not worth pursuing.  Your email may have got caught in spam or it could be extremely difficult to talk.  Send a quick message asking if they have had time to consider your initial conversation and even if they are not interested, ask if they know anyone else – you never know where it could take you - people know people like themselves! Be ahead of the recruitment game and access the best talent quickly with a multi-pronged approach to your recruitment.  Recruitment advertising, careers website, CV searching, word of mouth and social media coupled with the right recruitment technology and will ensure that you have access to the widest reach of quality candidates, before a recruitment agency! You may also like:

• Reed CV Database Searching Solution
• Boolean Searching:  Your Quick Guide to Finding Candidates ASAP
• How to Communicate with Jobseekers That Don’t Know They Have Applied to Your Job