3 Ways Recruiters Can Dramatically Improve Engagement with Passive Candidates

Most recruiters agree: the toughest talent to reach isn’t the people actively applying, it’s the high performers who aren’t even looking. These passive candidates are often the best fit for critical roles, but they’re also the hardest to engage. Traditional cold emails rarely get more than a polite pass. If they’re opened at all.

So how do you stand out? Here are three proven strategies that can help you dramatically improve response rates when reaching out to passive, qualified candidates.

1. Lead with Real Personalization

Passive candidates are quick to spot generic outreach. They don’t want another templated job description dropped into their inbox. Instead, reference something specific about their background, recent work, or career goals. Acknowledge their expertise and make it clear why this particular role could be a strong match. Even small touches of personalization can make the difference between “delete” and “let’s talk.” Jobz uses AI with the ability to reveal context behind a candidate’s resume, which makes it easy to pull out topics that allow you to connect with your target.

2. Humanize the Message with Video

A job posting rarely conveys the excitement of a role. What gets attention is hearing directly from the hiring manager, the person this candidate might actually work for. A short, authentic video describing the role, the team, and the mission makes the outreach feel personal and credible.

Jobz makes this easy by helping recruiters create and send video messages directly from hiring managers. Recruiters using Jobz see up to a 65% engagement rate, far higher than the 5% industry average for cold outreach. Video isn’t just a nice extra anymore. It’s quickly becoming a best practice for engaging passive talent.

3. Track What Works and Iterate

Like any good campaign, outbound recruiting should be data-driven. Monitor open rates, response rates, and candidate follow-through. Test different subject lines and outreach formats. Over time, this helps you learn what resonates with your target talent pool and refine your approach. Tools like Jobz add another layer with its analytics dashboard, showing you which videos are watched, how candidates are interacting, and where you’re getting the most traction.

Bringing It All Together

Reaching passive candidates takes more than persistence. It requires thoughtful outreach that feels personalized, human, and informed by data. Recruiters who combine these practices see stronger connections and better hiring outcomes.

If you’d like to see how video outreach can fit into your recruiting strategy, book a quick demo with Jobz.