As we pass the halfway mark of 2025, it’s a great opportunity to pause, reflect, and recalibrate your recruitment plans for the months ahead.
With shifting candidate expectations, rapidly evolving technology, and a continued demand for agility, a mid-year check-in ensures your hiring strategy remains aligned with the market and your business goals.
Here are our strategies to help your organisation finish the year strong:
Review the First Half of the Year
- Spotlight What’s Working: Look back on your recruitment wins so far. Which channels brought in the best candidates? Which hires have been standout successes? Identifying what’s going well allows you to double down on effective tactics.
- Learn from What’s Lagging: Were any roles harder to fill than expected? Has candidate engagement dropped off? Knowing where the gaps are, whether in sourcing, process, or onboarding, will help you pivot with purpose.
Respond to 2025 Hiring Trends
- Skills-Based Hiring is Now Standard: This year has seen even more businesses shift away from rigid CV requirements in favour of core skills, transferable experience, and potential. If your hiring process still leans heavily on traditional credentials, now’s the time to adapt.
- Quiet Hiring is Gaining Ground: Internal mobility, secondments, and upskilling are all part of the rise in “quiet hiring.” Consider how you can identify hidden talent within your business before heading to market, especially for niche or hard-to-fill roles.
Reassess Hybrid Working Expectations
- Flexibility Isn’t a Bonus – It’s a Baseline: Hybrid working continues to dominate candidate expectations, especially in the creative space. Designers, writers, marketers, and other creatives are seeking roles that offer both autonomy and meaningful collaboration.
- Get Clear on Your Offer: Now is the time to review your hybrid model. Is it working for your team, and attractive to candidates? Be upfront in job ads about what’s expected, whether that’s studio-based brainstorming twice a week or fully remote with in-person meetups.
- Culture Still Matters: Creative cultures thrive on connection. If you’ve gone hybrid or remote-first, think about how you’re maintaining energy, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. The businesses that get this right are standing out in the market.
Embrace the Power of Freelance Talent
- Freelancers Are a Core Part of the Creative Workforce: The demand for specialist freelance support continue to grow in 2025. Whether you need quick-turnaround design work, campaign support, or niche expertise, freelancers bring agility, speed, and fresh thinking.
- Plan Freelance Needs Like You Would Permanent Roles: Just because freelance hiring is fast-paced, doesn’t mean it should be reactive. Look ahead to your upcoming projects and identify where gaps may appear. A proactive approach to freelance resourcing ensures your teams aren’t scrambling at the last minute.
Refresh Your Employer Brand
- Update Your EVP (Employee Value Proposition): What do candidates get beyond the job title? Your EVP should speak clearly to today’s talent expectations – think meaningful work, autonomy, inclusivity, and growth.
- Showcase Your Culture: In a market where candidates research your business before even applying, your online presence matters. Make sure your website, job ads, and social content reflect who you are as an employer in 2025, not who you were two years ago.
Keep the Candidate Experience Simple
- Speed Still Wins: Candidates are dropping out of lengthy processes. Streamline where you can, shorten application forms, speed up interview scheduling, and keep feedback loops tight.
- Clarity is Key: Uncertainty puts people off. Be transparent about salary ranges, hybrid/flexible work options, and progression pathways right from the start.
Make Smarter Use of Tech
- AI Tools Are Here – Use Them Wisely: AI-assisted screening and automated interview scheduling are making hiring faster, but they need the human touch. Balance efficiency with empathy to ensure a positive experience on both sides.
- Data-Led Hiring Decisions: Use your recruitment data, time-to-hire, source effectiveness, and candidate satisfaction to drive better decision-making in the second half of the year.
Set a Clear Plan for H2
- Prioritise Your Critical Hires: Be realistic about what can be achieved in the second half of the year and where the biggest impact will be made. Focus your efforts on key roles that will impact your business.
- Get Closer to Your Recruitment Partners: Now more than ever, having a recruitment agency that understands your business inside and out can make the difference between a good hire and a great one. Check in with your agency partners (Devonshire) regularly to align on goals and candidate feedback.
- Build a Talent Pipeline for 2026: It’s not just about now. Begin laying the groundwork for next year by nurturing passive candidates and maintaining contact with Devonshire for freelancers and contractors.
In summary, the recruitment landscape is evolving quickly, but with a smart check-in and an adaptive mindset, you can keep your hiring goals on track and set your team up for long-term success.
Need support navigating the second half of 2025? We’re here to help you find the right people, faster.
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