David, the hiring manager has something close to cold feet lately. The time to approach that purple squirrel is nearing. He has actively done his homework; his employer branding is now much appreciated on social media and offline. Having a documented employee referral program in place, he has managed to get the contacts of some data science experts he was looking for. David also has a few organic leads with efficient networking on his own. Now is the time to make that important move- to inform them of the opportunity at his organization. Having come this far, David knows that a wrong move can repel the passive candidate easily. He wants to make sure that he is not seen as a ‘poacher’, but as someone who understands the potential of the candidate to provide them a better opportunity at his office.
If you are wondering who David is, you might have landed here for the first time. Read our first post in the series
Do you want to hire a Purple Squirrel?
Who is a purple squirrel and why should you hire one
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If one is not careful with the words while offering the opportunity to a passive candidate, intentions can be misconstrued and you can expect a backlash. Poachers are often scorned upon as they try to buy a passive candidate. As opposed to this unethical practice, you can adopt an approach that doesn’t destroy the company’s reputation or the relationship you have built with the passive candidate. Sure, there can be candidates who can be taken in with the bait of a fat paycheck. But, as Henry David Thoreau said in Life without Principle,
Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.
That said, let’s move to the topic at hand- How to approach the passive candidate.
Luckily, from the survey conducted by Laudale,a boutique recruiting agency in Manchester, in the first leg of 2016, we have some powerful insights that can guide this discussion. The survey sought how candidates preferred to be contacted
- a whopping majority of candidates selected email as their first preference.
- Next to email, it was found that the candidates preferred phone. The survey also noted that candidates preferred a combination of phone and email
- Only a minority of candidates preferred text messages or LinkedIn InMail; but majority preferred this as secondary method of contact.
- LinkedIn was not so popular among the older age group (35–54) who preferred email, phone call, and text, in that order.
Taking note of these insights, we have come up with best ways to approach a candidate that will earn you a response for sure!
Approaching via email
Approaching via email is considered as the best for one pressing reason: the candidate can open it and reply at their comfort. E-mail ensures that even if the candidates receive it during office hours, they don’t have to worry about eavesdropping and can reply after pondering over the positives and negatives about the offer. But, from your side, the only aim to get a response.
If you are bulk mailing, the candidate might not think twice before dumping it in trash. Remember, this is someone who is already comfortable in a job, you have to allure them to take this to the next level. If you have built a relationship with them already, it increases the chance of getting your email opened. (in worst case, they will still be ready to forward it to someone they think is suitable for the role)
Let us start with a compelling subject line.
Subject line
Subject line plays an important role in getting the email opened. Research suggests subject lines with 8 words (ideally) have highest open rates. Additionally, if it has the recipient’s name, the open rates increase by 20%. Having their name on the subject line sure sparks curiosity, but remember to not irk the recipient with a random forced subject line with their name.
“Jennifer, would you be our Data Science expert?” or “Jennifer, here’s an opportunity you might be interested in” are genuine enough to make the recipient open the email. Be creative in the subject line so that your email stands out from rest of the recruiters who are trying to hire the candidate.
Now that you have gotten the email opened, next comes the crucial part of communication-the content of email.
Content
Which better tool than story telling to effectively communicate?An important point to remember is that, this email is not about you, but about them. You aim to convince them of our offer and you would like to take this conversation forward.
Remember KISS- Keep it Short and Simple! Perhaps, you can give a short context to why you have chosen to write to them, how s/he will be benefited by this opportunity, and conclude with the request to chat over phone or meet over coffee. The actionable item at the end will prompt a reply faster than you think.
Following up is as important as sending the first email. If, in any case, your email went straight to the spam folder, here is the chance to resurrect it. If your candidate missed out on replying, owing to a busy schedule or still hasn’t made up their mind, follow up email will push them to respond.
Approaching via phone
First things first. How much ever enticing and easy it is, never try contacting your passive candidate through their office phones. No candidate will be in a situation to discuss your offer when they are in their current employer’s office surrounded by their colleagues. In most cases, they would hang up the phone as quickly as possible to end the awkward situation.
That said, phone calls need not be completely avoided in the process. In fact, going by the research, phone calls are preferred by many candidates to discuss a new offer. We will look into what exactly you can talk with your passive candidate in this situation.
The one at the receiving end, in this case the passive candidate, requires a context to who you are and why you are calling them. You are one step ahead if you have been proactive and have done good networking. Introduce yourself to brush up the familiarity (and mention the referrer, in case you got the contact via referrals). Next is your cue to make this conversation about them. Use your research to convince them how they seem to be best suited for the role, how this role can help in the growth of their career, and how their expertise can be useful for your organization. It’s always better to not mention the paycheck unless a question arises from their side. You don’t want to look like you are buying them with money, do you?
If you are following up on call after an email was sent, you could refer back to the email and say that you called to see if there were any concerns that stopped them from replying. When the candidate feels you have been making the effort to reach out (and that it wasn’t a bulk impersonal email), there are better chances of them considering your opportunity.
Approaching via social media
While social media provide the possibility to reach out to anyone anywhere in the globe, think twice before you post a job offer on someone’s wall, or tweet the offer to the passive candidate. Not only that this creates an awkward situation for them, it also makes you look desperate and stupid. Surely, not something neither you nor your employer brand want.
How about we take it professional, and use LinkedIn to reach out to candidates when you weren’t able to acquire the email/contact number of the passive candidate. Hard fact: recruiters live on LinkedIn. There is every possibility that the candidate you are approaching via LinkedIn has been swamped by messages from other recruiters. So, how exactly do you make your message good enough to be opened, and best enough to get a response?
The rules of email apply here as well- keep it short and simple. Just like email, the title/subject has to be compelling enough to get opened by the candidate. Often, if you have researched their profile well, there can always be a hook to begin the conversation. You can get away with a one line introduction on LinkedIn, as your name will appear in the header and candidate can easily know who you are. You only have seconds before the reader skips your message and moves to next. Captivate their attention and interest with your first sentence, and quickly say why the candidate has been contacted. You can wrap up with an actionable item, like a request for contact number or in-person meeting to discuss the opportunity in detail. Do not forget to follow up after a few days.
Your goal is to continue the conversation. If your offer gets rejected, you can always ask them to refer you to someone else who they think is best suited for this opportunity. You have built a relationship and it needs to be nurtured. Who knows, the candidate may choose your organization the next time they think about a change.
If you were successful in convincing the candidate, you have reached the final and important phase of recruiting the purple squirrel-interviewing. Find out how to amp up your interviewing process here 👇
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