Candidate Engagement Strategies: What Works in 2024?

Not broken, per se, as companies still find and hire quality candidates on a daily basis. But it usually takes longer than it should, and the candidate experience is less than stellar.

Because of this, agencies and hiring managers need to invest in new candidate engagement strategies.

Thanks to spammy “spray-and-pray” tactics, out-of-date talent pools, the changing expectations of job seekers, and the fact that potential candidates often use their own networks to secure new positions, the old strategies don’t work anymore.

To succeed in this new environment, you need to boost candidate engagement. Doing so will streamline the hiring process and ensure you connect with top talent.

In this article, we'll look at why you need different strategies to reach active and passive candidates, how to engage job seekers in 2024, and more.

We have a lot to get to, so let’s dive right in!

Where and why are candidates dropping out of the recruitment process?

So, why do potential candidates withdraw their job applications?

The main reasons are a negative experience and a complex process - too long, with too many hoops to jump through.

Candidates look for open positions that suit their skills, then read job descriptions to determine fit. If they like what they read, they click the “Apply” button.

This is usually where things go wrong. Candidates see a lengthy or complex application process, and think, “No thanks! I’ll find a different job that doesn’t ask me 79 questions.”

According to SHRM, 92% of candidates fail to finish their online applications, and the average candidate has to submit 21-80 applications before receiving an interview invite. Once they attend an interview, it takes an average of 24 business days to receive an answer. As you can imagine, no candidate wants to wait that long for an employer to make a decision.

So let's see how you can adjust your recruitment strategies to better engage candidates in the future!

Why you need different strategies for passive vs active candidates

Of course, wanting to improve your recruitment strategies and actually doing it are two different things. To find success, you need to approach active and passive candidates in different ways.

An active candidate is a person who is currently seeking new employment opportunities. These people usually have updated resumes and spend time on job boards and social media platforms like LinkedIn to find open positions. They might proactively seek referrals as well.

A passive candidate is a person who is not actively seeking a new job. BUT, they would be open to a new position if the right opportunity came their way. These people are often identified through networking, referrals, and social media search due to their valuable skills and experience.

You need to source active and passive candidates in different ways. Here’s why:

• Motivation: An active candidate wants a new job ASAP. A passive candidate, on the other hand, is happy in their current position, but might be interested in a better opportunity. In other words, each candidate has different motivations, which need to be accounted for.
• Timeframe: An active candidate can usually start a new role immediately. It’s not like they have a current job to hold them back. A passive candidate will need more time. After all, they’ll need to cut ties with their current employer, which could take weeks or months.
• Expectations: An active candidate might ask for less salary and fewer benefits. Many just want to get paid as soon as humanly possible. Passive candidates are different. They don’t need your job offer, so they’re free to demand a higher wage and additional perks.
• Channels: An active candidate is easier to engage via traditional recruitment methods. A passive candidate, however, will usually require a more personalized approach. If you don’t build relationships with these people, they probably won’t accept your open position.

Whether you target active or passive candidates, you need to engage them effectively. This will ensure the candidate journey is a positive experience. Let’s talk more about that...

Engaging active and passive candidates: A strategic approach

So, how do you go about the candidate engagement process? It will vary depending on the kind of candidate you’re targeting: active or passive. We’ll cover both processes in this section.

Define your target candidate profile

First, define what a great candidate is to your client’s organization.

List their skill sets, industry experience, physical location, and anything else you deem important. For example, you might want a candidate with a “strong work ethic”.

When you know who your ideal candidate is, you can tailor your recruitment efforts to this kind of person. This will streamline the entire endeavor and make it more effective.

Define your channels based on the candidate profile

Next, decide how you’ll source new hires for your client’s company.

Are you looking for active candidates? Then generalist job boards like Indeed and Monster might do the trick. But niche and/or industry-specific job boards like Dice and Stack Overflow should be considered too. That way you can connect with as many job seekers as possible.

If you’re looking for passive candidates, you’ll need a different approach. Study the talent pool inside of your applicant tracking system (ATS). We suggest attending professional networking events and asking your client’s current employees for referrals as well.

Lastly, social media sites like LinkedIn can be used to source active and passive candidates. Use the platform to find talented individuals. Then build outreach campaigns to connect with them.

Define tactics to reach your ideal candidates

Finally, choose tactics to reach potential staff.

There are plenty of strategies you could use, but not every one is equally effective. Here are the ones we recommend—especially if your goal is to create highly engaged candidates.

• Personalization: Personalized messages almost always perform better. Tailor your outreach to the specific individuals you’re targeting. While you could do this manually, artificial intelligence (AI) will help you scale your efforts and connect with more people. Win!
• Employer Branding: Make sure your initial messages look enticing by including company brand details. We’re talking about logos, missions statements, and anything else that will help identify your client. This is important for both active and passive candidates.
• Employee Advocacy: Connect with your client’s current employees and ask them for referrals. This tactic often produces extremely qualified candidates because current employees know what it takes to succeed. Therefore, they only suggest top talent.
• Industry Events: Attend conferences, networking sessions, and other events in your client’s industry. Doing so will help you connect with talented professionals, some of whom might be interested in your job opening. (This is even true for people with current jobs.)

No matter which engagement tactics you use, your goal is to create a positive candidate experience. If you do that, you’ll connect with better workers and achieve more success.

Best practices for candidate engagement

At this point, you know exactly who your ideal candidate is and how to reach them. Now you need to engage these individuals so that they want to work for your client’s company.

Here are four engagement ideas to help retain top talent throughout the application process:

Prioritize communication

Candidates should never wonder, “What happens next?”

Share as many details as you can about the recruitment process you’ve put in place. What skills and experience do candidates need to have? How long will it take you to respond to their application? And what can candidates do to prepare for the interview process?

Use AI and automation

AI and automation tools can handle admin tasks that bog down your recruitment efforts.

With the right software, you can publish job posting, send emails to potential hires, schedule interviews, take notes during meetings, and a whole lot more.

When you don’t have to worry about these activities, you can focus all of your energy on engaging candidates. As such, quality AI and automation tools are worth their weight in gold.

Measure your efforts

Do you track specific metrics to assess your recruitment strategies? KPIs like cost per application, time to hire, offer acceptance rate, retention rate, and candidate net promoter score (NPS) will give you valuable insights into the strategies used by your hiring team.

Guess what... Candidate engagement will help you improve all of them!

When potential hires are engaged, they’ll respond to messages faster, breeze through the application process in less time, and accept more of your job offers. If they truly enjoy their experience, they’ll stick around long after onboarding ends, too.

Request feedback

Your job isn’t done after you make a hiring decision. Ask candidates who didn’t make the cut (or decided to drop off before you could interview them) to evaluate your recruitment efforts.

What did they like about the application process? What can you improve the next time around? How can you better engage them so that they enjoy the candidate experience more?

It can be difficult to ask for feed back, but the data you get will help you improve your craft.

Trending candidate engagement methods: What works in 2024

The most effective candidate engagement methods are always in flux. What worked 10 years ago probably won’t work today. With that in mind, here are five strategies to implement in 2024.

1. Personalized multi-channel outreach

Remember what we said earlier? Personalization drives better results.

When contacting a potential hire—whether they be an active or passive candidate—add a personal touch to your messages. Here’s what that looks like in real-world scenarios:

• Active candidates: Address each candidate by name. If possible, indicate why you think they’re a good fit for your open role. Tools like Carv use AI to craft custom messages at scale. If you don’t have a specific candidate in mind yet, try posting in relevant industry groups on social media. Or sponsor a niche newsletter that your ideal candidate reads.

• Passive candidates: Build relationships with the individuals you want to hire. You can do this by writing thoughtful comments on their LinkedIn posts. Or by sending them personalized WhatsApp messages. Or by seeking them out at networking events. These things will build rapport with candidates and make them more receptive to job offers.

2. AI-powered conversational interfaces

As mentioned above, tools like Carv make personalized outreach a breeze.

Why do recruitment agencies send generic emails and InMail messages that read like spam? Because it takes a ton of time to customize this kind of correspondence. AI is the answer.

• Active candidates: Use automation platforms to schedule candidate interviews, voice AI to handle initial phone screens and video meetings, and chatbots to send real-time application status updates. This will allow you to focus on engaging top talent.
• Passive candidates: Use AI tools to send personalized messages to candidates in your talent pool, chatbots to answer simple company culture questions, or voice AI to handle gentle market mapping calls. Then take control of the conversation when you get a response.

3. Interactive video content

There’s no doubt about it, video content is more engaging than text-based content. Use this to your advantage and add a video component to your recruitment process. For example...

• Active candidates: Create video job descriptions that candidates can easily watch on their phones. If possible, build video-based skills assessments for candidates to complete once they get through the initial round of interviews too. (Don’t worry, AI tools can help with this!)
• Passive candidates: Host virtual office tours, publish "day in the life" content from an employee’s perspective, or livestream company events on social media. These things will give potential hires a feel for your client’s organization, and get them excited to join.

4. Gig economy integration

Some of the most talented workers are part of the gig economy. Don’t neglect these people just because they don’t have traditional jobs. Reach out to them with your open positions.

• Active candidates: Some people only join the gig economy to stay afloat between full-time positions. Post your job openings on sites that cater to gig workers, then engage qualified candidates in employment talks. Those who show promise, but ultimately miss the cut, should be added to your talent pool. That way you can follow-up with them in the future.
• Passive candidates: Some people join the gig economy because it offers them more freedom. Still, the right opportunity could drive them back to a full-time role. Engage these people in a similar way to what we described above. Post job openings and links to your client’s careers page. Then engaged top talent and add runners-up to your talent pool.

5. Referral programs

Last but not least, build referral programs to connect with top talent in your client’s industry.

Doing so will help you engage active and passive candidates in productive conversations. It will also streamline your recruitment marketing efforts, allowing you to focus on other tasks.

On a related note, ask successfully placed candidates to review your agency, and/or the end client’s profile. This will help build your reputation in the marketplace. Plus, you can use the testimonials you receive to build trust with new candidates.

Elevate the candidate experience

When it comes to talent acquisition, engagement is key.

The tips in this article will help you connect with quality candidates and give them positive experiences. When that happens, it will be much easier for your agency to place new hires.

But if you really want to engage top talent you should consider using AI. The right AI solutions will help you minimize admin work; simplify your email, text, and social media outreach; improve the interview process; and otherwise build your talent pool.

Schedule a free demo of Carv today to learn more about our platform’s capabilities and if it’s right for your agency.