This should be an exciting time for recruiters. There seems to be an endless number of tools to find and hire candidates today, with more coming. It’s clear that your recruiting department needs to understand how to adapt your process or you will pay the consequences (recruiter burnout, low candidate quality, inefficiency, cost). Working with companies and talking to many people in the marketplace, I have identified some trends in hiring. I’ve listed them below with that added value of providing tips to implement any ideas that look promising to you.
More employees are looking for careers that allow them to not only earn a paycheck, but contribute to something meaningful
Netsuite 2025 employee experience survey
1. Emphasizing Candidate and Employee Experience
I believe that candidate experience is vastly overlooked in corporate recruiting departments. Some companies are recognizing that a positive experience for both candidates and current employees is crucial for attracting and retaining employees. And this trend will only rise in importance as it becomes easier to find candidates (see AI below) and current employees are being regularly courted by competitors. Some trends I’m seeing:
- Hyper-Personalized Branding: Companies are moving beyond generic career pages to create personalized employer branding messages. This includes using employee-generated content, manager videos, “day in the life” stories, etc. This information is highly effective in giving prospects a better understanding of the company and what it’s like to work there.
- Seamless Application Process: With today’s technology, the application and interview process have become easier to get through. Features like quick replies, candidate access to status, and automated processes for interview scheduling and onboarding activities should be implemented, keeping candidate experience as a high priority.
- Employee Retention: With easy access to people through AI and other tools, the line between recruiting and retention is getting blurry. A strong employee experience is one of the best ways to attract new talent. Companies should invest in internal mobility, upskilling, and professional development knowing that retaining employees is the best recruiting tool available.

2. Continued Rise of AI and Automation
We know AI is affecting all parts of business and that’s true for recruiting departments as well. Here are popular uses of technology:
- Automation of Routine Tasks: AI is being widely used to handle administrative and time-consuming tasks like resume screening, candidate outreach, and interview scheduling. Look for tools to help in these areas. At very little (or no) cost, these tasks should be removed from recruiters’ plates before this year ends.
- Enhanced Candidate Sourcing: I recently wrote a post about the rise of AI in the sourcing of candidates (Re-Recruitment Day – Everyone’s a Candidate) AI-powered tools are helping recruiters find and engage candidates who might not be actively looking for a new job. This allows for a more proactive approach to building a talent pipeline. Find the critical roles in your organization and put together a proactive sourcing plan using AI tools.
- Bias Reduction: AI is being leveraged to remove bias from the hiring process, for example, by helping to create more inclusive job descriptions and analyzing resumes for skills rather than just credentials. Consider running job descriptions through AI tools to remove bias and make it a permanent part of your recruiting process.
- Augmenting Human Judgment: The goal is not to replace recruiters but to augment their capabilities. Adopt ways to use AI as the tool to screen for hard skills while the recruiting team focuses their time on assessing soft skills, cultural fit, and relationship-building.
According to a 2025 AI in Hiring Report by Insight Global, 99% of hiring managers reported using AI in some capacity in the hiring process. Of those, 98% saw improvement in hiring efficiency.
3. A Shift to Skills-Based Hiring
There has been a subtle shift in the traditional reliance on degrees and past job titles as an adequate predictor of future success, moving focus to a candidate’s actual skills and competencies. This has shown to add value in these ways:
- Broader Talent Pool: By prioritizing skills, companies can tap into a more diverse and creative talent pool that includes non-traditional candidates, career changers, and individuals who have developed skills through alternative means. Research ways to incorporate skills-based hiring principles into your process. For example, use an assessment tool to identify abilities before eliminating candidates who do not meet experience or education requirements.
- Improved Quality of Hire: This approach helps ensure that a candidate’s abilities directly align with the specific needs of the role, leading to better employee performance and higher retention rates. Do a deep dive to eliminate or reduce emphasis on job description requirements that have no effect on an employee’s success in the role.
- New Assessment Methods: To effectively evaluate skills, recruiters are increasingly using tools like skills assessments, game-based simulations, and structured interviews that focus on real-world capabilities. Consider using these tools, even as a trial for only one type of opening, to determine their value in your recruiting process.
This list of suggestions is exhaustive. It would take most companies years to accomplish everything here. Do an assessment of your recruiting department and determine which item you might be able to implement today then build from there. The recruiting landscape is changing quickly. If you recruit next year the same as you did last year, you will be missing out on talent.
Want to understand how these improvements can be implemented in your company? Contact Eddie Stewart . I always enjoy talking with fellow recruiting leaders about what’s working and what challenges you’re facing.
ES Talent Solutions is a HR Consulting firm helping companies enhance their recruiting capabilities through the introduction of technology and process optimization. Visit our website ( ES Talent Solutions) or contact Eddie directly (estewart@ESTalentSolutions.com) to learn more.
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