We’ve talked before not only about what a Quiet Working Professional is but, even more importantly, why they’re so desirable. It’s an increasingly important topic as the war on talent continues to lumber ahead, so we thought we’d revisit some of our best QWP posts today.

Say goodbye to the passive candidate. Say hello to the Quiet Working Professional.

In this information age, recruiting a Quiet Working Professional differs from going after a passive candidate because of the “arrogance of supply.” In their book Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business, Rusty Rueff and itzbig’s Hank Stringer argue that this arrogance of supply is a “disregard for the importance of great talent that some companies have grown accustomed to through decades of labor abundance.” The Quiet Working Professional is empowered by the Internet, and recruiting them means you have to “drive the process and actively go after the best people, the majority of whom most likely work for your competitors” (in the words of Krista Bradford). As Howard Adamsky pointed out some time back, they don’t need your job, your company, your opportunity, or you.

What puts the “Quiet” in Quiet Working Professionals

The difference is in a QWP’s latent desire for “something more” out of a job. A passive candidate is satisfied with their job and unwilling to participate in the very real stress of a placement process. However, a QWP, while not actively looking for another job, longs to be challenged in ways that their current employer doesn’t offer. A post on Sytematic HR claims that this underlying sense that a job is just OK or mediocre is why the best HR departments develop multiple career ladders. The post explains that many professionals who like their jobs aren’t necessarily interested in traditional advancement within their organization. They aren’t “on the market,” but they’re quiet (internally and externally) about their advancement needs.

Recruit Quiet Working Professionals by giving them a better work culture

A truly “Quiet” QWP may not have even considered how their work-culture could be improved, but opening that door for them can make them more receptive to the great opportunity you have lined up for them. Of course, as Barb points out, if their answers are simply money or advancement, you better be able to offer them those simple improvements too. However, it’s more likely that they’re going to want to be accurately matched with an opportunity that meets the broader spectrum of their work-culture needs. That means that you better have those kinds of opportunities lined up if you want to attract the QWPs in your network.

Share This