How to Rule Passive Candidates In or Out

A client of mine is currently ramping up their direct hire efforts on a global basis, using LinkedIn and other online tools to identify and approach suitable candidates. Some of these will be actively looking for a job, but most will be what we refer to as passive talent.

There is nothing wrong with networking with passive talent but as a recruiter you have stiff targets on your head and you have to work out who is actually interested in a job and who is a tyre kicker.

This isn’t about suitability, we assume these candidates can do the job, this is a matter of seeing who will actually go through with shifting jobs.

I was asked what questions to ask candidates to rule them in or out for jobs and had to rack my old recruiter brain. I came up with a few questions we used to ask candidates, here are some of them. If you can think of more, let me know in the comments below!

Current job

What made you move to your current position?
Are you happy with your choice?
How is the company doing?
Have you achieved the goals that you set out in this job?
Is there any further room for growth in this role?
What would you like to do less/more of? (Candidate might mention more people management or money, less travel and programming for instance)

Internal progression

Are there internal promotion opportunities? (Try to map out the hierarchy)
Have others around you moved up in the organisation? (Or are they stuck/have they left)
Have you spoken to your manager or applied for internal roles?
Do they know you are not happy with your current role?
Why would you look at a job at another company when you haven’t explored internal opportunities first? (Counter offer risk here!)

New jobs at other companies

Have you had a look at new positions?
Did you apply for any new positions?
Have you had any feedback / interview / offers?
What did you learn from these? (Candidate typically learns what they don’t want to do from speaking to other candidates)
People that leave your company typically go to…?

Timescales

When would you ideally start a new role?
Do you have any performance reviews coming up?
Are you waiting on a salary review or bonus payments?
What is your notice period?
When will you hear from other companies / recruiters?

Network

How did you find you current role? (job board, search firm, online etc)
How would you look for the next position?
Do you know people at other companies? (if they know people at your company that can be very useful)

How we proceed from here

‘We have a couple of roles that you may be right for, but before I discuss these with you can I ask you to send me your resume/CV?’ (to get commitment from the candidate and making it real)
Can I ask you to have a look at our vacancies and tell me which ones are of interest to you? (if you really want to test them)
Your profile looks very interesting and I know that the hiring manager would like to have an initial phone chat with you, how does Tuesday sound?