How to source passive candidates
A passive candidate is someone who is not in your applicant pool. They already have a job. They will talk if the role is specific and the note proves you read their work. Spraying InMails at a title search is not sourcing.
Where the names come from
LinkedIn is the default directory, not the only one. GitHub, conference talks, shipped products, and the teams of companies you respect are better signals for engineering and design. For sales roles, look at who has sold a similar product to a similar buyer.
Search the work, then the title. “People who have owned onboarding at a B2B startup” beats “product manager” with a location filter. Boolean search is one way to express that. A plain-language search is the other.
How to use LinkedIn without living in it
Build one list for the role, not a standing search you never finish. Open profiles until you have a short list a hiring manager will review this week, often fifteen to thirty people. More names feel productive and then sit untouched.
Save the reason you picked each person in the same row as their name. “Led the migration off the monolith” is a reason. “Looks senior” is not. That note becomes the first line of the email.
The note is part of sourcing
Sourcing is unfinished until the message is sent. Use a short outreach note that cites their work. Personalization is one sentence, not a paragraph of flattery. Then follow up once.
Track replies next to the list. A sourced person who never got a note is not a pipeline. They are a bookmark.
Hand the first pass to Ava
Ava searches from the role you describe, returns people with a reason, and can send the outreach after you approve it. You still decide who is in bounds. You stop spending the week inside a search tab.
Common questions
- What is a passive candidate?
- Someone who is not applying to your role. They may be open to a conversation and they will not find you through a job post.
- How do I find passive candidates on LinkedIn?
- Search for the work they have done, save a short list with a reason for each name, and write to them about that work. A title-only search returns people who are easy to find and hard to interest.
- How many people should I source for one role?
- Enough for the hiring manager to review in one sitting. A list of hundreds usually means the search was never finished.