So what, I rummage through your bins at night
And why there is no such thing as a ‘passive jobseeker’
A recruiter once said to me that there are two types of jobseeker: active and passive. An ‘active’ jobseeker is one currently seeking a new employment opportunity; a ‘passive’ candidate isn’t. ‘But’, he pontificated, ‘the passive ones are the best ones’. What the what?!
pas·sive
–adjective
- not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling
- not participating readily or actively; inactive: a passive member of a committee
I would suggest the person ‘not’ looking for a job is one of these: sponging off tax-payers; too young; too old; or too wealthy to work. So either you are seeking a new job or you’re not. And if you are one of those listed above, you won’t be. To everyone else I contest you are ‘prowlers’. Note that term, my feline friends.
prowl·er
–noun
- a person or animal that prowls
- a person who goes stealthily about with some [unlawful] intention
About that cat
In the context of that recruiter’s definition I liken a so-called ‘passive’ jobseeker to a cat. A cat swaggers through life, the very object of serenity; never phased, never ruffled, ultimately content. But behind the furry features lies an inherently opportunistic animal.
Cats lead a simple, normal life. They stroll around the garden, sitting on fences, scrambling up trees, chasing butterflies, and eating biscuits. Lovely work if you can get it! Sometimes though, they’re more mischievous; they’ll have a peek over the neighbour’s fence, see what’s going on over there. Maybe a mouse is scurrying under a bush, or perhaps that well-to-do family has left an opened tin of salmon on the side?
Boredom and excitement drive the cat to distraction, resulting in the inevitable…
The common mistake
Recruiters make a lot of brouhaha about identifying so-called passive candidates, believing they are far superior to active ones. Maybe it’s something to do with wanting what you can’t have? To me, though, the whole notion of a difference is rhubarb. You see, I am an opportunist – there, I’ve said it. And don’t tell me you’re not. If something better than you’ve got comes your way, you’ll have a sniff at it, surely? If you don’t, you lack ambition. Either that or you’re too content, which I suggest is the same thing.
Fresher fields
Now, there’s little wrong with sticking with what you’ve got. But most people want more in life – you know, where the grass is greener and the sun much shinier. And it’s because of our inherent nature to explore that I believe we are all crafty jobseekers, whether we’re happy in our current role or not. And this means that each one of us is open to ideas and exciting new challenges. And why shouldn’t we be?
The ‘come and get me’ plea
Social networking sites have made communication a thousand times easier than when I was a recruiter. In those days – where client details were kept in a box of cards – everyone I spoke with was a potential candidate. I didn’t have LinkedIn giving me status updates so I called, said the requisite stuff, and hoped they were either out of work at the time (odd to think I ‘hoped’ that) or interested in what I had to say. How good was what I was selling and how well did I sell it!
Nowadays any recruiter not using LinkedIn as a talent source is missing a trick. Take a look at more or less any profile on there and you will see at the bottom in the ‘Interested In’ section, a list of what that person is open to be contacted about. Check mine out. It might say ‘new job opportunities’ or, in my case, something less blatant: ‘new ventures’ or ‘business deals’. Ostensibly, though, I am saying that I am happy to listen to suggestions. I think most of us are.
We live in a less clandestine era now; an era where job security cannot be taken for granted. Few of us can afford apathy. Whether in a job or not, we are all potential recruiter fodder, open to be sold to; ears twitching, one eye open. In our communities we’re a pride of lions. It’s a lovely notion, isn’t it: we look out for each other; we share common interests; we mess about, we play games; and we survive.
But forget that altruistic nonsense. We are prowlers, constantly looking for something inviting.
Recruiters, come and get us. And don’t shut your bin lid.
Do you agree with my ‘prowler’ analogy? Please leave your comments.
Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs
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Aaaargh! I typed a comprehensive reply but it deleted it when i didn’t insert a captcha code!
Anyway, to precis, yes there is such a thing as a passive jobseeker, other than spongers, too old and the rich. Indeed when i worked at ad agencies the passive candidate was the one you most wanted to net. the casual browser of the Sunday Times or Computing Magazine (in the days when they ran page after page after page of creative four colour recruitment advertising. it was all about allure.
These days it’s far more transactional and also more difficult to woo passive jobseekers. Then again, anyone can set up a few job alerts if they want to keep their finger on the pulse. The trouble is that by and large, online job advertising is hugely inferior to its press forefather.
Imagine if you will that car advertising, for instance, went the way of recruitment. No allure, no creativity, just some old boy reading the spec from a brochure on our tv screens. Some people like to be motivated, wowed, urged to react. it doesn’t mean because they aren’t actively looking for a job that they aren’t good at what they do, they’re just more elusive and less desperate for a move. Job advertising has been dumbed down. Many modern day recruiters think you just have to post any old wording up on the web and they will come. No, they won’t and nor is everyone who’s qualified to do the role looking specifically at or for for your ad. if they are, for god’s sake, woo them!
Cheers for the comment, Alistair.
I agree the ‘unobtainable’ is the more attractive proposition.
You can never completely write in a blog piece what you might otherwise write in a magazine article, but what I am trying to suggest that rather than determining the difference between someone pimping their CV about and someone ‘waiting for the call’, we are all open to offers and, actually, in the current age of communities and transparency, we are more than just ‘passive’.
Either you’re looking for a job or you’re not. ‘Prowling’ suggests you are – but the people you want to find you don’t know about it. What’s the point in that?
These days even the best guys are out of work, through no fault of their own. These doesn’t automatically make them ‘B Grade’ candidates – circumstances dictated that and often it was out of their company’s control, least of all their own.
Only a fool would shut their eyes to potential new job opportunities, hence my allude to sleeping with one eye open.
Any anyway – and this is another subject – the so-called ‘passive’ jobseekers might be the ‘holly grail’ but more often than not they are also a pain in the ass!
Holly usually is a pain when sat upon I find
Well spotted. I type too energetically (awful excuse, I know!)
Holy, I meant holy grail.
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