OK - I'll be the first to admit it - I place ACTIVE candidates

Good afternoon all. I'll throw out another small bit about me. Ready for this?

I place active candidates. Yes - you know the type. People actually looking for work. People engaged in a job search which started BEFORE I connected with them. (Or is that 'reached out'?)

In fact today I'll be wrapping up #2 for the week. One is a candidate that was referred by the manager who had to let him go a few weeks ago. The old "we need to cut payroll - so the last guy hired has to go" story. So what did I do with this somewhat "undesirable 'active' candidate"? Well I sent him on an interview with my client! The guy is super. Really. I'm not kidding. He starts Monday.

Placement number 2? Believe it or not a lady I placed 8 years ago saved my number (business card) and let me know she had to move back home (Cleveland) and had already sold her home (Michigan). So what did I do with this "active" candidate? Did I tell her to wait and call me when she's NOT looking for a job? Thus regaining her solid qualification as a highly desirable "passive" candidate? NO! I sent her resume to one of the busiest companies in Cleveland. She starts a week from next Monday.

Please don't hate me for it........

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Book on June 20, 2008 at 2:17pm

I totally agree. Passive candidates get a lot of hype but how much time have we all wasted developing a passive candidate who in reality is not a candidate at all? "I'm just exploring to see what's out there", "just browsing" with an ending that sounds something like "I decided to stay put for now."

Let's not sell active candidates short...there are some real rock stars out there who are actively looking for good reasons.

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Permalink Reply by Kiran Ponnada on June 20, 2008 at 3:34pm

Good for you , Jerry. You have still made some money for yourself and the company. Nothing succeeds like success. You have been servicing your clients and helping people in getting jobs. If I were in your place. I would be very happy. You sure don't have to think about next week... Have a nice weekend, Jerry!!

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Permalink Reply by Sally Raade on June 22, 2008 at 7:37pm

I agree with Rachel! I always liked working with active candidates!

I like to know that someone is serious about their career search instead of fishing for it.

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Permalink Reply by Sally Raade on June 23, 2008 at 4:39am

Good point Susanna!

I never like calling passive candidates.......it was too much work for me since I had limited
time. to devote to passive candidates. Have a great week!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Saulnier on June 23, 2008 at 3:52pm

Congratulations on your success!

I think it's smart to consider all candidates for your client's open positions.

The biggest challenge I see is the growing trend for companies to consider people who post their resumes on the job boards to be "their candidates", and not available to the recruiters who locate, interview and present a postion to them.

Ironically on the contract side of the business it's common that candidates won't want to leave their contract until it's over... (in fact it's generally a bad sign if they do), so they tend to only be "looking" about a month before their current contract ends. One great strategy is to track this date, and send them a message just before this time. That way, if they are coming "on the market", you can add them to your "inventory" of available candidates or even a "hot list" of marketable candidates.