In fact, there are at least three factors of greater importance to passive candidates than skillset. And all of them have more to do with mindset and motivation than hard skills. Passive candidates are looking to be wowed by what they want to hear. By content that captures their imagination for all they can be in the role. 

This makes it tremendously important that your job posts resonate with passive candidates on a motivationally relevant level.

And you may be thinking how much of a departure this would be from the traditional job posts you’re used to doing. And that, job posts with a heavier and more focused behavioral, mindset emphasis would be difficult, or a lot of work. Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth..

• It’s easier than you think to give your posts a stronger mindset attribute focus. PowerPosts custom content enables you to highlight the personal qualities you’re looking for, like adaptability, curiosity, and resilience, while also highlighting the team’s working dynamic and location’s  workplace vibe

It’s even easier to integrate this mindset focus throughout the talent acquisition process.

• PowerPosts psychometric assessment questions can be integrated into your interview process, which will enable you, as Arete Coach suggests, to evaluate a candidate’s mindset, motivations, and competencies
• You can even use PowerPosts strategy and content as a basis for behavioral and situational interview questions to, as localworkforcehire.com suggests, to  help you uncover each candidate’s approach to challenges and learning

A recent Leadership IQ study found that attitudes were the driver in 89% of hiring failures, while only 11% were driven by a lack of technical skills

• According to a recent LinkedIn study, 92% of hiring professionals believe soft skills are as important or more important than hard skills
• Companies with higher agility scores were shown to be nearly three times more likely to be in the top quartile of organizational health, a key predictor of long-term performance
• A recent LinkedIn article suggests that recruiters with a growth-oriented mindset are better equipped to navigate challenges, leverage AI tools, and maintain a human-centered approach

Simple steps to implementing a  mindset-focused hiring approach:

• Be sure your job posts emphasize mindset attributes like adaptability, curiosity, and resilience, using PowerPosts custom content to highlight the evolving nature of the role and the company’s value of growth and development
• Integrate PowerPosts psychometric assessment questions into the interview process to evaluate a candidate’s mindset, motivations, and competencies, suggests Arete Coach
• Utilize PowerPosts strategy and content as a basis for behavioral and situational interview questions that uncover a candidate’s approach to challenges and learning, as localworkforcehire.com.au suggests
• Assess a candidate’s adaptability by inquiring about their experiences with change and uncertainty
• Ensure the company culture values align with a growth-oriented mindset to create an environment conducive to continuous improvement, innovation, and a positive approach to challenges

There are reasons passive candidates are the Holy Grail of talent acquisition. They tend to be among the top performers. Cream of the crop. And they have a job. Maybe not their perfect job, but fine, until something truly amazing comes along.

That doesn’t mean they’re not on the job boards. Looking casually. Testing the waters. Essentially window shopping. And therein lies the problem.

They can afford to be selective. Picky, even. 

They’re looking to be “wowed” immediately. Aren’t into wasting time reading through long, skillset- focused job descriptions that don’t make connections. That don’t capture their imagination for what is possible to accomplish in the role.

Thing is, they’ll be there and gone, in a flash. And you’ll never know how quickly they passed over your job post. The only evidence of their passing being the smaller than you’d like number of interviewable candidates you get.

Department of Labor statistics show that the average job post generates 200 applications, leading to six interviews and one hire. That’s bad math, any way you look at it.

This, of course, begs the question, “is there a proven way to maximize candidates right for the role, most especially passive candidates, while minimizing the number of candidates unqualified/unsuitable for or with a mindset that’s wrong for the role?

And the answer, according to several studies, is to put a substantially greater focus in your job postings on factors with mindset/behavioral relevance. Specifically…

• A recent LinkedIn study showed that 92% of hiring professionals believe soft skills are as important or more important than hard skills
• According to a recent Leadership IQ study, only 11% of hiring failures were driven by a lack of technical skills, while attitudes drove 89% of failures
• In a recent LinkedIn article, recruiters with a growth-oriented mindset have been shown to be best equipped to navigate challenges, leverage AI tools, and maintain a human-centered approach
• Research has shown that companies with higher agility scores are nearly three times more likely to be in the top quartile of organizational health, a key predictor of long-term performance

Obviously, this doesn’t mean totally abandoning skillset requirements for a role. Skills, experience and education are, without question, significantly important. Without them, no one could perform their job. It’s simply essential to prioritize. Weigh the relative importance of less critical skills versus the value of adding in mindset/behaviorally relevant content in its stead.

Fact is, the typical job post laundry list of skills is far more important to employers than to candidates. 

Little wonder so many studies have shown how significant a disadvantage too heavy a skillset focus can put your job posts in attracting passive candidates.

In fact, there are at least three factors of greater importance to passive candidates than skillset. And all of them have more to do with mindset and motivation than hard skills. Passive candidates are looking to be wowed by what they want to hear. By content that captures their imagination for all they can be in the role. 

This makes it tremendously important that your job posts resonate with passive candidates on a motivationally relevant level.

And you may be thinking how much of a departure this would be from the traditional job posts you’re used to doing. And that, job posts with a heavier and more focused behavioral, mindset emphasis would be difficult, or a lot of work. Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth..

• It’s easier than you think to give your posts a stronger mindset attribute focus. PowerPosts custom content enables you to highlight the personal qualities you’re looking for, like adaptability, curiosity, and resilience, while also highlighting the team’s working dynamic and location’s  workplace vibe

It’s even easier to integrate this mindset focus throughout the talent acquisition process.

• PowerPosts psychometric assessment questions can be integrated into your interview process, which will enable you, as Arete Coach suggests, to evaluate a candidate’s mindset, motivations, and competencies
• You can even use PowerPosts strategy and content as a basis for behavioral and situational interview questions to, as localworkforcehire.com suggests, to  help you uncover each candidate’s approach to challenges and learning