Infographie Léger 1

Employers are increasingly seeking out passive candidates

Special Report: Jobboom & Léger’s survey // Part 1 of 5

Driven by the desire to hire highly-qualified employees, employers are increasingly seeking out passive candidates to meet their recruiting needs. By definition, passive candidates are people who are currently employed but are open to receiving unsolicited offers from other employers even if they are satisfied by their current job. To reach these candidates, companies are proactive in reaching out to prospective hires and also to be present where those candidates are.

A survey conducted by Léger on behalf of Jobboom reveals that 56% of companies surveyed use target passive candidates as part of their recruitment strategy.

Whether the purpose of pursuing these passive candidates is to fill open positions, attract new talent or to build a base of exceptional candidates for future needs, the companies surveyed by Léger use a variety of methods to contact these candidates.

More than a quarter (27%) of recruiters said that they participated in networking activities to attract the attention of passive candidates. Using networking as a recruiting technique was especially common among Montreal-based companies with fewer than 50 employees.

126 Quebec-based businesses participated in the survey, which was conducted from December 6 to 14, 2016. Results also revealed that companies in the Montreal area are particularly inclined to recruit passive candidates, but regardless of where a business is located, companies are most likely to pursue passive candidates to fill accounting, finance and insurance positions.

Conversely, companies looking to fill positions in restaurants, hotels and other tourism or recreation-related industries do not generally seek out passive candidates, instead focusing their recruitment efforts on people who are actively looking for jobs. This isn’t surprising, considering that companies in these industries are often seeking candidates that can begin work immediately, and also employ a workforce that is generally more accessible to recruiters.

Contacting passive candidates

Beyond networking activities, 22% of companies surveyed reported that they use social media to connect with passive candidates, while 19% use recruitment websites. Generally, the method used to connect with passive candidates differed according to the size of the company:

  • 10 – 49 employees: Networking activities
  • 50 – 99 employees: Word of mouth and personal contacts
  • 100 – 499 employees: Social media
  • 500+ employees: Recruitment websites

As well, 30% of surveyed companies said that they would like to have access to a CV search tool on the recruitment website they use. This is good news for passive candidates who have the ability to increase the visibility of their profile on a recruitment website, which allows them to benefit from having job offers come to them.

To improve the visibility of your Jobboom profile, click here.

The main challenges that employers face

When companies were asked about the main recruitment challenges they face, half stated that finding qualified or specialized candidates was their primary challenge, while 16% said that a lack of skills on the part of candidates posed a problem. Similarly, recruitment agencies reported that when searching for specialized talent, they often receive CV’s that do not meet the requirements for the advertised position.

16% of employers also said that they are confronted with a labor shortage. For companies with a high number of employees, a long, laborious recruiting process to hire qualified talent also represents a significant challenge.

Jobboom: A leader in Québec

94% of employers with more than 100 employees know Jobboom (http://www.jobboom.com/en/) brand, and 86% of companies surveyed have a positive opinion of Jobboom. Candidates are also very aware of Jobboom: 81% of the 500 surveyed knew enough about Jobboom to have an opinion about the site.

The most well-known employment website in Québec remains Emploi-Québec, the employment portal operated by the provincial government.

If you are an employer and want to find out more about Jobboom’s products and services, click here.

Infographie Léger 1

1 Comment

  • abc
    April 26, 2017 02:44

    I am chemical engineer and looking for a job.

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