Hire with TOG
Looking for a role
Back to blog
Blog Career Advice

Are You an Active or Passive Candidate?

4 September 2026

Are You an Active or Passive Candidate?

​Statistics show that 75% of global candidates are ‘passive job seekers’

Passive candidates can be defined as individuals who are not actively seeking a new job role, due to either being satisfied in their current role, being part of an ongoing project, or simply a lack of motivation to seek opportunity. Whereas, an active candidate takes action to find a better vocation, improve career prospects, and in theory give themselves more opportunity for change.


Is it better to be an active or passive candidate?

The type of candidate you should aim to be is highly dependent on which sector or type of industry you work within. Sectors such as administration, customer service, and sales are often seen as more ‘disposable’ skill sets, with willing replacements said to be easier to find. As a candidate working in this employer-led environment, you cannot afford to be as passive and will likely benefit from actively making yourself accessible to potential employers either via numerous job applications, adding your details to a CV database, or engaging with a recruitment agency.  

On the other hand, in industries prizing more niche or deeper skill sets, such as Technology, Engineering, or Scientific, candidates are often in high demand and so can afford to be a little more passive in their approach.
Forbes
 found that only 30% of the global tech workforce are actively seeking more – putting greater emphasis on the employer to go out and find them. The question for this group of candidates is, even if you have a desirable skill set to offer, are you in the right places to be discovered?

As a short answer, no; it is not better to solely be an active or passive candidate. The first question you need to ask yourself is where do I fit on the scale below? Are you in a low-skilled environment needing to work that bit harder to find new opportunity, are you highly skilled and can afford to take a foot off the gas, or like most of us are you somewhere in the middle just looking to make yourself that little bit more desirable to a potential employer?


How desirable do you think you are?

As mentioned, your ability to be recognised and plucked from the talent pool will be relative to the environment in which you work, the demand for your particular skill set, and your competition. There are three fundamentals to making yourself desirable to potential employers.

A candidate, either passively or actively searching for a new role while still in
full-time employment

is far more desirable than an individual who is currently unemployed. Your worth and value as an employee is far easier to demonstrate – with recruiters and employers able to see the difference your role is making in real-time, without having to rely on a snippet from your CV. Don’t wait until you’re at the end of the road to start your job search, whether you are looking or not keep an open mind, flag yourself as open to new opportunities.  

Many passive and even some active candidates continue to rely on
outdated CVs and old profiles

, if you haven’t added those latest qualifications, skills, or work placements, how can you expect recruiters and prospective employers to know your true potential? Is there something that you could add to push you up the skills scale? Is this something you already have in your armoury? Or is this something new you could explore?

All the statistics point to
passion and drive

being the way to fill a skills gap, according to a survey conducted by
The Polling Company
, 70% of Talent Acquisition leaders, and over half of recruiters (51%) push forward candidates with greater motivation and drive, although difficult to demonstrate on paper, Indeed research also backs this up suggesting that 9/10 recruiters preferred to hire active candidates, could this be the route to making yourself more desirable if you’re lower on the skills scale?


5 tips for making yourself accessible:

You have decided where you sit in the skills model, you know how active or passive you need to be to create a new opportunity for yourself and you have updated your profile to help maximise your potential and saleability. Here are five steps to ensure you’re making yourself discoverable and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.


1. Build your online brand

How discoverable are you? Could a potential employer find you with a quick search? According to research conducted by Aberdeen Group, a staggering 73% of millennials found their last job through a social networking platform.

  • Upload your CV to relevant job boards (Completing additional profile information where applicable)

  • Update LinkedIn profile – Does this match your CV? Have you declared yourself as open to opportunity?

  • Do your other social media platforms give the right impression?  


2. Talk to a recruiter 

Not all recruiters are created equal. Upload your CV to relevant local and specialist recruiters.


3. Fill a skills gap

Look at your peers, is there a skill or qualification that could complement your current skill set or make you eligible for your dream job?


4. Be confident 

Approachability and preparation are key to success when searching for a new role – be confident in your ability, be willing to clearly communicate your experience, and explain your career choices.


5. Be Motivated 

Show passion and drive within your role and towards any potential opportunity – According to a survey conducted by The Polling Company, the top reason for Passive Candidates not being successful in their new roles is due to showing a lack of passion and commitment at 51%.

```html
THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
```