As 2025 hiring gets underway, both candidates and recruiters could find a hiring process that is more frustrating than ever, according to new research from LinkedIn.
The organization’s inaugural Work Change Report, released last week, found that almost 60% of employees will be on the job hunt this year, but about half said applying for roles has gotten harder. At the same time, almost two-thirds of hiring managers surveyed said they had increasing trouble in 2024 finding qualified talent.
“There’s a real mismatch right now between job seekers and hirers,” says Erin Scruggs, vice president and head of global talent acquisition at LinkedIn.
How can HR tackle this disconnect? A two-pronged solution, according to the LinkedIn research: infusing more tech into HR processes while at the same time zeroing in on the skills needed to support the organization in the future.
Although hiring and recruiting managers have long been cautioned to keep open communication with candidates, the LinkedIn research found that few can achieve that objective: Nearly 40% of candidates said that, despite putting out more applications, they’re hearing back less from prospective employers.
Why the silence? HR professionals may not have the time, according to the study. Nearly a quarter of HR pros surveyed said they spend between three and five hours every day looking through job applications.
It’s a problem that also surfaced in HR Executive’s recent What’s Keeping HR Up at Night? research. About a quarter of the approximately 400 HR professionals surveyed said they’re spending most of their time on HR administration and operations, the most common answer. This comes as hiring and retaining key talent again ranked as HR’s most pressing challenge, cited by nearly one-third of respondents.
How can HR shift the focus from admin to strategy to drive hiring and retention? It’s all about tech, says Scruggs.
“So much of recruiters’ time today is filled with administrative tasks; it’s a job that’s gotten more complex, requiring new skills and ways of working,” she says.
That should include the integration of AI, according to the HR and recruiting professionals LinkedIn surveyed, who cited access to hiring tech, including AI tools, as the top factor that would ease the hiring process. Similarly, HR Executive’s survey found that AI-powered tech was one of the most important tools HR professionals said their functions are missing.
Of those that have incorporated AI into hiring, nearly three-quarters said it has improved the process, according to LinkedIn.
It’s a reality coming to fruition at LinkedIn, where AI now transcribes and summarizes all candidate interviews—eliminating hours of note-taking previously done by TA teams.
“This doesn’t just help with efficiency; it also influences quality of hire, as AI-generated summaries allow hiring managers to hone in on areas of the conversation that are most predictive of success,” Scruggs says.
Recruiters are also leveraging LinkedIn’s first AI agent, Hiring Assistant, to pass off previously manual, repetitive tasks. Externally, agentic AI available through LinkedIn Jobs is helping small business customers draft and post job descriptions, invite candidates and surface more qualified applicants.
Such tech can allow HR and recruiting professionals to spend more time on “impactful work—like advising hiring managers, connecting with candidates and creating exceptional candidate experiences,” Scruggs says.
“Hiring is all about relationships and people,” she adds. “When I first joined the recruiting profession, I truly saw it as an act of service to others and have always loved to change people’s lives by helping them get jobs.”
Strengthening 2025 hiring with a skills focus
Getting talent into the right jobs is another critical piece of improving the hiring process in 2025.
LinkedIn’s research found that 73% of those surveyed said fewer than half of applicants meet the job criteria and almost two-thirds said they struggle to find talent with the skills that match the organization’s needs. More than half said candidates lack the technical skills needed.
“Our data finds that global hiring for AI-proficient talent has surged by more than 300% over the last eight years,” says Scruggs, who notes LinkedIn data predicts skills needs will continue to change by more than 70% in the next five years, largely because of AI.
While organizations are increasingly prioritizing hiring for skills, more investment is needed, Scruggs says, in “showing people how to translate those skills to the work to be done.” This can include reimagined onboarding and training to help employees understand how their existing skill sets connect to their work and how to effectively apply them—a focus that can accelerate “the speed of their ramp to productivity.”
At the same time, strong investment in upskilling and reskilling current employees can enable organizations to “keep up with the fast-changing talent landscape—and ultimately stay ahead,” Scruggs says.
More than three-quarters of HR professionals told LinkedIn their organizations are prioritizing this focus in 2025—particularly when it comes to AI, sustainability and soft skills. It’s an approach that will resonate both with current and potential talent—as LinkedIn found that job seekers are craving opportunities to learn new, in-demand skills.
And HR isn’t exempt, Scruggs notes.
Nearly three-quarters of HR professionals LinkedIn surveyed said they want to strengthen both their AI skills and their soft skills—particularly adaptability.
“Talent leaders make it their priority to upskill their organization,” she says, “but must not forget to take the time to build their own skills, too.”
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