You Only Reach People Who Are Already Looking

The candidates who answer are the ones already job hunting. The ones you most want never do.

The short answer: Active candidates answer anyone. Passive candidates answer people they know. If only active ones reply, you aren’t known yet.

Why it matters

Active candidates are talking to every recruiter and every company. Your client competes for them in the open.

The best people for a role are usually happy where they are. You never get to make the case to them.

And a client paying a fee for candidates they could find on a job board starts to wonder why.

What’s usually behind it

People who are looking reply to any reasonable message. They need you.

People who aren’t looking need a reason to give you their time. A stranger rarely is one.

So your pipeline fills with whoever is on the market, not whoever is best for the role.

You aren’t reaching the best candidates. You’re reaching the available ones.

Signs this is what’s happening

  • Most of your candidates came from applications or open-to-work profiles.
  • The candidates you submit are interviewing elsewhere too.
  • Clients have often seen your candidates on the market already.
  • Your placements lean toward people between jobs.

What you’re feeling

What’s causing it

Passive candidates have no reason to answer you.

See what’s really going on, and your options for fixing it for good.

Outreach to Passive Candidates

Other possible causes

  • The market is moving. When lots of people are changing jobs, active candidates are most of the market.
  • The role suits active candidates. Some roles are mostly filled by people already looking.
  • Your messages go where they don’t look. Many passive candidates rarely check LinkedIn messages.

Something else going on?

If this doesn’t sound like your search, tell us what’s happening. A real person reads every one.