What percentage of working professionals in the US and Canada is considered passive talent? How does the concentration vary with seniority and tenure? What are the implications for how you approach your next recruiting assignment? Read on to find out! Learn more about LinkedIn Talent Solutions: http://linkd.in/1bgERGj Subscribe to the LinkedIn Talent Blog: http://linkd.in/18yp4Cg Follow the LinkedIn Talent Solutions page: http://linkd.in/1cNvIFT Tweet with us: http://bit.ly/HireOnLinkedIn

1. Recruiting Solutions
Active Or Passive?
A Closer Look at Job-Seeking
Behavior in North America
June 2012
Recruiting Solutions

2. Agenda
 Overview
 Key findings
 Job-seeking behavior
– Active vs. passive
– By tenure
– By seniority level
 Five solutions to help you engage passive talent
 Additional resources
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3. Overview
 Objectives
The objectives of this report are to provide a better understanding the job-seeking behavior of
professionals in the U.S. and Canada, including how active they are in seeking new employment,
and to provide recruiting leaders with clearer visibility into the market for top talent.
 Data
The report summarizes the results of a survey conducted in Oct 2011 by LinkedIn’s Insights team.
 Methodology
LinkedIn surveyed a representative sample of its members located in the US and Canada, who
categorized themselves as “fully employed” (not “self-employed”), and ranged in seniority from
individual contributors to managers, directors, and senior executives. 2,531 professionals
participated in the study.
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4. Key findings
1. The vast majority of professionals are passive candidates.
Only 19 percent of employed professionals are jobseekers; the remaining 81 percent are considered
passive talent. 42 percent are open to discussing a new position and 15 percent are not formally
looking, but reaching out to close associates regarding new jobs. 24 percent claim to be completely
happy in their roles, though the best recruiters may still convince them to explore other opportunities.
2. Traditional job boards only reach 19 percent of the viable candidate pool.
81 percent of fully employed professionals do not proactively visit legacy job boards.
3. The active pool skews toward more junior, less tenured professionals.
Professionals who are aggressively or somewhat aggressively searching for jobs tend to have less
tenure (1-5 years on the job) and are at a more junior level.
4. Senior-level professionals are even less likely to be active job seekers.
Only 13 percent of directors and executives are actively or semi-actively looking for a new position,
versus 18 percent of managers and 20 percent of individual contributors.
5. Companies must better align resources to target passive candidates.
In order to reach the majority of the talent pool, companies must increase their emphasis on passive
candidates. This requires altogether different tools and strategies.
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5. Job-seeking status: active vs. passive
 The active jobseeker pool is small. Only 19
percent of the fully employed are actively
looking for a new job (Aggressively or
Somewhat Looking).
 The passive talent pool is four times the
size. 81 percent of the fully employed are
either Tiptoers, Explorers or Super Passives
 Quality and quantity lies beyond the active
pool. Many companies are targeting the same
small active talent pool, through tools such as
legacy job boards. This limits their focus to
only 19 percent of fully employed talent
If you’re not targeting passive talent,
you’re missing out.
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6. Job-seeking status: by tenure
 Job-seeking behavior is correlated with tenure. Lower-tenured (1-5 years)
professionals tend to be more active job seekers. After five years, voluntary turnover
drops dramatically. Turnover peaks at 2-3 years.
 The active candidate pool has a higher than average turnover rate. Active
candidates tend to take jobs for economic reasons, leading to low job satisfaction and
higher voluntary turnover.
Hiring mainly
from the active
candidate pool
can increase
employee
turnover and
lower your
overall talent
bar.
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7. Job-seeking status: by seniority level
For senior-level hires, it is even
more critical to target the
Director +
passive talent pool.
 Senior-level professionals are
even less likely to be active job
seekers. Only 13 percent of
director-or-above positions are
proactively seeking a new role,
versus 19 percent of managers and
21 percent of staff or individual
contributors.
 There are fewer senior
management positions available
given the economic environment,
which does impact the job-seeking
rate of more senior individuals.
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8. Five LinkedIn solutions to engage
passive candidates
LinkedIn Recruiter LinkedIn Jobs Network
Engage the world’s best passive talent Get your opportunities in front of the right candidates – passive and active
Work With Us Ads LinkedIn Career Pages Recruitment Media
Take advantage of traffic to Showcase your employment brand to Share your message with the
your employees’ profiles targeted professionals on LinkedIn professionals you care most about
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9. Additional resources
1. Visit our passive candidate recruiting best practices center at
http://talent.linkedin.com/passivetalent
– Tip sheets, infographics, interviews with top recruiters and more
2. Subscribe to our blog: http://talent.linkedin.com/blog
3. Follow us on Twitter: @HireOnLinkedIn
4. Explore the world of LinkedIn Recruiting Solutions at
http://talent.linkedin.com
Recruiting Solutions