Hiring vs. Recruiting: Why the Candidates You Find Are Up to 10× More Likely to Say “Yes”
- Michael-Ashley Bearden
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Hiring = Posting and Waiting
In its most common form, hiring is a reactive process. A job gets posted, applications roll in, and the organization interviews the people who apply. It’s an “open the door and see who shows up” approach that relies heavily on:
Your careers page
Applicants who are actively job hunting
Posts on job boards
Screening and interviewing based on what arrives in the inbox
While this method is easy to implement and has a low upfront cost, it puts control in the hands of the market - and limits access to the full spectrum of qualified talent.
Recruiting = Finding the Right People
Recruiting is an active strategy. It means identifying the people you believe would be good matches for the opportunity and going out to bring them in. A strong recruiting approach includes:
Targeted outreach to high-potential candidates
Employer branding (social media, culture videos, thought leadership)
Referral programs and alumni engagement
Events and community sponsorships
Social engagement on platforms like LinkedIn
Talent rediscovery—reaching back out to strong past applicants
Recruiting takes more upfront effort, but it gives you the ability to craft your candidate pool - not just react to what is coming in from a post or your careers page.
The Conversion Gap - What the Data Tells Us
The origin of a candidate dramatically influences their likelihood of being hired - a 2025 benchmark study conducted by an industry-leading candidate sourcing platform reveals that sourced candidates are up to 5x more likely to be hired than inbound candidates that apply through a company’s careers site. Referred candidates are up to 10x more likely to be hired than direct applicants, and both sourced candidates and referral candidates tend to stay longer at an organization once hired.
Why Recruited Candidates Win
They’re prequalified - there is already some fit identified - skills, experience, and often values
There is generally less competition - they're not applying to 20 jobs; they're exploring your opportunity
They’re more engaged - outreach creates a sense of connection that builds trust early
They’re influenced by brand and relationships - warm referrals or strong employer presence increase buy-in before the first interview
Shift Your Strategy
Don’t just post - invest in active sourcing and employer brand-building
Track your pipeline by source to see where real hires come from
Equip your team with messaging, tools, and time to recruit proactively, or engage with firms like Talent to Team that can help you do this
The Bottom Line
If you’re building your organization, it pays to take a strategic approach and go after candidates that will help take your organization to the next level. If you’re just hiring - you have little influence over the candidate pool and are essentially hoping that the perfect person happens to find you. If you’re recruiting, you’re being proactive and engaging with qualified candidates that have the potential to be game-changers.If you hire, you filter résumés.If you recruit, you shape your team.
And the data is clear: candidates you find are up to 10× more likely to end up as long-lasting teammates than those that apply through your careers site.
Ready to elevate your HR?