In 2025, IT hiring will—finally—begin to increase after the pandemic boom and subsequent layoff bust that has lasted longer than most anticipated.
At the height of the pandemic, organizations hired as much IT talent as they could to meet the astronomical jump in customers’ online activity. In their hiring frenzy, though, many leaders didn’t have a plan for what that talent would do once they got through the initial bottleneck. They hoarded employees and spent untold amounts of money for people to essentially do nothing. To reset, leaders implemented mass layoffs and reversed a decade-long trend of growing IT employment in the U.S.
Today, the economy is leveling out with declining inflation and interest rates. Companies are no longer operating in survival mode and can begin to differentiate themselves from their competitors once more. That said, organizations are keeping a critical eye on their budgets and driving their hiring practices to be more prudent in their headcount projections for new IT talent.
Driving IT Needs
Rapidly changing technology like AI is driving organizations’ IT needs. The verdict is still out on how much AI will offset human beings in the workforce, but there is sufficient evidence showing it will increase efficiency within the existing workforce and require fewer professionals than just a few years ago to do the same job. This applies to all positions, not just IT, though a skilled IT team is going to be necessary to successfully and securely deploy AI integrations at their companies.
Data, which was the hot buzzword prior to AI, has allowed organizations to be more efficient in their hiring practices. Whether that’s choosing contingent labor versus full-time employees, precision hiring will have an effect on all active employees an organization engages at a given time. By extension, traditional roles in IT will likely evolve into requiring more sophisticated skills around this data, as well as AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. This will likely lead to new specialties being designated within general IT roles rather than companies identifying entirely new roles.
Preparing for 2025
Overall, organizations aren’t quite ready for today’s IT needs, and they’ll have to adjust accordingly. Unfortunately, some will be forced to adjust because they’ll experience a cyber-attack without the proper security professionals in place, which could return some businesses to a digital survival mode. Others, though, will naturally become more familiar with the latest technology trends and what is possible in IT, HR, and companywide.
Those who aren’t ready should start engaging outside resources now. Seek out experts in emerging fields or through good old-fashioned education: reading, symposiums, and networking with peers. Then, optimize hiring practices by injecting technology where possible along with structured, yet lean, hiring life cycles. This will speed up the hiring process by helping internal staff slim down their workloads and increase offer acceptance rates from candidates who may be turned off by prolonged hiring processes or receive competing offers.
All things being equal when candidates are faced with a choice, organization differentiators will be in the details—cohesive messaging related to their company values and processing talent efficiently. Which company gave the candidate the better experience? They’ll assume that experience will carry through to their onboarding process and the company as a whole. Similarly, for organizations seeking talent, candidates can differentiate themselves by networking, presenting thank-you notes, and following up with interviewers to make an impression.
The competition for talent and opportunities will be fierce for companies and employees alike in 2025. With the persisting talent and skills gap for IT and cybersecurity personnel, details will make the difference in attracting and retaining talent for the long run.
Greg Goodin serves as the Managing Director of EXOS TALENT, a leading provider of talent solutions designed to optimize human potential and support organizational growth. As Managing Director, Greg oversees the strategy for workforce optimization, recruitment, and talent management across various industries. With over 20 years of experience, Greg has led global talent acquisition strategies, RPO program management, operational excellence, scaled recruiting operations, and implemented innovative tools and processes.
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