Anyone who has done recruiting understands the difference between active and passive candidates. An active candidate is currently seeking a new employment opportunity, while a passive candidate is not. It’s that simple.
However, for some reason people make a lot of brouhaha about identifying passive candidates believing they are far superior to active candidates. It may have to do with that old adage about wanting what you can’t have.
That being said, it might be helpful to review some potential advantages and disadvantages in recruiting active versus passive candidates in order to get a further understanding of what each type of job seeker has to offer.
ACTIVE JOB SEEKERS
Advantages
- Quality candidates can be active candidates, too.
- There is no question about their interest level.
- Flexible. Eager to make themselves readily available to interview and join the team.
- May be more willing to negotiate on salary and benefits because motivated to find a new opportunity.
Disadvantages
- They may be desperate to leave their current job or if they are unemployed, to find a new opportunity, therefore, they may jump at the wrong opportunity.
- Sometimes active candidates who are unemployed are that way for a reason.
- Active candidates may apply in droves and many may not be qualified.
- Because they are active, they may be off the market quickly.
PASSIVE JOB SEEKERS
Advantages
- May find quality candidates who would not have come to light otherwise.
- May identify quality candidates that no one else has contacted.
- May be the best source for candidates with difficult to find or unique skill sets or experience.
- Will tend to be more selective about finding the right position and not jump at just anything.
Disadvantages
- The process of finding quality passive candidates and changing them into active ones can be very time consuming and not net the desired end results.
- May be more likely to back out once into the recruiting process.
- Longevity with a company may result in higher expectations and demands; therefore, it is very important to determine what will entice them to move to a new organization.
Since finding the best candidate is really the ultimate goal, it seems it shouldn’t matter whether a candidate is actively looking for a new opportunity or not. Still people will continue to have their preferences.
In the meantime a new trend appears to have emerged in the recruiting industry over the last few years: the actively passive candidate. This group of candidates is not actively seeking an immediate opportunity, but they keep their eyes and ears open and always have a hand on the pulse of the job market. They may even occasionally post their resume online just to test the waters selectively choosing whether or not to respond to any initial contact made by a company.
The difficulty is that their Jekyll and Hyde persona makes it hard to determine when they do or don’t have a solid interest, and can result in frustration. However, given the right opportunity, the actively passive candidate is more likely to make a move than the passive one.
So whether a company hires active, passive or actively passive candidates, the ultimate goal should be finding the right person to do the job, because when it comes right down to it it’s the person who accepts the job offer that makes the best candidate.
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