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In recruiting, a fundamental distinction is made between active and passive candidates. Active candidates are people who are actively looking for a job: They maintain their profiles on job platforms, search job boards, and actively apply for advertised positions. Passive candidates, on the other hand, are not actively looking for a job – they are often in ongoing employment relationships, generally open to new offers, but do not apply for job postings on their own.

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How big is the market?

In the German-speaking region, there are around 50 million employed people. Of these, about 42 million are considered “passive”, meaning they are not actively searching. The active market thus makes up only about 16% of the potentially available professionals.

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Why is the passive market harder to reach?

While active candidates become visible through job boards or career portals, you have to take action yourself to reach the passive market. The challenge lies in identifying suitable individuals, targeting them specifically, and convincing them – a process that requires know-how, time, and access. At the same time, especially for specialist and management positions, the passive market cannot be ignored.
With the help of our AI, the previously time-consuming process of active sourcing can now be fully automated for the first time.

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What do I lose if I don’t address the passive market?

Those who focus exclusively on the active market in recruiting accept three key consequences according to studies:
  1. Loss of an average of five qualified applications. The majority of qualified professionals and executives are not reached at all.
  2. Positions are filled later. The time-to-hire increases by an average of three weeks per position.
  3. Lower quality of hires. Highly qualified candidates who are not actively looking for a job are lost. The quality of hire drops by an average of 25%.

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Conclusion: Effective recruiting considers both markets

Efficient, strategic recruiting takes both active and passive candidates into account from the very beginning. If you reach both markets in a targeted and structured way, you increase your effectiveness and achieve a sustainable impact on your recruiting KPIs.