Recruiting for new employees isn’t what it used to be.
And that’s a good thing.
I had a leader ask me the other day why we’ve only moved one person through to the final rounds of interviews. They were confused. They thought they would’ve received a greater response for their open position. They thought they’d have more candidates to compare against each other.
I assured them that they did receive a good response.
But since we had gotten so clear with them on what the ideal candidate for that position would be like – going beyond what qualified candidates for just the job responsibilities but also work culture fit, behaviors that would work well with the supervisor, characteristics that would make someone successful for this role, etc. – we were able to easily, efficiently and effectively spot that *one* person out of the many candidates we reviewed who would be the ideal candidate for their open position.
And after interviewing that one candidate, our client agreed.
The current job market isn’t what it used to be. Recruiting the most ideal candidate is taking longer than before. There are less job seekers out there. Recruiting strategies have to be improved to secure top talent.
But don’t let the changes frustrate you! Each is an opportunity for you. Let me explain…
The Old Way
In the past, the most popular method to select your top candidate for an open position was to narrow down the prospective candidates to a top 3 list.
This way can give leaders a sense of confidence that they did their due diligence. How can you know who you hire unless you compare? You don’t want to just pick the first person you like! You might miss someone else. Or so the old way of thinking goes…
The problem with this method is that it doesn’t always produce the best result for the organization or the job seeking candidate.
There’s issues with comparing 3 people against each other which makes that method not ideal for reaching your organization’s goals –
Even if you think you’re comparing 3 equal options, you never are. In my experience, clients always put them in order with the best at the top – why waste time on this exercise if you already know which candidate is the best fit?
Leaders end up selecting who they like best out of the 3 candidates, which isn’t always the best fit for the role. Selecting based on likeability leads to problems down the road. Most leaders find that they struggle to have crucial conversations regarding performance with employees they like. Additionally, if you only ever hire who you “like” or relate to, how will your organization ever grow? Hiring someone different than you or who brings a different perspective encourages growth.
In this job market, you might not get 3. There are less candidates to choose from in this current market. Don’t waste your time waiting for 2 additional candidates to compare against, if you’ve found one ideal candidate! Waiting to send the offer may cost you the one candidate you think is a match. If they’re interviewing with you, they’re likely interviewing elsewhere, too.
Recruiting in 2025
What should leaders expect when recruiting in 2025? There are 3 main conditions of the current market that every leader should know before beginning the recruiting process for an open position:
⭐️ The recruiting process and selection of the best matched candidate is taking more time than before.
⭐️ The amount of job seekers in the market is less than before.
⭐️ Top candidates are rare and require a different kind of experience to hire. (Think clear communication + regular updates throughout the process.)
This news shouldn’t be discouraging though! The 2025 job market conditions are an opportunity for every leader to refine their recruiting process and build the most engaged team yet.
Your Opportunity
Even though the current climate can appear challenging, we at The Works Consulting still regularly recruit and place top candidates with the organizations we work with on a regular basis.
To recruit and hire the best in 2025, refine and improve your process with these 3 tips:
⭐️ Go deeper than your typical job description
With fewer candidates to choose from, it’s now more important than ever to get clear on who is the ideal fit for your open position.
Go beyond the simple job description that only lists job responsibilities, basic qualifications and company benefits. Get clear on what your work culture is and who performs best in that environment. Look at the open position’s direct supervisor and consider the personality types who would work best with that supervisor. List characteristics that will make someone successful in this role. Not only will this help you identify who is the ideal candidate when resumes start coming in, but having this clearly defined will also help you attract the right candidate.
Before my team and I even write a job description, we partner with the leaders involved in the hiring for that position to define the success factors and clarify the non-negotiables. Then, we use the Perfect Person Profiler® that we developed to efficiently gather all the most important data to ensure a great match. With so much experience recruiting and developing the Perfect Person Profiler®, we’re also able to identify red flags earlier in the process, which ensures our clients hire for the long-term and saves them time and money throughout the entire process of recruiting and hiring.
Knowing exactly what your ideal candidate needs to be helps you refine your process and more effectively find your top match!
⭐️ Give candidates the VIP experience
How you treat candidates through the process is extremely important. Clear communication and regular updates on where they’re at in the process are required in 2025.
I’ve heard of leaders losing top candidates in the process because they failed to keep that person in the loop and the candidate accepted an offer elsewhere.
This doesn’t have to happen to you! You can attract and keep top candidates engaged with your organization by making them feel important and communicating with them often.
⭐️ Get selective when choosing your recruiting partner
Recruiting is a time consuming process. Not every leader or HR department has the capacity to handle all aspects of recruiting. And that’s okay! This is where selecting the right recruiting partner for your organization is critical to the success of hiring the most ideal candidate for your open position.
When selecting a recruiting partner, make sure that they understand your organization and are able to represent your values well. When a client selects us to partner with them on recruiting, we view ourselves as an extension of that organization. All our interactions with candidates reflect their organization’s values. This is important. You want every candidate at the end of the process – no matter if you select them or not – to feel favorably about your organization, so that they still want to be a future applicant, continued customer of your brand or supporter of your mission.
The climate for recruiting is different in 2025, but don’t let that discourage you in your efforts to recruit the best. It’s still possible when you consider the conditions and make the right improvements to your recruiting process!
Need help recruiting the ideal candidate for your open position? Click here to learn more about our Recruiting Partnership services.
