Ask an HR Pro: What Is a Passive Candidate?

If your hiring strategy only includes posting job ads and waiting for folks to apply when you have an opening, you’re missing out on reaching a key audience of potential hires: passive candidates.

What are passive candidates, and how do you engage with them? What’s the difference between active vs. passive candidates?

Chrisanne Bowden, Principal HR Business Partner at iHire, shares her expertise on these topics.

What Is a Passive Candidate?

“Passive candidates are potential hires that aren’t actively looking and applying for new jobs, but might make a change if the right opportunity presented itself,” said Bowden. “They may casually keep an eye on the job market just to see if anything interesting comes up, or be open to referrals from friends.”

Your next great hire could be content in another position right now, taking a sabbatical, or just very particular about what they want their next role to be and will only apply for that “perfect” job.

“When comparing active vs. passive candidates, active candidates are out there searching and applying and much easier to reach,” Bowden continued. “Though it takes more effort, engaging with passive candidates will significantly expand your talent pool.”

Passive Candidate Sourcing Tips

Where do you find passive candidates if they aren’t actively looking for jobs?

“First, turn to your talent pipeline. These are qualified candidates you can reach out to when a position comes up that matches their qualifications,” recommended Bowden. “Think about referrals you’ve received over time, candidates you met previously at job fairs, strong talent in your professional network, and people who applied to roles at your company in the past but weren’t quite right for the position at the time.”

Even if folks in your talent pipeline aren’t actively looking for work right now, they still might be interested if you reached out personally.

“Resume databases are also another possible source of passive candidates. Though resume databases typically have more active vs. passive candidates, it’s wise to be proactive and contact any strong matches you find,” Bowden said.

And, of course, get your job ad out there.

“As I mentioned before, you may actually entice a few passive candidates with a strong job ad. Some people like to stay in the know even when they’re happy where they are. Plus, you’ll need a place to send passive candidates to if they show interest in your opening,” added Bowden.

How to Engage Passive Candidates

So, how do you get someone who’s happily employed to consider applying for your role?

“The key to getting passive job seekers to respond is to be as personalized as possible in your outreach. Passive candidates aren’t going to consider changing jobs if you send them an obviously canned email with minimal information, or leave a vague voice message without enough context,” Bowden continued. “When you reach out, you have to really sell your open position and company culture and mention why you’re interested in them specifically.”

Your employer brand will play a huge role in enticing passive candidates to apply as well.

“Make sure your company careers page is up to date, and that your social media channels have plenty of content showcasing why your organization is a great place to work. Passive candidates are going to do their research,” said Bowden. “Emphasize your unique benefits and perks, including career advancement and professional development opportunities that show how someone could grow with your organization.”

Changing jobs is a major decision, and you need to convince passive job seekers that they’d be making the right move.

Ready to add passive candidate recruiting to your hiring game plan? Explore our Resource Center for more expert advice on talent sourcing, and check out iHire360: an all-in-one platform that automatically builds your talent pipeline and sources resumes based on your job’s requirements, maximizes your job ad’s reach, keeps you on track with expert support, and much more.