How can an employer attract passive job seekers?
To help employers during the recruiting process, we asked HR managers and small business CEO’s this question for their best advice. From crafting attractive job postings to attending industry events, there are several tips that may help your company attract passive candidates.
Here are ten recruiting strategies to attract passive job seekers:
- Make Yourself Visible
- Tap Your Employees
- Craft Attractive Job Postings
- Reach Out Via LinkedIn
- Improve Your SEO
- Create a Resume Collection Bin
- Post to Social Media
- Simplify the Application Process
- Attend Industry Events
- Network With Advocacy Groups
Make Yourself Visible
Attracting passive job seekers is all about keeping yourself visible outside of the normal channels for job posting. By participating in a live event or even sponsoring an event. Getting a few minutes just to talk about your company might give you the edge for someone who’s not looking hard for a job. This way they can put a name with a face behind the company and it creates a sense of familiarity. Make sure when you’re talking about your company that you do highlight the company culture or some of the successes of your team, too.
Randall Smalley, Cruise America
Tap Your Employees
Some of my best hires come from internal referrals. The best proof of the pudding is your employees. You can encourage them to spread the word by creating an appealing working environment. If they are treated well, people will want to be involved and will help bring in great talent. Also, a referral program that gives monetary incentives for each successful hire is another way to promote great internal referrals.
Jenn Christie, Markitors
Craft Attractive Job Postings
You can effectively attract passive job seekers by focusing on crafting an attractive job posting. Highlight all the great benefits, perks and the culture you’re offering—that’s what will separate your company from others. If you offer flexibility in working from home or working on-site, clearly state that in your job description. People are looking for the ability to work from home with some work/life flexibility more than ever before. If you have fun perks like free lunches, a health allowance, company outings, gym memberships etc., definitely highlight those to attract applicants who might be on the fence about leaving their current position. It can make the difference in whether they apply or not, especially if their current company doesn’t stack up to what you’ve included in your posting.
Sara Shah, Journ
Reach Out Via LinkedIn
These days leveraging LinkedIn Recruiter is not only quite easy but also very convenient. You can send tailored messages to specific candidates, but also, cast a wider net by going for volume. Thus, you’re taking a two-pronged approach of going for quality and quantity to gauge if there is latent interest in the more passive seekers. What’s most important, however, is not to make the message too generic. Now is the time to brag about what makes your company unique, original, and unlike any other one in the market. Maybe it’s one of your recently added benefits or a world-class career development program. No matter what it may be, if you’re not a household name it’s essential that you find a way to stand out. If you pique their interest enough, you can rest assured that your response rates will skyrocket as people will say, “Tell me more please”. That’s when all the recruiting fun starts.
Anna Berkolec, ResumeLab
Improve Your SEO
One way that an employer can attract passive job seekers is by getting more exposure to these passive candidates. A passive candidate has to know about the company in order to apply for a job, and you have to get your business out there. A great way to get exposure to your business is by working on your SEO. Search engine optimization helps your company rank better on search engines and therefore, it is more likely that the potential job seekers will see your company and if they are interested, apply for a job. Optimizing your search rankings is a great way to attract more passive job seekers.
Jason Butcher, CoinPayments
Create a Resume Collection Bin
Even when I’m not on the hunt for a new employee, I am always seeking talent who I may consider for a future position at my company. The easiest way I’ve found to collect passive job seekers is by attaching a resume collection bin onto our website. Unless I have a position available, I make sure to point out that I’m not actively hiring but that shouldn’t discourage someone from submitting a resume. Because it’s so easy to submit a digital copy of a resume these days, I receive dozens of them every month from privacy experts like myself who are looking for a new opportunity. When I do have a job opening up, I will go through and see if there’s a resume from our bin that matches the credentials of what I’m looking for. This could be months after a resume is submitted, but I’ve hired more than a few employees in this manner.
Bill Mann, Restore Privacy
Post to Social Media
You can attract passive job seekers by posting about open positions on your Instagram page. So many people are on Instagram these days as it is, so if a follower of your page happens to come across your post about a job opening while scrolling through their feed, they may take notice and consider applying.
Maegan Griffin, Skin Pharm
Simplify the Application Process
One of the easiest ways to attract passive job seekers is to simplify your application process. You may be missing out on applicants who are ideal for the position because the application process is too cumbersome and time-consuming. This is especially true for those passive job seekers who don’t necessarily want or need to leave their current position. Eliminate as many steps as possible, including excessive click-throughs, and make sure the application process is mobile-friendly.
Benjamin Smith, DISCO
Attend Industry Events
Attendees at industry events are already working in your industry and they are open to connecting with like-minded people. It’s the best place to create connections and build relationships. Once they are part of your network, be sure to interact with them often. You can share some content you think would be of their interest, comment and like their posts, invite them to your events, and overall work on maintaining and growing your relationships. The better your relationship, the more likely a passive candidate will be to show interest when approached with an opportunity.
Jessica Ulloa, MyPerfectResume
Network With Advocacy Groups
One great way to find passive job candidates is to approach advocacy groups and related organizations to help you connect with a diverse range of potential jobseekers. For instance, approaching a women’s business network or group advocating for people of color in the workplace shows you are a progressive employer and may attract passive candidates who are looking for a more inclusive work environment than their current role.
Camille Brouard, Myhrtoolkit