Changing the Conversation on Passive and Active Job Seekers: A Continuum-Based Approach

As employers leverage recruitment activities to compete for active job seekers, they may also seize opportunities to recruit those who are not actively searching for jobs (i.e., passive job seekers). The literature currently focuses on active job seekers and has created a false dichotomy between active and passive job seekers. This study aims to change the conversation on passive job seekers and emphasize that all individuals fall on a continuum of job seeking behavior frequency. There is currently a lack of theoretical insight into the cognitive processes involved in the recruitment of active and passive job seekers, and misalignment between theoretically and practically relevant constructs and the measures currently being used. This study aims to identify the factors and mechanisms that attract talent across the job seeking behavior frequency continuum and establish a more thorough understanding of the factors that influence candidates’ actual job choices. The first contribution of this study to the field of recruitment is the reconceptualization of active and passive job seeking as different levels of job seeking behavior frequency on a continuum. The second is the extension of expectancy theory to the recruitment of job seekers across the continuum. The third contribution of this research is that it moves the needle to more closely approximate a measure of actual job choice decisions and provides a better understanding of how candidates make job choice decisions. This research may also inform the tailoring of organizational policies and practices to best attract job seekers on the passive end of the continuum, which could lead to advantageous recruitment outcomes.