From: Mashable Online

Things are looking up for job seekers. Unemployment numbers are down, the economy is improving and more opportunities are opening up. As professionals gain their financial and career stability back, many are looking at their options and considering what else is out there. In a survey conducted by Jobvite in November 2014, 45% of employed respondents said they would switch to a new job, even though they were satisfied with their current role.

The hype surrounding passive job seekers has grown as more recruiters struggle to find active job seekers with the right experience for specialized positions. But are employers actually succeeding in attracting passive talent?

Recruiting passive candidates is fundamentally different from targeting those who are actively pursuing a new position, and recruiters often neglect the following two major pieces of the passive hiring puzzle.

Start with relationships
What you’re doing wrong: Stalking passive candidates whose skills and experience match your open position online and sneak-attacking them is a dead-end. Digging deep online like some kind of recruiting secret agent to find any and all background information on your suspect — I mean perfect candidate — is ineffective, in addition to creepy.

The alternative: Instead, focus on building relationships organically. Passive candidates who are willing to make a job change will be open to talking with a recruiter. So talk with them.

What’s more, 15% of job seekers are reaching out to their personal networks about opportunities. Be in their professional network.

Another option is to find passive candidates in person by attending industry events/conferences to meet and network with talented professionals. Know where your target talent is congregating virtually as well: 46% of U.S. companies (according to LinkedIn) surveyed said social professional networks were one of the most important sources for quality hires.

Finding, connecting and building relationships with passive and active candidates on professional networking and job search sites should become second nature. Passive talent who routinely lead or contribute to conversations may be in the market for new opportunities. In these conversations, both face-to-face and online, the focus shouldn’t be on recruiting, convincing candidates to leave their current roles, or even advertising your employer brand. Instead, attempt to build genuine connections and learn about stand-out professionals.

The results: In this way, you will build a pipeline of passive candidates and, when you do have positions to fill, you will know exactly which qualified professionals to approach. They’ll be more likely to discuss the opportunity if you’ve already built some rapport. If the candidate does turn down the opportunity, your relationship with him or her will keep the door open for future positions.

Personalize your approach
What you’re doing wrong: Research shows that passive candidates are looking for more benefits and perks, work-life balance and opportunities to move their careers forward. In fact, in a survey of medical sales representatives conducted by MedReps.com, respondents ranked salary as the most important factor when evaluating a new employer.

So here’s the common mistake: When talking with passive candidates, you focus on the salary, job perks and title. You harp so much on all of the benefits that come with the job, the conversation sounds more like a sales pitch rather than a discussion about the candidate’s career goals.

The alternative: When recruiting employed professionals, the conversation should center around them. While trends show what passive job seekers are looking for as a whole, they don’t tell you what will motivate an individual to leave a job in which he or she is already happy.

Although you do want to discuss the details, you should be listening more than talking at first. Encourage the candidate to talk about him or herself so you can learn about his or her needs, wants and ambitions. Use this information to guide your conversation about the actual position. Discuss how the role and the employer meet those unique needs.

The results: Using this strategy, candidates won’t be bombarded with a laundry list of job benefits, but they will envision how they can realistically fit within the company and position. This information will be more meaningful when considering a new opportunity.