Passive Candidate

What is a passive candidate and how do they differ from an active candidate? How does recruitment work and why is it worth seeking out passive job candidates?

• Who is a passive candidate?
• Characteristics of passive job candidates
• Recruiting a passive candidate – when is it worthwhile?
• Myths about passive candidates
• How to effectively reach passive candidates?
• How to encourage passive candidates to take an interest in your job offer?
• What is important to passive candidates in a job offer?
• Recruitment process for passive candidates
• Hiring a passive candidate
• A passive candidate can become active

Who is a passive candidate?

A passive candidate is an individual who is currently employed and not actively looking for a new job, but remains open to attractive offers. These are professionals who are satisfied with their current position, not browsing job advertisements or sending out CVs, but who might consider a career move if the right opportunity arises.

Example: Andrew has been working at an IT company for 3 years. He is happy with his team and projects, but sometimes wonders if he could progress faster elsewhere. He isn't actively looking, but if a recruiter contacts him with an interesting proposal, he's willing to talk.

How does a passive candidate differ from an active one?

Active candidate:

• Actively seeking employment (may be employed, but could also be unemployed)
• Regularly browsing job portals
• Sending out CVs and participating in recruitment processes
• Motivated for a quick change
• Often has clearly defined expectations

Passive candidate:

• Has stable employment or is not forced by circumstances to quickly take up paid work
• Not actively looking for a new job
• May (but not necessarily) be open to discussing an interesting offer
• Requires persuasion and a longer decision-making process
• Often possesses high qualifications and experience

Characteristics of passive job candidates

A passive candidate doesn't necessarily have to be an employee of a company. It could also be someone on a pension or working as a freelancer. Statistically, however, the profile of a passive candidate typically includes the following characteristics:

1. Career stability – usually employed for at least 2-3 years at their current company.
2. Satisfaction with current job – though not necessarily 100%.
3. Caution in decision-making – carefully analyses every proposal.
4. High competencies – often highly valued specialists in their fields.
5. Selectivity – only interested in truly attractive offers.
6. Needs time – the decision-making process takes longer than for active candidates.

Advantages of hiring passive candidates

Quality and experience

Passive candidates often represent the highest quality in the job market. They are proven professionals with documented achievements.

Employment stability

Individuals who don't change jobs rashly usually stay longer in a new organisation. Existing employees who only consider changing jobs for truly attractive offers tend to be more loyal.

Less competition

They don't apply en masse, so the employer competes with fewer other offers.

Long-term motivation

The decision to change is well-considered, which translates into greater engagement and a desire to work for your company.

Disadvantages and challenges associated with passive candidates in recruitment

Long recruitment process

Convincing a passive candidate takes time – on average, 2-3 times longer than an active one. Recruiting a passive candidate is a process that requires patience.

Higher financial expectations

To motivate them to change, a 20-30% pay rise is often required. This is a challenge when sourcing passive candidates.

Risk of counter-offer

The current employer may make an attractive counter-offer to retain their employees.

Difficulty in reaching them

They require a personalised approach and often multiple contacts. This is where support can be valuable. Recruitment agencies often assist with direct search processes.

Uncertainty of decision

They may withdraw at the last minute due to the comfort of their current situation.

Recruiting a passive candidate – when is it worthwhile?

Although active candidates are easier to attract: they respond to advertisements, are immediately available, and usually more flexible in negotiations, there are specific situations in the labour market and within organisations where investing time and resources in attracting passive candidates is particularly beneficial.

Labour market conducive to passive recruitment:

1. Low unemployment and talent deficit

When the unemployment rate is low (below 4-5%), most qualified specialists are already employed. In such a situation, waiting for active candidates can mean months without filling a key position.

1. Highly specialised industries

In sectors such as IT, engineering, medicine, or finance, where rare competencies are required, passive candidates often represent the only source of truly experienced experts. Finding such highly specialised candidates, however, requires a precise strategy.

1. Competitive employer market

When many companies are vying for the same talent, reaching out to passive candidates helps avoid salary bidding wars and competing with dozens of other offers.

Situations in the employer's company requiring passive recruitment:

1. Strategic and managerial positions

For executive, C-level, or key managerial roles, it's worth seeking proven leaders who are currently successfully managing teams in other organisations.

Example: Małgorzata, CEO of a tech company, spent 6 months looking for a CTO. Only when she began actively contacting technical leaders from competitor companies did she find the ideal candidate – an individual who had implemented innovative solutions in their previous company.

1. Projects requiring unique competencies

When you need a specialist with very specific experience (e.g., implementing a particular system, knowledge of a niche technology), you're likely to find them among those currently using these skills.

1. Building innovative teams

If you want to create a team that will introduce groundbreaking changes, you need people with a fresh perspective and proven achievements – passive candidates often meet these criteria.

1. Replacing key employees

When a long-serving, valued employee leaves, finding an equally experienced successor among active candidates can be impossible.

1. Expanding into new markets

When entering a new market or launching a new product, you need individuals with specific industry experience – these are often specialists working for competitors.

When NOT to invest in passive candidates:

• Junior positions – younger specialists often actively seek development opportunities.
• High turnover roles – for positions with naturally high turnover, faster active recruitment is more cost-effective.
• Urgent replacements – when you need to fill a position within 2-3 weeks.
• Limited recruitment budget – attracting a passive candidate may require a 20-30% higher salary.

Example: Tomasz, HR Director at a logistics company, learned to differentiate his approach: “For warehouse positions, we conduct continuous active recruitment. But when we were looking for a Supply Chain Optimisation Director, I spent 3 months building relationships with the best specialists in the industry. The investment paid off – we recruited someone who reduced our operational costs by 15%.”

The key to success is a strategic approach – not every position requires passive recruitment, but for roles critical to a company's development, investing in acquiring the best talent from the market often determines an organisation's competitive edge.

Myths about passive candidates

Myth 1: “Passive candidates are always better than active ones”

Truth: The quality of a candidate does not depend on whether they are actively looking for a job. Outstanding specialists can also be found among active candidates.

Myth 2: “Money is enough to convince a passive candidate”

Truth: While compensation is important, for many passive candidates, career development, company culture, and work-life balance are key.

Myth 3: “Passive candidates are not interested in change”

Truth: 87% of passive candidates are open to discussing new opportunities if the offer is attractive. The difference is that they are often confident in their skills and experience, so the offer must be exceptional to capture their attention.

Myth 4: “Passive recruitment is too time-consuming”

Truth: While it initially requires more time, building relationships with passive candidates often leads to faster filling of future vacancies.

Myth 5: “Passive candidates are less motivated”

Truth: Once they decide to make a change, they are often more engaged because it was a conscious decision, not a compulsion related to wanting to escape a toxic workplace or taking a job to avoid unemployment.

How to effectively reach passive candidates?

Effective strategy is crucial in attracting passive candidates. Sourcing passive candidates requires a completely different approach than traditional recruitment. As many as 84% of companies use social media for recruitment, and over 80% of recruitment specialists agree that “engaging passive candidates” will be one of the most important recruitment skills in the coming years. There are many proven techniques to reach this group of talents, who constitute as much as 75% of available candidates.

LinkedIn and social media

Professionals often use social media.

• Utilise advanced search features
• Analyse profiles for competencies
• Monitor activity in industry groups

Example: Marta, a recruiter, regularly reviews the profiles of IT specialists on LinkedIn, noting individuals with interesting projects in their portfolios.

Networking and industry events

• Conferences and workshops
• Meetups and industry gatherings
• Webinars and online events
• Publications on industry portals

Use the tracking links feature in tomHRM ATS to measure the effectiveness of networking and recruitment events.

Employee referral programme

• Encourage employees to refer friends
• Offer attractive bonuses for successful recommendations
• Build your employees' network of contacts

In tomHRM ATS, you can tag candidates sourced through specific employees to simplify managing your referral programme.

Building a talent pipeline

• Create a database of contacts for the future
• Maintain relationships even without a specific offer
• Collaborate with recruitment agencies

tomHRM ATS has a Talent Pool feature that allows you to build your own talent database according to specified criteria.

Recruitment content marketing

• Publish valuable industry content
• Showcase organisational culture
• Share employee success stories
• Build a strong employer brand

You can also publish such stories on your careers page!

How to encourage passive candidates to take an interest in your job offer?

1. Personalise communication

Instead of: “We have a job offer for a programmer.” Write: “I saw your Project X on GitHub – that's an impressive implementation. In our team, we're working on similar challenges…”

1. Highlight unique aspects of the job offer to attract candidates

• Innovative projects
• Development opportunities
• Work flexibility
• Organisational culture
• Company training

In this case, it's good to know what might be important to the candidate to attract passive candidates. Sometimes this can be inferred from their social media profiles. If they boast about their successes at work, new, interesting projects might be important. If they often post travel photos, flexible working hours or the possibility of remote work might convince them.

Example: Anna, a project manager, loves to travel, but her hybrid work only allows for short trips. A new company offered her the possibility of remote work in any capacity, so Anna could fully pursue her passions during workation.

1. Build relationships, not sales

Example: Paweł, a recruiter, first invited a candidate for a coffee “without obligation” to discuss industry trends, and only later presented a specific proposal. This helped create a positive impression of the recruiter and his company and to get to know the potential candidate better.

1. Be transparent

• Clearly communicate the scope of responsibilities
• Present the career path
• Be open about challenges
• Show how you care for your employees' well-being

1. Be patient and ensure proper timing

• Don't pressure for a quick decision
• Offer a flexible recruitment process
• Adapt to the candidate's pace

What is important to passive candidates in a job offer?

What should you discuss with a passive candidate to ensure a wow effect and, at the same time, assess their competencies and motivations?

Why me? – reasons why the recruiter contacted the passive candidate

Recruiters typically ask candidates why they are interested in a job offer. When recruiting a passive candidate, you must be able to tell the candidate why you decided to contact them. What in their experience, skills, personality makes you believe that your company is the ideal place for them. (Here, we change the perspective from “What can you do for us?” to “What can we do for each other?”).

Scope of duties and responsibilities – in the form of project challenges

What the candidate will be doing, what projects they will be working on, and what difficulties they will be solving. It is very important to show all tasks, highlight priorities, and at the same time show what challenges the candidate will face. What – within the projects – will be entirely theirs, and why exactly do we need them!

Conditions for success

What makes an employee in this position successful? What will they be accountable for? What will be the KPIs for this position? How are performance reviews and appraisal interviews conducted? Even the onboarding process is important.

Professional and personal development

How many training sessions are offered? What kind, how often? Is there a training budget? What are the possibilities for promotion and changes in the scope of tasks? What the company offers and how it views development in this position. Show all of this through examples of employees who have been with the company longer. Tell their success stories.

Team and work environment

Who will they be working with (a great idea is to personalise the work environment, e.g., in the form of a presentation about employees). Tell them what they do, what their hobbies are. Don't just say you have a great team; show it. Show the candidate around the office. If possible, show them their potential desk. Talk about working conditions – flexible hours (or lack thereof), business trips, lunch breaks, etc.

Work tools

The brand of computer or company car, the applications used in the company, the technology – all of this can be important. If the tools in your company are above average, you win with the quality of the job offer. If they are average/lower, you show transparency and win with honesty.

Passive candidate compensation

In Poland, it is standard practice to ask candidates about their financial expectations, and information about proposed salary ranges is rarely provided (although this situation is slowly changing).

When recruiting a passive candidate, the situation is slightly different – usually, the recruiter is the first to state the offered salary, and only from that moment do financial negotiations begin. This is because it is the recruiter who should encourage the candidate to consider a job change.

A free-flowing conversation on all the above topics will allow you to simultaneously assess the candidate's motivation and basic level of competence. Later, once the candidate is convinced that they want to proceed, you can move on to a detailed assessment of their competencies.

Recruitment process for passive candidates

When recruiting passive candidates, there are two schools of thought:

• the process should be tailored to the specific candidate
• once interested in the job offer, the candidate goes through the same process as other active candidates

Regardless of your choice, remember that with passive candidates, you also need to assess their competencies and ensure they will be a good asset to your organisation.

What is important to passive candidates when deciding whether to accept or reject a job offer?

Career development and new challenges (63% of candidates)

According to LinkedIn research, professional development is the second most important factor (33%) when deciding to accept a job offer (LinkedIn).

Work-life balance

• Flexible working hours.
• Option for remote work.
• Additional days off.

Studies show that 29% of candidates consider work-life balance a crucial deciding factor (LinkedIn).

Organisational culture

• Company values.
• Management style.
• Team atmosphere.

According to Glassdoor, company culture is the second most important factor (37%) influencing a candidate's decision to join an organisation (Glassdoor).

Company stability and prospects

• Financial health
• Development plans
• Market position

Employer reputation and company brand influence the decisions of 36% of candidates, according to Glassdoor research (Glassdoor).

Benefits package

• Not just salary
• Training and development
• Healthcare
• Stock options

Check out the strangest benefits in Polish job offers and see how to write about benefits sensibly in job offers.

Salary and compensation remain the most important factor for 48-49% of candidates, according to various studies (Glassdoor, LinkedIn). Additionally, 70% of passive candidates want to know about compensation during the first conversation with a recruiter (Alliance of Professional & Consultants).

Hiring a passive candidate

When recruiting passive candidates, one must be aware that they will require a promise of employment. Having a job they are leaving, they want to be sure that the new position will be waiting for them.

A passive candidate can become active

Passive candidates represent a huge, often untapped potential in the labour market. It is estimated that 70% of the global workforce, i.e., candidates, are passive candidates – only 30% of individuals actively seek employment. Therefore, recruiting passive candidates often becomes a necessity when new hires are needed.

Although attracting them requires more time, patience, and a personalised approach, this investment often pays off and can contribute to the company's faster growth. The key to success is building long-term relationships, understanding candidate motivations, and presenting offers that go beyond standard job advertisements. Effective employer branding is fundamental.

For HR departments, this means a necessary shift in approach – from reactive job posting to proactive networking and employer brand building. In an era where 70% of talent is not actively seeking employment, the ability to find passive candidates and persuade them to participate in the recruitment process becomes a key competency for every effective recruiter.

Remember – every passive candidate can become active when given the right offer at the right time. Your task as an HR specialist is to be the one to make that offer and effectively seek new opportunities for the best talent.