Are you actively looking for a job? If you are, you may be going about your job search in the wrong way, according to this article from The Wall Street Journal. Written from the purview of the employer, the article says that recruiters and companies prefer to hire “passive” candidates, meaning candidates who aren’t actively looking for a new job. If you are actively job-hunting, this means perhaps that the best way to find the new job you covet is to convey a sense of nonchalance about the process and the job. In order to get hired, become more passive about the process. Sounds counterintuitive, but maybe not.

Damaged Goods

The desire to hire outside candidates who demonstrate little or no desire to work for you falls from the notion that if that person is actively out there searching for a job, then there must be something wrong with that person. They must be damaged goods, in some way or another. Perhaps they don’t fit well within a corporate structure, or they are not Team Players, or their skills aren’t up to par. Therefore, the logic goes, it is better to hire people who are content in their current jobs and to persuade them that your company and this new job opportunity would be superior to what they currently have. As a result, the Wall Street Journal article says, enthusiastic candidates who are actively seeking get passed by in favor of those who are less enthusiastic but fit the process better. That’s why the title of the article is “The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make With Hiring”.

Playing Hard To Get

This is like “Playing Hard To Get’ while dating. If you want to date someone, act like you don’t want to, and your target will be more intrigued. It’s no fun unless you have to fight for it, right? Now, in retrospect, is “Playing Hard To Get” really the right way to go about it? Do more lasting relationships start with “Hard To Get” or with more active partners? I don’t know the answer, but it is worth pondering. I will say that today’s online dating scene is antithetical to the “Hard To Get” playbook. If you are using a dating app, it’s all out there. Maybe this is a shift in the strategy of how partners hook up. Likewise, maybe job-hunting sites like Indeed or LinkedIn signals a shift from hiring passive candidates to hiring more active ones.

IMO

Finding a good job is probably the most fundamental part of financial planning. If you are job-seeking, maybe you should try to play “Hard To Get”, if it is in your nature to do so. Personally, I am not that way, but it does work for some people. You have to have a strong sense of yourself to be a passive player, which is perhaps why some employers prefer passive players.

By the way: You should also click the Comments section related to this “The Biggest Mistakes” article in the Wall Street Journal. I’m sure you will relate to a lot of the comments readers have made.