Myth or Fact? How to find the best candidate for your company.

by Terri Robinson (c)2000

Have you ever wondered what a Passive Candidate/Jobseeker is?

Does it conjure up images in your mind of someone relaxing by a fireplace, feet up, phone at their side, computer nearby with aprogram checking email every 5 minutes?

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Far from being "passive", the Passive JobSeeker will usually be a high energy person, involved with their industry, attends seminars toimprove their knowledge, and loves their job.

You won't find their resume on Monster.com or Career Mosaic or other "job boards" because they are not actively looking for a newopportunity. That doesn't mean they wouldn't "accept" one if it was too good to pass up!

So, how DO you find a Passive JobSeeker? Here are a few suggestions for you:

Sales professionals attend seminars to improve their skills, so look for a seminar in your area and attend some that will have a largeattendance.

Talk to the attendees and learn about what they do, what industry they are in. Develop a relationship with ones you feel are a good fitfor your company. If you have a job opening, don't do anything so crass as to make them a job offer on first meeting them! But youcould casually mention that your company is looking for someone and ask if they could recommend anyone to you.

Ask for their business card and drop them a note letting them know how much you enjoyed meeting them and talking to them.

Attend trade shows for your industry. Find discussion groups especially related to your industry and participate in them, answerquestions when you can. www.deja.com is a good place to start - use your industry as a keyword to search. Also www.egroups.comwww.onelist.com and www.listbot.com.

These are just a few of the ways you can search for a Passive JobSeeker who could be the exact fit for your company.

Happy hunting!

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Terri Robinson, President - Robinson & Associates, a woman-owned recruiting company that specializes in sales and marketingprofessionals. Terri has been published in Arizona Women's News, Arizona Reporter Online News, and interviewed by Recruiting Trends'Newsletter for their Extreme Recruiting column. Surf to http://www.recruit2hire.com, call 602-233-8410, or E-mail Author

Reprint permission freely given as long as contact information is used as is.