How to Find the Best Passive (or Not Looking) Job Candidates

Last week, I discussed why using the term “passive candidate” or “passive job seeker” was inappropriate and I proposed a more accurate name —  “not-looking top prospects.”

In this article I highlight the best sourcing approaches that can be used to identify and eventually attract the highly desirable “not-looking top prospects.”

You must use the best “not-looking sources” 

Many in staffing call them “passive sources,” but the sources used to find the names of “not-looking top prospects” should actually be called “not-looking sources.”

The best “not-looking sources” can be broken into three (3) categories: A) finding the names of top prospects; B) finding the work of top prospects; and, C) making top prospects more aware of your company as a desirable employer.

A) Finding the names of “not-looking” top prospects

Because these “not-looking top prospects” don’t post resumes or apply for jobs, finding their names will take special approaches that are designed specifically for those who are almost never in job search mode. It takes a proactive or direct-sourcing approach to identify the names of employed top performers who are not-looking. A complete list of the name-finding sources for not-looking top prospects is provided below: the most effective are listed first)

1. Referrals – Well-designed referral programs harness the energy and connections of both your employees and “friends of the firm” to capture the names of the very best. Using your employees to identify and assess top prospects make sense because, as Google states in its referral slogan, “Good People Know Other Good People.” So in the end, your own top employees are the best judge of who the top performers at another firm are.
2. LinkedIn –– You should use LinkedIn to find the names of nearly every employee currently working at each of your target firms. A review of their LinkedIn profile will in most cases reveal whether they are top performers.
3. Boomerang rehires – You should already know the names of all of the top performers who left your firm. And for those names you should select the individual corporate alumni who you would like to return. If you don’t know it already, LinkedIn can tell you the name of the firm where they work now.
4. Award winners – Even the shyest top performers win awards or are recognized in some way.  Internet searches or an assessment of their LinkedIn profile will frequently reveal those prospects who should be targeted because they have been previously recognized for outstanding achievement.
5. Speakers at top events – Top performers are highly likely to be invited speakers and panelists at industry events. When you pay your employees expenses at a conference, expect them to bring back at least three names of top performers who they met.
6. Name gathering during interviews – You can challenge top performers who come in for an interview to reveal their contacts and their industry knowledge. By asking for these key names across multiple interviewees, you can eventually capture the names of nearly every top prospect in the region.
7. Hire compensation officials from target firms — No one knows top performers better than the professionals who calculate their performance bonuses. Hiring a single compensation expert from a target firm can reveal the names of the best at their former firm who you should target.
8. High Internet influence scores – Top performers are likely to be active on the Internet and social media. Remember that something as simple as a Klout social media influence score or the number of Twitter followers who an individual has may reveal the names of the best.
9. Cold/warm calling — it’s expensive and time-consuming but “agency-trained recruiters” can often capture the names of the top performers at a target firm using variations of this approach.
10. Hire them both — Because top performers want to work alongside other top performers, a buddy hire program (e.g. Google) will in each case capture the name of at least one additional top performer. Hiring them both may allow you to land a highly desirable prospect who simply wouldn’t come without their buddy.

B) Find those who are “not-looking” through their work

When you find great work on the Internet, it is easy to identify the name of the top employed prospect who created it.

1. Online technical contests – Online technical contests are one method that has been proven to be effective for attracting both active and not-looking prospects. This is because their competitive spirit may cause even not-looking top prospects to submit a solution.
2. Find their work through instructional videos – Top professionals often reveal their knowledge and competencies on instructional videos that are posted on sites like YouTube.
3. Find their work on SlideShare – Top professionals who frequently present their ideas in public often reveal their knowledge and competencies on slide presentations posted on sites like SlideShare.
4. Find their work on technical sites – Some functions have Internet sites where professionals can post their work (e.g. GitHub). For software professionals, you can often also find the work of top professionals on open source software sites. Even sites like Pinterest and Instagram can reveal the work of top design professionals who are not looking.
5. An Internet topic search may reveal their work – A simple Google search on a leading-edge topic may reveal the names of top professionals who are knowledgeable in that area and have been interviewed by the media.
6. Search their blogs — Top professionals frequently reveal their ideas on their own blogs. The number of likes, shares or retweets may reveal quality work.
7. Patent searches – You can identify the quality of the work of top professionals in many fields by the patents that the individual applies for or is eventually granted.
8. Online forums – Top professional often post comments and answer questions on technical forum and “question sites” like Quora. Often these comments or answers can by themselves reveal top professionals who are not looking for a job.
9. Professional learning communities – Professional learning communities provide an opportunity to find and assess the ideas of top professionals. Online “meetups” may also be effective in identifying the names of top professionals in a particular field.
10. Identify top startups – Many times top professionals work at startups. So identify the startups with innovative ideas and approaches and then use benchmarking calls or employee referrals to identify the very best not-looking professionals at those startup firms. If you can’t acquire individual talent, consider a common practice for large firms … which is to buy startups primarily for their talent (acquihire).

C) Subtle brand messaging can raise awareness of what your firm can offer

You simply can’t use recruitment advertising to reach individuals who are not-looking, because they often judge these types of messages to be non-authentic. However properly placed, authentic employer branding messages that make them admire your firm may build their interest over time.

The goal here is to get your firm on their “someday-I-might-like-to-work-there list.” Some of the subtle “non-recruiting” actions that may pique their interest in your firm include:

1. Best-place-to-work rankings – Even not-looking top professionals are interested in what the best firms have to offer. So being listed on the Fortune, LinkedIn, or Glassdoor “Best Place to Work” employer rankings is a good idea because a neutral party is reading your firm.
2. Media articles – Articles written by neutral writers that highlight the innovative products or best-place-to-work features at your firm may catch the eye of professionals on the leading edge. Articles written by your employees in professional journals on advanced technical topics may also get “not-looking” top prospects interested in learning more about your firm.
3. Speeches at professional events – Speaking on an advanced technical topic at a major industry tradeshow or professional event may cause those who are not-looking to be exposed to what your firm has to offer.
4. Employee posts on social media – Encourage your employees to talk about the quality of your products and generally how attractive your firm is for top performers. Employee posts are often more visible to non-lookers because these top prospects may already be connected or former colleagues of your current employees. Having your employees make the statements on social media also makes them more credible.
5. Sell them on your firm using YouTube instructional videos – Because top professionals are always trying to learn and grow, having your own employees post technical and instructional videos on YouTube may increase their interest in finding out more about your firm. A video may be a superior way, over words and still pictures, to show the excitement that is going on at your firm.

Final thoughts

The great Michael McNeal, while at Cisco in the late 1990s, popularized the terms “passive and active.” But even he soon realized that the word “passive” was often mischaracterized by others. And unfortunately that mischaracterization has continued for decades.

But for now, bypassing the misuse of the name, the important lesson to be learned is that the most valuable prospects are top performers who are employed at other firms. That means that they must be fought over and “pulled away” from good jobs at competitor firms.

Unfortunately, because they’re not looking for a job, it’s almost impossible to even get their initial attention. That is, unless you use recruiting approaches that are subtle and that are specifically designed for “non-lookers.