Tess Taylor 
You know the importance of using social recruiting as a way to lure in prospective candidates who are out there looking for work. Yet, what you may not be doing much of is focusing on passive talent. That is, you may not be checking out the professionals who are not actively looking for a job, but are highly qualified professionals in their industries. You want to know these people.
Passive Candidate Facts
Did you know about the passive talent out there accounts for about 80 percent of the adult workforce at any given time? Some of these professionals are thinking about finding a better job, but have not done so yet. They may like what they are doing right now and they are not actively advertising their resume just yet. Recruiters can use this social recruiting, though, to help connect with passive, highly-qualified candidates.
Why Look for Passive Candidates?
It may not seem worth your recruitment time to try and seek out job candidates that may not actually be looking for a job. When you do so, though, you gain the ability to tap into a better, more specialized skillset those employees have. Why else should you focus your time here? Consider the following:
- Many of them have advanced degrees and excellent credentials.
- Many are loyal and reliable candidates who will work hard.
- They are often leaders in their markets. They want change and challenge.
- They have the ability to provide better skills and can negotiate for higher salaries.
In short, these are candidates that are proven, well-rounded, and ready to hit the ground running.
The Path to Getting Social Candidates
How do you draw in these passive, but social candidates? To do so, you need to create social profiles that invite them to connect with you. You need to spend some time networking in the industry, looking for professionals who fit the skillset that you need. In doing this, you will decrease the amount of time and effort you have to put into finding the right candidate and you’ll be able to gain candidates who you otherwise would not have been able to consider.
Enjoy this educational video from CareerBuilder on the behavior of passive job seekers and how they use social networks to find new opportunities.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2sAcCtMfWU]
Source: CareerBuilder 2012 Candidate Behavior Survey
Image Credit: Shutterstock
