The Future of Recruitment: Trends to watch in 2025
The Future of Recruitment: Trends to watch in 2025.
Studies show that 2025 is going to be all about progress over perfection. Taking action and learning on the fly is going to be more valuable than continued analysis and planning, say our experts and clients.
Statistics- 60% of organisations have struggled to hire in the last 12 months, with matching salary expectations cited by 49% as a main reason, meanwhile 48% of companies have struggled to find the right skills.
Customer Service and personalisation: Recruitment is no longer a transactional process — it’s an experience. Candidates today expect a seamless, tailored journey that reflects their preferences and career aspirations. From personalized career sites to hyper-targeted email campaigns, organizations are leveraging AI to create unique journeys that resonate and convert job seekers into applicants.
Social media: (On brand content.)
In the age of social media and video-driven engagement, a strong employer brand is non-negotiable. Candidates want to see more than just job descriptions — they’re looking for insight into your company culture, values, and employee experiences. Video content, in particular, has emerged as a powerful medium to tell your story and connect with potential hires.
Recruitment aims for 2025.
Looking ahead- nurturing a future- focused mindset
- Pre-empting future skills needs and jobs market changes
- Driving innovation in recruitment
- Harnessing new technology
Looking out- delivering new services and forging a new identity.
- Taking a lead on strategic workforce planning.
- Building new relationships based on value and customer service excellence
- Making change happen on inclusion.
Looking in- build future skills and leadership to take the industry forward.
- Building a new generation of industry leaders
- Reviewing the evolving role of recruiters.
- Investing in the future skills of recruiters
Looking to make a difference- becoming future job ambassadors.
- Building the bridge between education and work
- Being a voice for change an employment and labour market policies
- Promoting the good recruitment message.
Importance of a focused mindset.
There is an increasing recognition amongst recruiters of the need to be aware of the changing shape of the UK’s jobs market- including automation, demographics, changing candidate expectations, and evolving business needs.
Future-focused – practical steps recruiters are taking 1. Building internal project teams to scope potential developments 2. Hosting ‘future of jobs’ events for clients 3. Tapping into the work of trade associations to pre-empt developments in specific sectors 4. Attending external events and reviewing latest research 5. Analysing trends and developments in other countries (for example North America) 6. Reviewing regional industrial strategy plans to pre-empt where future jobs are most likely to be created 7. Ramping up longer-term business planning activities.
Workforce planning- ready for the year ahead.
Asking the right questions:
- What is the current profile of our workforce? Do we hold the right data?
- What succession plans are in place?
- What are our current employee skill sets and where are the gaps?
- Are there any regulatory changes that we need to factor in?
- What technological changes might have an impact?
- What are our current pay levels? How do they compare with the market?
- How can we best prepare for different post-Brexit scenarios?
Importance of building client relationships:
Over half of all firms fear that there will not be enough people available with the skills needed to fill their high-skilled jobs, and candidate availability has declined month-on-month since June 2013 according to Report on Jobs.10 Latest data shows that many sectors, particularly healthcare, social care, construction and finance, continue to struggle to find the right candidates for roles, both in permanent and temporary positions. This is the backdrop against which recruiters can build different working relationships with clients.
In addition to playing a role in strategic workforce planning, recruiters will increasingly be called to provide genuine consultative advice to clients on a range of practical challenges. For example, four in ten employers admit that the interviewing and assessment skills of their staff should be improved.
Investing in future skills:
Attracting new people into the industry is one thing; providing development opportunities so that people remain within it is another. Businesses across all sectors are investing in skills (more than £45 billion a year), with well over half of all employees (63 per cent) receiving some training during the course of a year.
