Hidden reserves in the job market: How to recruit them!

Stille Reserven am Arbeitsmarkt rekrutieren

There are many hidden reserves in the job market. Find out here how you can find them and win them for your company.

There are many hidden reserves in the job market - unemployed people who are often well qualified and keen to work. Especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers, they are becoming increasingly interesting for recruiters and represent a previously neglected talent pool. Find out here how you can find them and win them over for your company.

What is the hidden reserve in the labor market?

By definition, these are people who would be willing to work under certain conditions, but are currently not employed and are not registered as unemployed.

According to Press release According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 3 million unemployed people aged 15 to 74 would like to find work in 2022. According to the statistics, there are more women than men in the hidden reserve.

Examples of hidden reserves

In the report, these people are divided into three groups:

  1. People who are looking for work but are unable to take up work in the short term due to care obligations.
  2. People who would like to work and are available, but are not currently actively looking because, for example, they believe they cannot find a suitable job.
  3. Unemployed people who are neither looking for work nor available at short notice, but who nevertheless generally express a desire to work.

Many of them are not registered with the employment agency because they are not entitled to unemployment benefits – for example, students, pensioners or housewives who have not had a job so far.

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Expert opinion: That is why this target group is so interesting for recruiters

Our recruiting expert Kevin Konrad has taken a closer look at the hidden reserves. He believes: “The potential to find undiscovered diamonds here is huge.”

"According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 60% of these people have a medium or even high level of qualification," explains Kevin Konrad. "The motivation to work is also there in principle. From a recruiting perspective, the biggest challenge is therefore probably to find these dormant talents and to address them correctly."

How to successfully recruit silent reservists

So how should we proceed? For most candidates, if they find employment, it would be a case of “re-entering” the workforce: both pensioners and older unemployed people as well as people (primarily women) who are currently solely engaged in care work would have to “return” to working life.

Accordingly, it is all about making this return to work as attractive and comfortable as possible. By offering upskilling and further training programs as well as flexible working time models (part-time, job sharing), candidates can be supported in "returning" to the world of work.

According to the statistics office, around 34 percent of women in the "hidden reserve" between the ages of 25 and 59 report that they are unable to work because they have to care for relatives. "Framework conditions need to be created that enable these women to reconcile raising children or caring for relatives with work," explains Kevin Konrad.

Recruiting-Experte Kevin Konrad
Brandmonks recruiting expert Kevin Konrad

Where can you find this target group?

Support groups and educational initiatives with continuing education programs are well informed about who is interested in work. They would therefore be a possible cooperation partner to identify candidates from the “hidden reserve”.

Collaboration with coaches who specialize in returning to work would also be conceivable. There are also individual employment agencies that offer advice on returning to work specifically for people who are not registered with the job center.

If you approach these sources and offer information events or internships through them, for example, you can arouse the interest of suitable candidates.

Another option is referral programs that use the existing employee network. They can be encouraged to recommend friends and acquaintances who fit into the “hidden reserve” category.

(Source cover photo: https://de.freepik.com/fotos-premium/gemischtrassige-angestellte-die-haende-im-buero-ruetteln_4821910.htm by freepik)