You’ve advertised a compelling opportunity, but the responses either overwhelm with quantity or disappoint with quality. None of the CV’s sparkle, few applicants feel like a match for your (or your clients) culture and ambitions. Sound familiar?

That’s no surprise: the best candidates are typically not browsing job boards, they’re immersed in high‑impact roles, content in their current positions and only open to a new opportunity if it truly excites them. So how do you reach them? How do you not just fill a vacancy, but bring on board someone exceptional?

Hers are some proven strategies to hire and retain the best candidates:

1. Clarify Your Employer Brand and EVP

Today’s professionals care deeply about company culture, purpose, and values. A strong employer brand built through real employee stories, inclusive visuals, and transparent values appeals especially to passive candidates who want meaningful work and alignment with a company’s mission
Define your Employee Value Proposition (EVP): what makes working with you unique beyond salary?

  • Benefits
  • Flexibility
  • Growth
  • Impact
  • Wellbeing
  • Community

2. Take a Proactive Approach: Build Pipelines, Engage Early

Instead of waiting for candidates to apply, build talent pipelines well in advance. Network via industry events, employee referrals, alumni, and online groups. Maintain relationships with passive candidates over time so that when the right role appears, you’re already top of mind.

3. Personalised Outreach Over Mass Messaging

Passive candidates need a different approach than active job seekers. Use tailored messages referencing their background, motivations, and aligned values. Generic blasts just don’t engage the hidden talent market as effectively.

A well-crafted email or InMail can make a huge amount of difference. First impressions count, so make the effort and spend time making something worth opening. Ask yourself “Would I Read This?”

4. Craft Job Descriptions That Speak Clearly

Job ads should be more than bullet points of duties. Communicate the mission, growth path, and supportive culture. Use inclusive, neutral language to attract diverse applicants. Share details of benefits, flexibility, and career development. Candidates value these as much as base pay.

5. Prioritise Candidate Experience

A smooth, transparent process sets you apart from your competitors or other recruitment agencies. Ensure your careers page is mobile‑friendly, clear, and easy to navigate.

Use relevant, or industry specific job boards with a multi poster like LogicMelon to target your audience and manage applications. Allowing applicants to apply via social media (i.e. LinkedIn) can increase your reach and save the applicant time filling in high level details.

Respond promptly, respect candidates’ time, and keep communication personal yet efficient.

6. Use Competency‑Based Assessment

Rather than relying solely on credentials or résumé history, evaluate candidates using real examples of past performance. Asking for narratives of where they applied specific skills or behaved in particular ways yield deeper insights into fit for the job.

7. Make Offers Thoughtfully and Support Onboarding

Top candidates expect a smooth offer process: swift follow‑up, transparent negotiation, and clarity about the role and start date. After hire, check in regularly to ensure expectations match reality, and provide early support to embed them into your culture. Continuing the relationship with the applicant will help your employer and personal brand which means they are more likely to recommend you or your business.

8. Modern Tools and Creative Touches

Leverage recruiting tech wisely: AI‑driven tools can predict hiring needs, automate outreach, and help remove bias in screening and salary benchmarking creating a highly strategic edge even for SMEs.
And don’t shy from creative ideas: one startup in San Francisco used brain‑teasing posters featuring math puzzles to draw in intellectually curious engineers. The result? A flood of attention from qualified passive talent at top firms.

Why This Works

Top talent expects more than a job, they want purpose, autonomy, and alignment with their values. Passive candidates need more reason to consider your opportunity, and that means investing in a candidate‑centric, relationship‑driven strategy. Building pipelines, showcasing culture, and creating a seamless, personalised experience sends a clear message: you value people as much as performance.

By layering in effective sourcing, thoughtful communication, real storytelling, and fair assessments, you won’t just fill roles, you’ll attract high‑quality professionals who stay, contribute, and grow.

This approach draws on well‑tested practices, from employer branding to proactive pipelines and thoughtful outreach to help you attract the talent you really need.