Keeping in touch with candidates, although somewhat labour intensive, is clearly a vital part of the recruitment process.  Many recruiters feel a little embarrassed phoning to “touch base” if they haven’t got a vacancy to discuss and don’t feel too comfortable asking what the candidate has by way of irons in their fire either.
 
A flexible candidate is going to be more likely to get a job in this tough economic climate that’s for sure.  Ask the guy who has been 6 months unemployed while seeking a permanent job if he would now consider temporary, contract or interim roles. Ask the contractor who is concerned that his contract won’t be renewed if he would now consider a permanent job.  Would someone now do shift work, would another take a part-time post rather than have no income coming in?  At the end of that project you will have a far more flexible pool of candidates to work with.  On the back of that you can then start asking your clients if they have any vacancies whether that is a one day temp need, a three month contract or a permanent post. Don’t assume a candidate will or won’t consider something and don’t assume your client knows you can service a variety of types of positions either.
 
If your candidate base is too large to call them all then, at the very least, send out a questionnaire asking them about which types of roles e.g. temp, perm, part-time, etc. they will now consider and do also check which geographical locations they will work in, too.