Advice for Attracting Leaders When They Aren’t Looking Posted

As executive recruiters in Sacramento, CA, Pacific ExecSearch knows that, in many cases, the best hires aren’t the ones actually looking for a new job. Known as the “passive candidate,” they’re already employed and appear to be satisfied in their current positions, but may be willing to entertain a better offer. Attracting these candidates, especially high level ones, can certainly be a challenge. So once you have them at the table, it’s important to strike the right tone in order to appeal to them. Here’s how:

Assume the candidate’s mindset.

Most employers take the “what’s in it for me?” approach. But the problem with this when recruiting passive candidates is that those individuals are not looking for a new opportunity and they don’t know anything about the position you’re offering. All they do know is that changing jobs is both stressful and risky – and they don’t want to do it if the offer’s not compelling enough.

Therefore, before you reach out to passive candidates, ask yourself:

  • Does the job offer the same level of compensation, benefits, opportunity and security as a candidate’s current position?
  • Is the job above and beyond other opportunities out there?
  • Is there a career path at the company beyond this position?

When you know the answers to these questions, you can better promote the opportunity to passive candidates and pique their interests.

Have a conversation.

Don’t treat you first meeting with the candidate as an interview, or worse, an interrogation; approach it as an exploratory conversation. You may want to consider taking the conversation out of the office setting so it doesn’t feel like an interview and instead meeting over lunch or dinner.

Keep in mind, you want to educate the candidate about your organization and vision as to where they could fit in; they likely have questions about the role and whether or not it’s right for them. During your meeting, be sure to talk about the potential challenges and the impact they could potentially have at your organization.

Appeal to their spouse.

If your candidate is married, don’t forget to work to impress their spouse as well. The last thing you want is an unwilling husband or wife to ruin your chances of landing the candidate you really want. This is especially true if the candidate and their family needs to relocate.

Engage them quickly.

While the initial conversation is key to attracting top talent, it’s more important to keep them engaged once they’ve expressed interest. Don’t leave them waiting. When a potential top performer surfaces, keep the lines of communication open and the hiring process moving along.

If your organization needs more help sourcing high level candidates, call Pacific ExecSearch. As executive recruiters in Sacramento, CA, our team of experts has extensive experience in sourcing, evaluating and helping companies hire leaders for top positions. Call us today to learn more.