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What’s the Difference between Active and Passive Candidates?
If you’ve been sourcing candidates for an open role, it doesn’t take long to notice that there are many different avenues to navigate the hiring process. While in some cases it may be effective to wait for active candidates to submit their resume for an open position, there are other times when you need a different recruitment strategy. In these cases, finding passive job candidates can maximize your talent pool and give you the most qualified candidates for the role in question.
Today we will discuss the difference between active and passive candidates and how recruiting passive candidates is a vital method for acquiring quality hires, including leaders and other high-level professionals.
What Are Active Candidates?
Active candidates are individuals who are currently seeking employment and are engaged in the job search process. They are typically updating their resumes, networking, applying for jobs, and attending interviews to secure a new position. Most companies fill positions in this way, usually by posting a job and waiting for active candidates to apply.
They may be motivated by various factors such as career advancement, better compensation, job satisfaction, wanting to move to a different area, or other factors. Active candidates are eager to engage with recruiters and employers, making them a crucial talent pool in the job market.
Pros and Cons of Active Candidates
Active candidates can be just what you need when you have urgent staffing needs. As they either do not have a current employer and are open to change, these individuals can become part of a valuable talent pipeline.
Pros of Active Candidates
- Quick Hiring Process: As they are eager to take on the new role, they usually can start more quickly compared to a passive candidate.
- Convenient for Entry-Level Positions and Internships: If you have job posting that requires little to no prior experience, graduates from trade school or universities can be good fits. Since they are not engaged already, you can get these quality candidates before they join another company.
- Transparent Information: Motivated job seekers usually have their social media accounts like LinkedIn updated, making it easy to find out their basic background, education, and experience.
Cons of Active Candidates
- Not Best for Elite Roles: As a whole, active candidates usually aren’t the best potential candidates for niche, c-suite, or other high-level positions. It’s not like you can’t get lucky and find a recently laid off CFO, but for the most part, recruiting for high skill, niche, or leadership roles, you are not going to want to look at passive candidates instead of waiting for the “perfect fit” to apply for the job. Why? Currently employed people have proven themselves to be functional in their positions and they are current with their skills.
- May Be Overly Eager: Someone actively looking for a job may be desperate to get a new position, even if they don’t fit the job description to a T. This can cause problems after they are hired if they exaggerated some parts of their background to get hired.
- Can Be Engaging with Multiple Companies at Once: An active candidate is eager to find the best position and timing to start, which makes it possible for them to ghost you at the last minute or even shortly after starting their new position with you.
What are Passive Candidates?
Passive job seekers are individuals who are currently employed and not actively looking for a new job opportunity, yet are open to considering a new position if the right one comes their way.
Unlike active job seekers, passive candidates are not active on job boards or submitting their resumes to companies. However, they could be open to new opportunities if approached with the right offer or through networking.
Passive talent is also crucial to identify during the recruitment process, especially when you have a job opening that requires niche skill sets and high-quality backgrounds.
Pros and Cons of Passive Candidates
Passive job seekers are also extremely valuable to identify in your candidate search. While they aren’t actively going through the application process, they can be among the top talent you need for an open role. Benefits of hiring passive job seekers include:
Pros of Passive Candidates
- Proven Effectiveness in Their Role: Passive job seekers often have gained valuable skills and extensive experience in their field. They are typically well-regarded professionals with a proven track record of success in their current role. As they are currently employed, their employer is likely to be pleased with their performance too.
- Great for Finding Niche Skills: When you go higher up the leadership ladder and into more niche expertise requirements, leaving yourself open to random resumes isn’t going to cut it. Identifying people whose current positions include your role’s requirements greatly expands your chance of finding quality candidates.
- Open to Networking: So let’s say a passive job seeker isn’t interested in your opportunity. This doesn’t mean that they won’t be in the future. But for the time being, they can also become a valuable part of your professional network. Having more people in your circle only helps you in future talent acquisition efforts. They may also know others who could be interested in your open role.
Cons of Passive Candidates:
- Longer Hiring Timeline: As passive candidates are already employed, they will usually need to transfer responsibilities, access to programs, and other high-touch exit tasks. The more involved their position, the more intricate the transfer will be. This can make a passive candidate’s start date a few weeks later than that of an active candidate.
- More Selective: Since they are not actively looking for jobs, passive candidates are more discerning about making a move. They prioritize roles that align closely with their career goals, offer challenging work, provide growth opportunities, or offer better work-life balance. If your role doesn’t exceed what they currently have, you might miss out.
- Most Require Persuasion: Convincing passive candidates to consider a new job opportunity requires personalized outreach. You must highlight the unique benefits and opportunities that you offer. This all adds into the longer hiring timeline.
- Difficult to Ascertain Interest & Eligibility on the Surface Level: You won’t know if someone could truly be considered a passive candidate until you speak to them. Therefore, identifying who is truly a passive candidate and not just a name on a list is going to take some effort. This is why outsourcing this task to our Candidate Development team can be a game changer in your recruiting process!
Why Recruiters Prefer Passive Candidates
Recruiters often target passive job seekers because they represent an elite pool of talent that may not be accessible through traditional job advertisements.
Employers often prefer passive candidates because they possess valuable skills and have proven experience that make them successful in their positions. Passive candidates are seen as potentially higher quality hires because they are not actively seeking jobs and thus are less likely to be driven solely by immediate job dissatisfaction or financial incentives.
Employers view them as stable and committed professionals who could bring a wealth of expertise to their teams. Additionally, passive candidates usually have specialized skills or experiences that match their needs precisely.
How to Recruit Passive Candidates
Knowing how to get passive candidates is crucial if you want to get the widest possible talent pool. Effective strategies for engaging passive candidates include:
1. Hiring a Recruiting Research Firm like Corporate Navigators
Passive candidates aren’t actively looking for jobs, so their resumes and social media profiles are more likely to be out-of-date. This makes their information harder to find. However, a recruiting research firm like Corporate Navigators can source the names of potential candidates then call into companies, investigate the reporting structure of your competitors, and source qualified passive candidates on your behalf. This is, above all other methods, the quickest and most comprehensive method to acquire truly passive candidates.
2. Leveraging Social Media
Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and other online spaces where professionals gather can provide some basic information about potential candidates. However, active candidates are more likely to update their information than currently employed passive candidates.
3. Old Fashioned Networking + Outreach
Never rule out the old-fashioned methods! Networking in-person is an excellent way to get to know people in your industry and meet professionals who might join you or know someone who would be a great fit for your open role. Nurture these relationships by following each other on social media, sponsoring events, and attending conferences and you never know what the future will hold.
By employing these strategies, you can source the best candidates and engage professionals with the potential to make significant contributions to your organization.
The Difference between Active and Passive Candidates
Understanding the distinction between active and passive candidates is pivotal in crafting an effective recruitment strategy. While active candidates are readily available and quick to onboard, they may not always possess the specialized skills or experience required for senior or niche roles.
In contrast, passive candidates, though not actively seeking new opportunities, offer a rich vein of talent characterized by proven effectiveness and commitment. Their selective nature demands tailored engagement strategies, such as networking and personalized outreach, yet the potential payoff—acquiring leaders and high-level professionals who bring invaluable expertise and stability—underscores why recruiters often prioritize passive recruiting methods.
If you need to source passive candidates, Corporate Navigators can get this business information on your behalf. We can also contact these candidates to verify eligibility and interest. To start your passive candidate search, contact us today or fill out the form below.
