As HR and talent acquisition (TA) teams gear up for 2025, finding and retaining the right talent has never been more crucial. Teams face shifting labor markets, evolving candidate demographics, and rising expectations—all while managing tighter budgets.
In this quest to source and court talent, TA leaders are zeroing in on the candidate experience, recognizing its critical role in driving long-term growth and retention. That’s why candidate experience is the central theme of this year’s report. Every trend we've identified ultimately connects to the future of recruitment but also the candidate journey.
So, what trends will define recruitment and the candidate experience in 2025?
L&D becomes a key part of employee retention
In 2025, L&D (learning and development) will become a key focus for talent retention strategies. When learning becomes personalized and adaptive, it’s proven to engage the workforce, address productivity losses, and fill critical skills gaps. Research shows that employees stay when they have opportunities to develop new skills, apply them in meaningful ways, and see clear paths for advancement.
Employees as brand ambassadors
Heading into 2025, signs point to employer branding remaining a top priority for TA and HR leaders. In today’s competitive talent market, culture and reputation play a crucial role in whether candidates accept or decline an offer. And authenticity is at the heart of successful employer branding strategies.
Pay transparency: From compliance to culture?
While historically, pay transparency has been a contentious topic, it’s now a critical factor in job decisions. Internal talent is more likely to switch jobs if a competing company offers greater pay transparency, even if the salary stays the same.
And pay transparency laws are only accelerating this trend. For example, in the US, several states now require employers to include salary ranges in job postings or share them if requested and the EU Pay Transparency Directive will require employers to disclose salary information early in the recruitment process.
Tip! Watch the recording of our webinar, The EU Pay Transparency Directive for Swedish Companies.
Quality of hire is the metric of the future
As hiring slows across many industries, organizations are placing greater emphasis on hiring for quality rather than speed. In fact, 54% of recruitment professionals believe quality of hire will drive recruiting over the next five years. While talent acquisition has traditionally focused on metrics like time-to-hire and offer acceptance rates, leaders are now asking a crucial question: How do our hires actually perform, and how are we measuring that?
The office of the future is hybrid
Hybrid models consistently drive employee satisfaction, productivity, and profitability over fully in-office setups. Yet, there is a strong, competing push to get workers back on-site–what some call the “Great Return.” Company leaders try to compel, or even mandate, office returns with arguments that in-person collaboration is necessary for creativity, innovation and developing company culture. This begs the question: who will ultimately shape the future of work—CEOs or employees?
The next phase of DEI
Following global events and widespread calls for justice and equality, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) jobs peaked in early 2023, then fell 5% later in the year, and fell even more in 2024. Yet, when it comes to DEI, there is still critical work to be done to build diverse teams, foster inclusive work cultures, and meet candidates’ evolving needs and expectations. Looking ahead, there will be a shift to measuring outcome-based metrics and away from input metrics.
Teams double down on proving strategic value
TA leaders are increasingly frustrated by a lack of strategic support from business leaders. Only 32% of TA leaders feel they’re seen as strategic partners within their organizations, while 42% say their company lacks a workforce plan, and 46% admit business priorities change so frequently they’re “running around” to keep up. Moving forward, demonstrating the connection between people programs and bottom-line objectives is a focus for TA teams as they try to secure buy-in from their C-suite executives.
Generative AI is put to work
Generative AI is reshaping recruitment in fundamental ways. It’s helping managers automate tasks, like drafting job descriptions or suggesting screening questions based on competency profiles. On the other side, recruiters are grappling with the effects of AI in the hands of candidates. Nearly half of all candidates use AI tools to apply for jobs, complete assessments, hunt for new roles, and research companies.
What does this mean for HR and talent teams?
2025 will be a year of balance—balancing technology and human connection, efficiency and personalization, flexibility and structure. From AI-driven technologies reshaping how we work, the variety of flexible work arrangements, the shift from CVs to skills-based hiring, to measuring the candidate experience and treating them like customers, today’s actions are key to future-proofing organizations for the transformations ahead.
Deep dive into each of the trends shaping 2025 in our report, Talent Acquisition in 2025: Candidate-first trends shaping recruitment. Get exclusive insights into the state of candidate experience based on data from over 2 million candidates, tips and inspiration from industry leaders, and the tools you need to navigate the recruitment journey ahead.
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