Personalization in Recruitment: How to Engage Passive Talent with Tailored Outreach (With Templates)

In July 2024, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that there were 8.2 million open jobs, but only 7.2 million unemployed workers. With a shortage of a million workers, recruiters can’t rely only on active job seekers to fill open positions. Recruiters should look to passive talent — candidates who are not actively job-hunting — to make up the difference. 

Successfully engaging passive talent requires data-driven, personalized candidate outreach. With AI and advanced analytics, recruiters can create tailored messages that resonate with candidates, improving engagement, increasing response rates, and filling seasonal roles faster.

Understanding Passive Talent and Their Unique Challenges

Passive candidates are people who are not actively looking for a new position but are open to the right role. They make up an estimated 39% of the talent pool, so recruiters who are ignoring this segment are missing out on a big opportunity to fill open positions. 

The passive talent pool is especially valuable to recruiters focused on filling seasonal or contingent roles, including positions in the healthcare, security, and logistics industries. Seasonal roles often have shorter time frames for recruitment, and the positions may require new employees to get up to speed quickly. Passive candidates, who likely already have a job and have built up a valuable skill set, can be a good fit for these types of roles.

Because they’re not actively hunting for new positions, passive candidates are less likely to be on the lookout for messages from recruiters. Recruiters need to catch their attention with tailored outreach.

The Benefits of Personalization in Recruitment

According to LinkedIn, personalized InMail messages perform 15% better than generic messages sent in bulk. Including personalized details in your outreach will make candidates feel valued and lead to better engagement. 

Tailored outreach makes candidates feel like more than a number and creates a more positive recruitment experience. A positive experience improves the perception of your company as an employer. Keep personalization top of mind as you reach out to candidates.

Data-Driven Strategies for Personalizing Outreach to Passive Talent

Use a data-driven, three-pronged approach when reaching out to passive talent. First, segment your candidates to help organize and prioritize whom you will engage with. AI tools and data analytics can help you by segmenting candidates based on their skills, career stages, or interests. AI technology can scan the skills and experience listed on candidates’ resumes to determine how well they match the requirements of the position you’re hiring. 

Second, use tailored messaging when reaching out to candidates. Reference details about the person’s background, such as their job history, personal achievements, and skills, to show you’re specifically interested in them as an individual. 

Lastly, don’t put all your outreach eggs in one basket. In addition to email, social media and text messages are also effective channels for reaching candidates. Plus, many career sites offer tools for personalized candidate engagement.

Tools and Technology That Make Personalization Possible

AI-driven tools can easily enable personalization through a variety of means. Generative prompts, predictive analytics, and automation can ensure every candidate can receive timely and personalized communications over email and text. 

Generative AI can read a candidates profile and automatically pull relevant information like their name, location, and the position they’re applying for, to automatically personalize outreach. Instead of hoping your CRM’s personalization tags work, Gen AI can do this automatically. Additionally, Gen AI can create compelling messages based on previous outreach with proven success, so you don’t have to burn your creative fuel on subject lines or hooks.

Predictive analytics can even ensure you’re reaching out to the right people by predicting which passive candidates are most likely to respond to your outreach. These AI-driven tools look at a candidate’s past engagement and labor market trends to ensure that you’re not wasting time on uninterested or unqualified candidates.

Automation can take the insights from predictive analytics and the creativity of Generative AI to personalize outreach at scale, and schedule it across time zones and channels that appeal to each candidate’s preferences. With Arya, you have access to text, talk, email, and chatbot features from a single dashboard. You can even integrate your email for automated responses and simplified interview scheduling, and develop tailored, reusable templates for candidate outreach.

Personalized Outreach Templates

Personalized candidate outreach doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. By adding a few specific details to templated messages, you’ll show candidates that you’re interested in them as individuals — and you’ll boost engagement. 

First-Time Outreach Message

Subject: [Name], are you interested in a [job title] position?

Hi [Name], 

I came across your profile on LinkedIn/resume on [website]. I’m hiring for a [job title] position at [company], and I thought you may be interested. 

I noticed you have experience in [skill] from your time at [company]. This experience seems like it would transfer well to the [job title] position. Here’s the link to the job description: [link]. 

At [company], we’re dedicated to [company mission], and we offer benefits such as [list a few benefits or perks]. I think you’d fit in well here. 

Are you interested in learning more? We could schedule an interview for this week. Let me know what would work for you. 

If you have any questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to ask. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, 

[Recruiter name]

Follow-up Message

Subject: Checking in about [job title] position at [company]

Hi [Name], 

I reached out to you last week about a [job title] position at [company]. Your background made me think you’d be a great fit for the role. 

Are you interested in interviewing for the position? We’ve begun the recruitment process, and I didn’t want you to miss out on the opportunity if you’re interested. 

If you’d like to schedule an interview, you can do so here: [scheduling link]. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about the position. You can review the job description here if you need a refresher: [link]. 

Hope to hear from you!

Sincerely, 

[Recruiter Name]

Message to Reconnect With Past Applicants

Subject: Recruiting for [job title] at [company]

Hi [Name], 

My team and I were impressed by your skills and experience the last time you applied for a position with [company]. We’re hiring again, and I’m wondering if you’d be interested in applying. 

We’re looking to fill the position of [job title]. Based on your previous application, I think you’d be a great fit for it. You can read the job description here: [link]

I would love to schedule an interview with you. Let me know if you’re interested and available in the next week or so. 

Feel free to reply to this email with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Thank you, 

[Recruiter Name]

Using a candidate’s name and mentioning their past experiences and skills are simple but impactful ways that you can make your messages more personal and get their attention when reaching out. 

Take The Personalized Approach to Engaging Passive Talent

Tailored outreach is essential to engage passive talent and show them that you value them as an individual. Using data-driven analytics and AI in your recruitment will streamline your personalization process and ensure you’re reaching out to the right candidates. 

Learn how Leoforce’s AI-powered tools can help you create personalized candidate outreach strategies to effectively engage passive seasonal talent. Explore Arya and Applicants on Demand today.