Latest hiring trends show experience taking a back seat to potential

For several years now, finding and hiring talent has been top of mind for employers. But the picture is changing. Often, there are still more open jobs than qualified employees to fill them, but at least some studies show a shift in employers’ priorities. With the pandemic largely in the rear view, employers are working in a less desperate atmosphere—one where candidate quality is more important than quantity.

Latest trends

In March, hiring technology company HireVue released its Global Trends Report on the state of hiring and noted a change from earlier years when employers felt intense pressure to hire.

“It’s no longer a frantic reaction to fill as many seats as possible,” the report’s executive summary says. “It’s a slower, more methodical, process of finding people that have the specific skills and experiences to excel in their role now—and in future possibilities.”

HireVue surveyed 6,000 talent leaders from the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia from a variety of industries and company sizes. Among the findings: 50% of those surveyed are targeting internal candidates in response to talent shortages. Also, 47% of those surveyed experienced reduced companywide budgets. But despite that, 30% increased their technology budget.

Why increase the tech budget? With hiring freezes and budget cuts, hiring teams are turning to tools to get work done, according to the report.

The research also shows that 37% of those surveyed are putting more emphasis on job candidates’ future potential and less on past experience. “Old proxies to measure performance are being replaced with human potential and transferable skills,” the report says.

Emphasis on potential

How can employers find candidates with potential? The HireVue report says automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used as partners but not replacements for the human element.

The report says the question for employers “now becomes less about ‘Which skills do our candidates possess?’ and more about ‘Which skills are they capable of learning?’”

In its survey, HireVue found that 65% of those surveyed use skills assessments specifically to determine potential, 34% are comfortable using skills assessments in general and already use them across the hiring process, and 21% replaced resumes with skills-based assessments.

The report notes that 96% of respondents said they are looking at candidates’ ability to learn new skills, while also assessing for skills that transfer to new responsibilities as roles evolve over time.

How does AI fit in?

A focus on potential is only part of the story of changing trends in the workplace. The rise of AI poses new challenges for employers. The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn shows a demand from employees for AI tools.

The report shows use of generative AI nearly doubled in the six months before the report was issued in May, with 75% of global knowledge workers using it.

The Microsoft/LinkedIn report includes three main findings:

• Employees want AI at work and don’t want to wait for employers to catch up.
• For employees, AI raises the bar and breaks the career ceiling.
• AI “power users” are on the rise.

The research shows that 79% of leaders believe their company needs to adopt AI to stay competitive, but 60% of leaders worry their organization’s leadership lacks a plan and vision to implement it.

The report’s executive summary says some employees “are itching for a career change, and there is massive opportunity for those willing to skill up on AI.”

The report says 66% of leaders say they would not hire someone without AI skills, and 71% say they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without those skills.

The report notes a 142x increase in LinkedIn members globally adding AI skills like ChatGPT and Copilot to their profiles.

The report says AI power users use AI at least several times per week, and they say it saves them more than 30 minutes a day. Those power users say AI boosts their creativity and helps them focus on the most important work. AI also helps them feel more motivated and helps them enjoy work more.

Tammy Binford writes and edits news alerts and newsletter articles on labor and employment law topics for BLR web and print publications.