Recruiters face two key challenges when reaching out to in-demand but passive candidates for tech jobs. First, they need to create personalized messaging that is likely to grab—and hold—the attention of these busy professionals. That’s difficult enough. But they also need to deploy their outreach at just the right time if they want to get results. That’s much, much harder to do. Or is it? Research by Dice suggests that recruiters can increase their chances of breaking through to passive candidates if they know when tech pros:
- Might be ready to make a move, based on where they are professionally (i.e., the current stage of their career), OR:
- Might be statistically ready to make a move, based on number of years spent in their current role.
Professionally Ready
Most professionals, no matter where they are along their career path, want the same things from an employer, such as competitive compensation, good benefits, and a positive organizational culture. But how they rank certain offerings in terms of importance may vary as they progress in their career. Keep that in mind as you tailor your messaging for passive candidates who may be professionally ready to transition to a new job at a different company. For example, a junior to midlevel engineer with about four years of experience is likely looking to take his foundational skills to the next level. Outreach to this type of passive candidate should, therefore, include details about training and professional development opportunities at your firm. Be sure to explain how the company invests in its employees. For example, if the firm provides financial support to tech staff who want to earn in-demand certifications, make that known. On the other end of a spectrum, a seasoned tech professional with a decade or more of experience might be eyeing positions at the senior or director level. Perhaps she is unable to climb to that next rung of the ladder due to lack of advancement opportunities at her current employer, or the company simply has not invested the resources to help her prepare for a management role. Outreach to a passive candidate who is “looking up” in her career might describe leadership training opportunities or other programs, such as succession planning, designed to build talented tech pros into leaders for the firm. Keep in mind that the more experienced the candidate, the more that person is probably looking for new ways to apply hard-earned skills and experience. He’s likely eager for interesting work that will keep him feeling satisfied in his career. In fact, in a recent survey by Dice, 83 percent of tech pros cited challenging work as what they value most from an employer—just behind a competitive salary. So when trying to connect with passive candidates who are deep into their careers, emphasize aspects of your company that would appeal to their desire for meaningful work. For example, you might explain that your firm values creative thinkers and offers diverse assignments designed to help talented people stretch their abilities. You might also say the firm is focused on innovation, and share some examples of how senior tech staff are helping the business to solve problems and develop new offerings.Statistically Ready
How do you know when a candidate is statistically ready to consider new employment opportunities? Here’s where research from the data science team at Dice comes into play. They analyzed how many years tech engineers typically invest in their first, second, and third jobs, and learned that these pros:- Stick with their first job for the longest time: 5.3 years.
- Remain in their second job for about 4.2 years.
- Stay in their third job for just under four years (3.8).
