How Hiring Priorities Are Shifting in Today’s Job Market

How are today’s hiring priorities shifting—and what does it mean for building a standout team? As companies grapple with labor shortages and fast-changing market demands, the spotlight is turning toward soft skills, adaptability, and cultural fit as must-have attributes in new hires. While technical know-how still counts, the real differentiator lies in finding people who can collaborate effectively, embrace changing workloads, and grow into leadership roles.

“Employers are increasingly focused on candidates who can quickly integrate into teams and adjust to fluctuating workloads,” notes Nataly Mualem ( Mualem Firm ). Likewise, Kathey Palmer ( Inova ) emphasizes the importance of “attitude, teamwork mentality, and the willingness to learn and adapt.” This perspective reflects a growing trend: more and more companies realize you can teach a skill, but you can’t teach passion or positivity.

For Ed Laflamme LIC and Jud Griggs ( Harvest Group Landscape Business Consulting ) the focus on work ethic and mindset is especially pronounced in landscaping. “The number one quality is finding people with positive attitudes, who are career-focused, curious, and work well with others,” says Ed. Jud adds, “You can teach people the skills they need, but you can’t teach work ethic and attitude.”

Employers in the trades are also honing in on leadership potential. According to Kelly Rowlett Presgrave ( Work With Your Handz ), “Clients are placing more value on leadership potential in candidates, which allows them to build a future-ready workforce.” From the commercial roofing space, Ross Friedman (ServiceAdvantEdge) highlights how “investing in hiring for attitude and professionalism—and then developing technical skills” helps create well-rounded service teams.

Meanwhile, an openness to “skilled-based hiring” is gaining traction. “Skilled-based hiring has opened up many companies to hire candidates from outside their industry,” explains Tito Caceres ( Bloom Talent Solutions ). And as tools like ServiceTitan, HouseCall Pro, drones, and advanced project management platforms become more prevalent, Kelly Rowlett Presgrave and John Kenney III, MIoR, CPRC ( Cotney Consulting Group ) agree that tech-savviness is now a core skill in many roles.

Read the full article to dive deeper into these hiring trends as you prepare to build a resilient, high-performing team in 2025 ??