January 2025

? What’s In and Out for 2025:??

If you’re building a vision board for work in 2025, there’s a lot to consider and plenty of factors that remain hazy. But one thing is clear: Optimism is growing within the job market. Here are the top trends we see on the rise, and a few you should leave back in 2024. ??

WHAT’S IN:?

? Building the pipeline: The generational realignment at work will continue as more Baby Boomers retire and Gen-Z's presence in the workforce continues to grow. Businesses that rely on senior-level employees with decades of experience (which, let’s be honest, is most businesses) will be forced to start thinking about what comes next.?

Leaders should develop clear succession plans, if they haven’t already. Beyond that, employers need to prioritize recruiting and developing high-potential entry-level talent. Without a deep bench of employees at all levels to make decisions and carry institutional knowledge forward, businesses may struggle to deliver results in 2025 and find themselves facing a leadership gap in 2026 and beyond.???

? Prioritizing your must-haves:? Aligning expectations between hiring managers and job seekers has become more challenging than ever. One solid strategy for hiring managers is to narrow their list of absolute requirements for a position to three items to allow more candidates into the consideration pool. Screen great candidates in, not out!?

Job seekers often prioritize flexibility, competitive salaries, and strong benefits, while hiring managers typically look for specific skills and experience within a set compensation range and geographic scope. Focusing on key priorities can help break down barriers and hire faster.????

? Actually using AI: Companies are using AI across functions to improve data analysis, financial reporting, marketing, budgeting, and more. 54% of team leaders are recruiting for different skills due to advancements in AI and automation.??

In 2025, more companies will start to see material differences between teams that use generative AI and teams that only talk about it.???

WHAT’S OUT:?

? Slow-motion hiring: There is a fine line between reasonable caution and paralysis. Good candidates simply don’t wait around, so the longer the consideration process, the less likely you are to land your top choice. Businesses that eliminate bottlenecks without cutting corners will have an edge in competitive hiring markets in 2025. A few tips: Limit the number of interviewers, schedule interviews back-to-back and have compensation packages pre-approved to extend offers quickly.?

? Being limited to one industry: As competition for skilled talent heats up across industries, savvy hiring managers will increasingly consider strong candidates outside their immediate field. For candidates, this represents an opportunity to take transferable skills “on the road” and explore roles or work arrangements they may not have considered in the past.????

? Leaving jobs open: The data is clear: Leaving roles vacant for too long can lead to delayed projects and employee burnout or turnover. As businesses continue to ramp up operations in 2025, they will need to take steps to close gaps on their teams. In addition to permanent hires, consider using contract talent to add skills and resources strategically.?

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??Job Market: By The Numbers?

• The U.S. job market finished the year strong, setting the stage for increased optimism heading into 2025.?

• Employers added 256,000 jobs in December, according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This result beat analysts’ expectations of ~153,000.?

• The unemployment rate was down to 4.1%, while temporary help services increased for the second straight month, great news for job seekers open to contract work.?

• Two-thirds of companies in our latest State of Hiring research planned to bring on new permanent positions early in 2025, up from 52% in the second half of 2024.???

• SMB owners are also feeling good about the year ahead. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose by 3.4 points in December to a six-year high of 105.1.??

• More than half of small business owners (52%) said they expect the economy to improve, while 20% said they believe it’s a good time to expand their business – the highest rating in nearly five years.?

?? January Is Mentorship Month?

This is a perfect time to thank your mentors—and become one yourself!?

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