4 ways to headhunt passive candidates in 2024

In a recent job market survey, we found 26% of the 400 people surveyed said that while they were happily employed, they’d consider job offers from elsewhere. So this raises the question; how do you engage with passive job seekers, and how does passive recruiting work?

‍Utilise CV and resume databases

Job boards like Aviation Job Search have extensive talent pools of candidates. While many are actively looking for a new job, many aren’t and you can use tools like CV Discovery to source passive candidates by viewing their credentials and making an offer if they look like a good fit.

Access to databases can often be hit and miss, but by using a niche job board like Aviation Job Search, you’re more likely to find good candidates who are experienced within the aviation industry. Also, if you have joined Prime Aviation, our membership programme, CV downloads are actually free so you can reach out to them without having to buy more credits.

‍Market yourself on social media

Even if happily employed aviation professionals aren’t actively visiting job sites, they’re probably still following them on social media, so make sure your passive candidate sourcing utilises this. For example, we have nearly half a million people following us. We offer products such as Social Takeover which allows you to get your company in front of these passive job seekers. If you’re on Prime Aviation, this is half price, which makes it incredibly affordable considering the size of the audience and how many of those are passive job seekers.

Many aviation companies will choose to market their company culture as this is something aviation professionals increasingly value. But you can also be up front and promote the vacancies you have. It might be just the nudge a passive job seeker needs to get them to apply.

Keep posting your jobs

Yes, yes, passive job seekers might not be visiting job boards. But your passive recruiting strategies shouldn’t rule them out because many will remain signed up to job alerts and follow airlines’ company pages - if they get a notification about a company they’ve always wanted to work for, then nothing is off the table.

Posting jobs can be expensive, but again, this is something you get for free as a Prime Aviation member. You can either use your ad credits straight away, or save them for when you have vacancies.

Leverage social proof

Company culture is more important than ever, and promoting your business as a great place to work will definitely keep you at the front of aviation professionals’ minds. Even if they’re happily employed, things can change fast, so by maintaining a presence online, keeping your website and social media updated and using happy employees to talk about why they’re happy at your company.