Comment by Valentino Martinez on July 9, 2013 at 11:24am

Ever try to woo a highly qualified, gainfully employed candidate who is quite contented with their well-paying job with a future?  They bring new meaning to the term “passive candidate” – they are unreceptive candidates – yet we in the recruitment discipline will go after them because they are the “money candidate” for us and for our clients.

These great unreceptive candidates will give you a look very much like a 500 pound Silverback gorilla gave me one day when we sized-up each other at the St. Louis Zoo.  Me with my camera, and kids in tow, and he in all his glory – he gave me a couple of glances and was done with me.  I had nothing to offer him. 

Great job candidates are a lot like big Silverback gorillas because you only have a moment to get their attention.  If you can’t sell a great candidate quickly on the opportunity you have in mind they will drop you without a second thought.   And if you can sell them (great candidates – no gorillas), you have a second problem – selling them to the client.  What I mean by this - is I often have to remind a hiring manager that this particular candidate is a great fit but they are not completely sold on the job – they’re only half-way sold by me.  They have questions only the hiring manager can answer.  Hiring managers who are exposed to candidates who aggressively pursue employment have to make adjustments for those outstanding “passive” candidates who are in an interview thanks to the hard work recruiters put in to identify them and wooing them part-way for an interview.  One hiring manager observed, “A real impressive candidate, but he didn’t seem that interested in my opportunity.”  My response was, “Well, if you can’t impressive him enough to consider leaving his current employer – why should he?”  With that the hiring manager took the candidate out to dinner with a select members of his team and made the sale.

As recruiters we can get outstanding candidates to the door – but some come begrudgingly – they’re curious but not completely sold.  The challenge then becomes for the hiring manager to evaluate them -- and if they like them – they need to go into SELL MODE. Passive candidates, by their nature, need sufficient information about an opportunity that can compete with what they already have – otherwise don’t waste their time or your time.

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