Hiring is one of those things that feels like it should be simple. You write a job post, sift through a few resumes, find someone great, and voilà — problem solved. Right?
If only.
The truth is the average hiring process takes 44 days (according to LinkedIn). That’s a month and a half of juggling, burnout, and holding your breath while praying your top candidate doesn’t ghost you after the final interview.
Meanwhile, 70% of professionals aren’t actively job-hunting, but would consider a move if the right opportunity came along. So, if you’re only recruiting when you’re desperate… you’re probably missing the best people.
This is why the idea of “always be recruiting” isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to build and keep an aligned, energized team.
Or, to put it another way: hiring only when you need to is like starting your fitness plan the day after you throw your back out. It’s not impossible — but you’re already in pain, behind schedule, and wondering how this happened (again).
Plus, “always be recruiting” puts you in the driver’s seat when the time actually comes to fill a role on your team.
So… How Do You Actually Do This?
- Know Who You’re Looking For
Start by defining your Unique Fit™ Employee profile for each key role. Not just titles and tasks — but personality traits, values, and motivators. That “gut feeling” you get when someone clicks with your team? Let’s name it. Document it. Make it repeatable.
- Block Weekly Time (Yes, Really)
We recommend setting aside 1–2 hours per week per role you want a pipeline for. That may sound like a lot — and it is. But if hiring the wrong person costs you $17,000 (a conservative estimate), isn’t a couple hours of prep time worth it?
During this time, you’re not just browsing LinkedIn. You’re:
- Reaching out to great folks you’d love to work with someday
- Posting content about your culture or team milestones
- Asking thoughtful questions to get to know each other and nurture the relationship
- Following up with past applicants or warm leads
And if this all sounds like a full-time job… well, you’re catching on (more on that in a minute).
- Make First Contact Human and Honest
Nobody wants to be cold-pitched like a timeshare. If you’re reaching out to someone, keep it real, and top level to start:
“Hey Taylor, I am attempting to grow my network with folks in our industry. Would you be up for connecting?”
That kind of message gets replies. Not ghosted.
- Nurture Like a Pro
Treat your pipeline like a garden. Every 6–8 weeks, water it with something of value:
- A thoughtful note or update about your business
- An article, resource, or podcast they’d enjoy
- A simple “thinking of you” check-in
- Ask questions to get to know them and keep a conversation going
Use a simple tool like Google Sheets or excel, or your CRM, if you have one, to track who’s in your pipeline and when to reconnect. (Pro tip: doing this when the thought comes to you is not a strategy – have a process and a plan.)
- Diversify Your Candidate Sources
Don’t just hang out on LinkedIn. In fact, for some industries and positions, you won’t even find possible candidates on LinkedIn (e.g. carpenters)
Consider:
- Niche Facebook groups or Slack communities
- Alumni or professional networks
- Employee referrals (yes, even for future hires)
- Former candidates who almost made the cut last time – don’t forget, they will be learning and growing in the meantime, and may be better qualified down the road
Cast a wider net — but keep it values-aligned.
- Go Even Deeper
As you get to know these Unique Fit™ Candidates, keep score. Seriously, rate them. How engaged are they? Rate their experience based on the typical needs of your position. Do they work at a competitor you admire? As you get to know them, start ticking the boxes of your needs (e.g. if they tell you they have worked on creating custom GPT’s to make their current employer’s company more efficient, and this is a skill you heavily desire – give them a gold star for this need).
Then, for those who emerge as the stars, with high scores, suggest you have a zoom call or even meet for coffee (do this wisely, as this can trigger scam behavior, so we only recommend this if you know people in common, and it has been a while since you started the correspondence with them). Again, don’t wait for an opening to come available. And don’t interview them! Talk shop, get to know them, but this is not an interview.
On last note on this: when the time does come to fill a role, you still MUST put these potential candidates through a formal interview process. This is for compliance (you can’t treat candidates differently just because you now know them better than other candidates). Plus, you still need to fully evaluate them for the specific position.
- Keep It Up
This approach only works if you work it – consistently. It takes intention, time, strategy, thoughtfulness, and commitment.
This is not going to be successful if you build a list and then forget about it. Those people you initially connected with, will forget you, know nothing about your company and culture, and will not be compelled to make a move when you are ready to fill a role.
This is just like relationship selling – you MUST keep it up.
To Wrap It Up
Building a Candidate Pipeline is a GAME CHANGER for your business, whether you hire one person a year, or more than 20. It will put you in the driver’s seat, shorten your recruiting cycle when the time comes to fill a role (imagine filling a role in one week, with a great hire!), and will add more people to your network (who knows maybe you will meet someone who will add something special to your life that you never expected)
Does This Feels Like a Lot? We can help.
If you are already wearing twelve hats and can’t figure out how you can fit this in too – but you see how valuable it would be for your company, we have a solution. We call it TalentVault™.
What is TalentVault™?
TalentVault is our done-for-you candidate pipeline service. Think of it as your personal recruiting concierge — building and nurturing your bench of Unique Fit™ candidates all year long.
✅ We craft and maintain your recruiting profiles
✅ We proactively find and nurture candidates aligned with your values
✅ We keep in touch, build trust, and keep them engaged (on your behalf)
✅ So when you need to hire, you’re not starting from zero — you’re picking from a curated list of warm leads
All you do is say, “It’s time.” And we say, “Here are your people.”
Ready to stop hiring in crisis mode?
Let’s talk about how TalentVault can make “always be recruiting” a reality — without taking over your calendar (or your sanity).