IQTalent Partners Launches Passive Candidate Platform

September 17, 2020 – Executive recruitment firm IQTalent Partners has announced the launch of IQTalent Xchange, an original market concept using advanced artificial intelligence combined with human expertise to create a unique passive candidate marketplace. The proprietary platform includes over 300 million professionals, offering its customers access to the most qualified candidates.

“Unlike job posting boards that rely on active candidates, IQTalent Xchange matches companies with the most qualified passive candidates in the professional workforce,” said the firm. “For many professional and management level positions, the top candidates are often passive candidates. The platform allows users to easily load their job descriptions, candidate specifications, and then, receive a curated list of qualified candidates.”

“Traditional job boards rely on active job seekers to create their database and match themselves to a role; this can lead to an abundance of resumes which are not the right fit for a hiring manager,” said CEO David Windley. “IQTalent Xchange is the first and only job board where employers can post a job and receive a list of the most qualified passive candidates available, who tend to be a much better fit for the open role.”

The IQTalent Xchange platform is the latest process innovation from IQTalent Partners. Combined with its sourcing, recruiting and executive search services, IQTalent Partners is well-positioned to provide recruiting organizations augmented support from the transactional to the strategic.

Respected Recruiters

“We use IQTalent Xchange for quick, reliable support at any point in a search project,” said Tara Gillone, an IQTalent Xchange customer and head of talent acquisition. “They are a unique partner to help support our candidate research needs while building our talent pipeline.”

Nashville, TN-based IQTalent Partners is a talent acquisition and executive search firm offering consulting, candidate sourcing, candidate research and full cycle recruiting. It uses an on-demand business model in which the firm augments the client’s in-house talent acquisition team in a partnership without commissions or long-term contracts. Founded in 2009, IQTalent Partners’ mission is “to find a better, more cost-effective, and efficient way for organizations and candidates to find a match.” The firm has partnered with more than 300 corporations from Fortune 500s to start-ups.

Traditionally, an active candidate is a person actively or casually looking for a new job a few times per week, while one deemed passive is considered satisfied with their current role and therefore searches occasionally for a new job, if at all. But according to one study, the definition of active and passive candidate, and the perceived value of each, is evolving.

Mobile devices now give candidates 24/7 social media access, which allows them to regularly monitor the job market and turn from passive to active job seeker with the click of an apply button. This has changed things, a lot,  according to a report by Hudson Global. Rather than active and passive candidates, some now refer to candidates as inbound or outbound. Inbound recruiting, so it goes, focuses on engaging with candidates who are looking or receptive to open positions. Outbound recruiting involves reaching out to candidates who are not actively seeking new jobs.

A Sourcing Bias

According to Hudson, recruiters spend the majority (63.5 percent) of their time focused on active candidates, yet when it comes to the perception of quality, they still tend toward a bias for passive candidates.

Overall, the majority (57.5 percent) of surveyed recruiters feel that passive candidates are better quality than active candidates. However, only 14 percent believe they are ‘much better’ and 43.6 percent feel they are ‘slightly better.’ It’s worth noting that 40 percent believe that passive candidates are ‘about the same’ as active candidates.

“The language of ‘passive’ and ‘active’ candidate is going away,” said Mike Wolford, an author of the report and sourcing manager at Hudson Americas. “Referring to passive and active candidates infers that recruiters have some control on when a candidate is activated into a job search. The truth is we don’t.”

If a person has a bad day at work or suddenly gets passed over for an expected promotion, they can instantly become an active job seeker, said Mr. Wolford. “When we present candidates to a hiring manager, they don’t know if the person came from passive sourcing or applied online.”

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media