As we enter 2025, it will likely shock no one to hear that the recruitment landscape continues to evolve.
So instead of focusing on bold predictions or hot takes, let’s explore a rapid-fire roundup of studies, data points, and trends that recruiters should keep on their radar this year.
LinkedIn’s fastest-growing jobs for 2025
At the beginning of each year, LinkedIn publishes their list of the jobs they're expecting to see take off in the coming months.
Here are the high points from there study:
- Unsurprisingly, lots of AI-related roles.
- Surprisingly, lots of non-profit jobs.
- Technical roles — like community planners, bridge engineers, sustainability specialists — seem to be poised for growth.
- Speaking of growth... Growth roles that span industries — like Chief Revenue Officers, Chief Growth Officers, etc. — are also on the rise.
- HR-related roles are also seeing an uptick, specifically Workforce Development Manager and Director of Employer Relations titles.
Takeaways for recruiters:
Niching down continues to be a wise strategy — but knowing where and how to niche has become increasingly important. We've seen wild swings happen in micro-industries (i.e. the rapid rise and fall of the travel nurse), so putting all of your eggs in one new basket is risky. Instead, focus on segments with less volatility, and on developing skills that transcend any niche.
When it comes to the rise of HR-related roles: this definitely bodes well for recruiters. Companies are struggling to not only hire top talent, but retain them — and they're in need of true talent advisory. If you can offer the same expertise that a Workforce Development Manager would offer, bundled with your other services, you'll position yourself nicely for the most pressing needs of 2025.
PNC Bank's industries poised for growth
PNC Bank recently released some data from an independent study conducted around growing industries. Those they found most likely to take off in 2025 were:
- Cybersecurity
- E-commerce
- Telehealth
- Educational services
- Alternative energy
Greenhouse's State of Job Hunting report
For the candidate side of things, we turn to Greenhouse's State of Job Hunting report.
The biggest takeaway here? Recruiters still have a lot of work to do to win candidate trust.
Get this: 61% of candidates were ghosted by recruiters after a job interview in 2024. That's UP from the year prior...
For as much as this conversation makes the rounds on LinkedIn and in social groups, we were shocked to see this number so high. The reality is that in 2025, there's really no excuse for poor communication — especially if you have the right technology in place. Sending simple status updates to let candidates know where you're at in the process (or if they should abandon all hope and move on) is an act of courtesy and respect — and a prime use case for automation.
The common complaint about AI is that it's making us less human. But if we can leverage it to make people feel seen, heard, and communicated with at times when we've previously struggled to do so...maybe it can actually help us be more human sometimes, too.
There's a right and a wrong way to use any tool — and if you're using AI to help automate status updates for candidates, whether the message is positive or negative, we think it's a win.
To back this up with some data from the Greenhouse report:
They asked candidates what their top desires from recruiters in 2025 were, and the results were interesting...
- Easier discovery of relevant jobs (47%)
- Better communication immediately after applying (42%)
- More effective ways to make applications stand out (38%)
Some interesting charts from Harvard Business Review
HBR released their Charts That Help Make Sense of 2024 and one chart in particular caught our eye.
Looking at data from 146 companies, they measured employee sentiment using metrics such as pride, motivation, and commitment.
The wildest part? They found that engagement was often still depressed even two years after layoffs among employees who worked at companies during a downsizing. And at companies with high engagement pre-layoffs, the detrimental effects of layoffs were generally more pronounced, not less.
This speaks to a sentiment we've long-suspected: trust is hard to build and easy to lose.
Takeaways for recruiters:
Out of sight doesn't necessarily mean out of mind. Context is important — and even though a round of layoffs two years ago may not seem relevant to you, to a candidate who has been scouring Glassdoor reviews, it may be a red flag. Being able to anticipate and navigate conversations around the past challenges of a company you're hiring on behalf of (even one that's currently successful and poised for growth) is going to become even more critical in 2025.
Other fun data points HBR visualized:
- How different people are using GenAI
- How the political leanings of beer brands reflect our nation as a whole
- 570 experts rank “future of work” predictions from 485 sources — and put 2037 as the year humans work alongside robot colleagues.
Wrapping up
Because we're in a generous mood... Let's make this even more high-level and synthesize our takeaways across each of these studies and sources.
Key takeaways for recruiters:
- Consider exploring niche markets in growing industries
- Improve candidate communication throughout the hiring process
- Leverage AI and automation to enhance the recruitment experience
- Be aware of company history and context when recruiting for clients
- Stay informed about industry trends and adapt your strategies accordingly
As we navigate 2025, we urge you to remember that these trends and predictions are guides, not absolutes.
Use this information to inform your strategies and stay adaptable. That's the biggest takeaway of them all.
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