Finding passive talent to fill your positions is one of the most underrated sources of recruitment. But, as the name implies, passive talent isn’t out there hunting for jobs the way that active job seekers are, making them harder to find. Other times, you might stumble on an impressive past resume or current LinkedIn profile that makes you think they’d be an excellent fit for your engineering needs.
Whether you need to expand your job candidate search to go beyond just the people who are finding your job posting online or you want to figure out the best ways to reach out to someone, here are some places to start.
- How to find them: If you’re looking for qualified talent but aren’t seeing the kind of candidates you’re looking for from incoming applications, you might want to turn to LinkedIn or other professional networks. Many LinkedIn members often have language like “open to new opportunities” in their profile to indicate that while they might be currently employed, they’re open to the right position. You can also check out places like Reddit, Facebook, or other social spaces that give people in every profession an opportunity to talk about their career goals, interests, and skills. Another great place to source passive talent is by asking your current team members for qualified candidate referrals.
- How to reach them: If you can’t reach out directly through LinkedIn – say because you found an article someone wrote and are impressed by it and want to have a discussion. Still, all you have is a name – sources like GitHub, ZoomInfo, or even the Google Chrome extension RocketReach, can help you find someone’s business email to initiate a conversation. It can also be useful – if nontraditional – to use Twitter to reach out.
- What to say: When you finally make contact, start by introducing yourself and explaining how you found them. Briefly explain why you’re interested and, if possible, note the value that a new position with your organization could hold for them. Give them a tangible next step to take if they’re interested – such as a reply email or phone call – and share a few relevant links for them to use as references, such as your company’s career page or a Glassdoor review page.
As part of professional recruitment networking, keeping track of top talent – even if they’re currently employed – is key. Recruitment firms often keep lists on hand of candidates who might be willing to consider a new job if the position was a good fit, if the pay was acceptable, or if it was for a company they respect. Our team can work with most businesses to find the right employees, and many times this means working with passive talent to find the right fit.
Let us use our network of passive and active talent sources to help support your hiring goals. Get in touch with the Open Systems Inc team today.