An active job seeker is someone who is either unemployed, or employed, but dissatisfied with his/her existing situation, and therefore looking for a new job in another company. A passive job hunter, in contrast, is someone who is not actively looking for a new job, either because they are content in their current position or simply because they haven’t given it any attention.

An estimated 80% of candidates are passive job seekers, which means that while they may need some convincing, these people will switch employers if the appropriate opportunity arises at the right time and with the right employer.

1. A large proportion of candidates for a job are passive:

As we mentioned earlier, almost 80% of the workforce are passive i.e. they would be interested in moving jobs but are currently not actively looking. So the more passive candidates that recruiters approach, the larger resource pool they will have when looking to fill roles. And just discovering these passive resources and networking with them can be useful to recruiters for the future, if they ever decide to convert to active candidates, as they would just be a call away.

2. There is less competition for this talent:

With active candidates, there’s a good chance they have applied to multiple companies simultaneously, so you’re in a race for their attention and talent. With passive job seekers, the timelines may be more relaxed since they reached out to you, they will probably be interested in you and your company specifically, or if you reached out to them, you will most likely be the only one who contacted them.

3. You will likely find high quality candidates:

It can be challenging to get passive workers who are actively employed to switch over to your company, but it’s worth the effort if they’re very talented. When you hire an employee you passively sourced, they’ll likely have the skills you were already looking for. Because of that, they have a higher chance of being a successful hire. They do not want to waste anyone’s time especially their own. The mindset of passive candidates are very different from active ones and they are usually more career driven.

4. Passive candidates are not desperate for a job:

Since passive candidates already have a job, their primary trait is that they are not actively seeking one. Recruiters think these kinds of candidates are suitable since they are not desperate, and they make decisions that are more career oriented. Passive candidates are more likely to be satisfied with their new positions and eager to stay longer since they take their time and are well-informed when making judgements.

So keeping this in mind, it is important that your recruitment team’s strategy should involve options for targeting and engaging passive candidates in the job market.