How to find passive candidates

The best people are not applying. Here is how to reach them without a cold message.

Most of the people you want are employed and not looking. They do not answer messages from strangers, they are not on the boards, and the agencies that claim to have them are working from the same public profiles you are.

Why cold outreach fails

• It asks for identity first. The first message wants a CV and a call, so the candidate has to expose themselves before learning anything.
• It is indistinguishable from spam. A message that could have been sent to anyone is read as sent to everyone.
• It carries no cost. A candidate cannot tell a considered approach from a bulk one, so they treat all of them as bulk.

What makes a passive candidate answer

• The company, the role and the pay in the first message.
• Evidence that you read what they can do, not what they are called.
• A way to ask questions before committing to anything.
• Control over what they reveal, and when.

How anonymous sourcing does it

• You describe a role, and candidates are ranked against it on experience, location, right to work, availability and skills, with the score broken down. How many match is shown before you pay; the cards come with a plan.
• Reading the professional detail behind a card is unlimited on either plan.
• An invite names your company, the role, the pay range, the work model and the place, and uses one of your plan's invites. It reaches a person who chose to be findable, from a recruiter who chose them out of a limited number, which is why it is read.
• The candidate can ask questions, accept or decline while still anonymous. When they accept, they choose what to release, field by field, and that costs nothing and cannot be bought.

Who you will find

People who built a profile precisely because they would not post a resume: employed, specific about what they want, and willing to talk when the terms are plain. The pool is smaller than a job board, and nearly all of it is the part a board does not contain.

Reach the people who are not applying. Say who you are first.