Referred candidates, who are generally sought-after passive job seekers, are likely to accept job offers at higher rates than inbound candidates and those reached through cold outbound efforts.
We found employee tenure is not significantly impacted by candidate source. In recent years, market conditions have played a more significant role in influencing employee retention and tenure.
A 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey reported that 72% of employees chose to stay with their current employers, a significant shift from 2022 when 53% were considering leaving. Respondents cited minimal salary increases when switching jobs, more job security when staying with their current employer, and no interruption to health benefits as motivations to remain in their current position.
This highlights the growing challenge of persuading passive candidates to consider new opportunities, further validating the importance of sourcing candidate referrals to increase offer acceptance rates.
While referred candidates remain a critical lever for talent acquisition and reaching passive leaders, current market conditions are also pushing companies to simultaneously reassess their strategies for inbound candidates. As more companies chase the same top candidates in a competitive market, those that invest in compelling, differentiated inbound approaches are better positioned to attract and convert high-quality talent at scale.
Seed and early-stage talent teams can assess how their companies are perceived in the talent market through the “bar-to-brand” framework. Use the framework to gain an understanding of the inbound candidates you want to attract, and if your employer branding is conducive to this.
USING THE BAROMETER
Driving the right inbound candidates starts with employer branding. Use the bar-to-brand barometer to assess if your company’s branding aligns with the caliber of candidates you hope to hire.
Assess the alignment with 2 questions:
1. What is the bar for the ideal candidate’s skills, capabilities, and qualities?
Would your company’s branding attract that level of talent? Is there a gap?
WHAT YOU RISK
Before applying, high-caliber inbound candidates will research a hiring company’s digital presence.
If employer branding is lackluster, you risk turning away the high-quality candidates you’re searching for and decreasing the volume of inbound candidates overall.
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Professional communities: Professional memberships and Slack groups offer curated audiences to promote job openings, especially for GTM roles. Encourage employees to share job listings in relevant communities or groups they’re a part of.
GTM communities to consider: Pavilion l Sales Assembly l RevGenius
Employee LinkedIn promotion: Senior employees have access to high-quality candidates within their networks. Encourage the team to share roles on their LinkedIn profiles to drive inbound candidates and referrals.
Past talent pipelines: Specifically for Product & Engineering roles, talent teams can revisit talent pipelines for past technical roles to rediscover pre-vetted candidates who are a fit for current job openings.
Newsletter promotion: Promote open roles in your company newsletter(s), as subscribers can refer candidates and share with their own networks to increase the role’s visibility to inbound candidates. Offering a referral bonus can boost success.
Incorporate screener questions in the initial application stage to filter out quality candidates from the larger pool. This strategy is essential when posting openings to LinkedIn’s job board and using their “Easy Apply” feature, as this channel can generate a large volume of unqualified applications.
Questions should be simple to answer (short text, multiple choice, etc.) to allow talent teams or an ATS to quickly sort through applications. Use the interview process to glean more details later on.
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Sample screener questions may include:
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Traditional revenue or quota-based bonuses: For Sales roles or roles where bonus or incentive-based compensation is a core part of the OTE, offer a draw (% of the bonus up front). This can be used as a signing bonus to attract top talent and provide a guarantee against any ramp up needed that might impact their short-term earning potential.
Performance-based bonuses: Align the bonus to metrics that the candidate has direct control over, outside of revenue targets. Motivation-based incentives reward employees for their hard work, leading to higher retention rates.
Be realistic about liquidity events: If equity plays a big role in the compensation package, create an equity calculator and walk candidates through it. This should help quantify equity and options that are part of an offer package. Include the strike price as well as various timing levers that can help provide realistic guidance as to when a liquidity event could take place. Overall, cash remains king especially for early hires on technical teams.
Grant title requests (within reason): If an increase in title doesn't have a cost associated, it could be the difference-maker for the candidate and worth adjusting to get the right talent in seat.
Whether inbound or referral-based, the right hire can help transform your organization, drive innovation, growth, and create a competitive advantage. In today’s market, blending both strategies are critical to ensuring you not only attract top talent but also secure leaders who will shape the future.
For additional information or support in developing talent strategies, get in touch.