Hiring moves slowly and then all at once. Five things look different in our listings this year from the same quarter last year.
Screening is automated well before a person reads
Most first passes are now made by software. It saves recruiters days and it costs candidates the benefit of the doubt, because a filter cannot see context. Write for the filter first, then for the reader.
Candidate experience became a metric
Companies are measuring reply rates and time-to-decision because losing finalists at the offer stage is expensive. The useful side effect: asking about the process is now a normal question, not a rude one.
Skills are being tested more than credentials
Work samples and paid trials are replacing degree requirements in more listings each quarter. It opens doors, and it also moves unpaid effort onto the applicant. Ask what the trial pays before you agree to it.
Flexibility is a negotiating term again
Remote and hybrid arrangements stopped being a perk and became part of the package, which means they are on the table alongside salary rather than fixed in advance.
Employer brand is mostly what former staff say
Public reviews and ex-employee posts now shape a company’s reputation more than its careers page does. Read them before the interview, and treat the careers page as marketing.
Senior HR Consultant
Sophie Martin
Recruiter and talent consultant, ten years in and still reading every CV