Passive candidates make up most of the workforce. They are employed, generally happy in their current positions, and not actively looking for different jobs. These individuals are often the best fit for open roles, but they usually need to be persuaded to leave their current companies.
Passive candidates tend to be the most qualified because they are sought out based on their skills and experience.
Posting open positions to job boards is the most common strategy hiring teams use to find candidates. While that approach can sometimes work, it tends to attract applications from people who aren’t qualified. You could use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to surface the best matches, but there’s still no guarantee those individuals’ backgrounds align with what you’re looking for. To pile on, active candidates who apply on job boards are generally unsatisfied with their current jobs and may be seeking a fast change more than a strong fit.
Recruiting passive candidates flips the script. Instead of building a talent pool from applications, the process identifies a select few professionals—sometimes as few as one—who have demonstrated success in the areas you need them to. Then, you or a recruiting partner reaches out to each of them directly. If the pitch is strong enough and your opportunity offers something more than their current roles, you can secure qualified candidates in record time.
Our recruiters find strong passive candidates for partner companies through strategic headhunting.
Our Director of Operations and Account Management, Liv Sampair, recently shared a video explaining how we find passive candidates.
Our recruiters start by getting to know your company. We meet with your hiring team and/or the team a candidate would be working with if hired. Once we are equipped with a strong understanding of what it’s like to work at your company and who thrives there, we seek out candidates who have what it takes to be successful there.
Our search starts with your must-have skills and experience for an open role. After we identify matches based on those criteria, we screen each individual to see how their personality, values, and leadership style align with your existing team.
When we find someone who is a strong match, we motivate them to make a change and consider a new role. Perhaps they are looking for room to grow or take on more responsibility that their current company hasn’t been able to offer. Maybe your company offers a shorter commute and would give them back an hour every day.
When we send you passive candidates, they are a strong match for your technical requirements, their personalities fit your company culture, and they are truly excited about the idea of joining your team.
In-house teams can connect with passive candidates, but third-party recruiters often secure the best passive candidates faster.
Many internal HR and talent acquisition teams successfully find and hire passive candidates. For urgent or confidential searches, however, partnering with a third-party recruiting firm like Journey Search Partners is often the best path to success.
With a singular focus on finding the right people to join your team, we can identify top candidates faster than HR and talent acquisition professionals who manage competing priorities. As an outside organization, we also protect your brand when sourcing candidates for roles like high-level leadership positions that can’t be shared publicly.
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