2025 was the year recruitment finally caught up with what we’ve been talking about for years.
Skills-based hiring stopped being a buzzword and became standard practice. AI recruiting tools went from “nice to have” to essential.
And, recruiters evolved into strategic talent partners who actually understand data.
But here’s the twist: the more technology advanced, the more the human touch mattered.
So what actually happened in 2025, and what should you be preparing for in 2026?
Let’s break it down.
Highlights
- 85% of employers used skills-based hiring in 2025, proving degrees are no longer the gatekeepers they once were.
- 50% of recruiters use AI-powered tools daily, and 90% report faster time-to-hire when using AI sourcing.
- Gen Z will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030, and they’re already changing expectations around transparency, flexibility, and authenticity.
What was the recruitment industry like in 2025?
1. Skills > degree
For years, we’ve heard whispers that skills-based hiring will be the future of recruitment.
In 2025, those whispers turned into reality.
Recruiters stopped treating four-year degrees as non-negotiable requirements and started asking a better question: “Can this person actually do the job?”
According to TestGorilla’s State of Skills-Based Hiring report, 85% of employers used skills-based hiring in 2025, up from 81% the previous year. Meanwhile, resume usage dropped to 67%, down from 73% in 2024.
This shift opened doors for career-changers, self-taught professionals, and candidates with unconventional backgrounds who’d been overlooked for far too long.
Recruiters adapted by focusing on competency assessments, portfolio reviews, and practical demonstrations rather than filtering resumes by education credentials.
2. AI became a competitive edge, not a replacement
Remember 2024, when recruiters were cautiously testing AI tools and wondering if they’d actually stick around?
Well, 2025 answered that question with a YES.
AI wasn’t just present in recruitment anymore—it became embedded in every single step of the hiring process.
Here’s what really changed: recruiters stopped treating AI as a replacement and started using it as their competitive advantage.
Recruit CRM’s State of Recruitment Technology Report revealed that 50% of recruiters were using AI-powered recruitment tech tools daily, with 90% of those using AI-driven sourcing tools reporting significant improvements in time-to-hire.
If you aren’t using it by the end of 2025, you will already be behind.
3. Recruiter upskilling became a priority
Here’s the real story of 2025: recruiters stopped drowning in admin work and started mastering the skills that mattered.
With AI handling the operational heavy lifting, recruiters faced a pivotal choice. They could stay stuck in the old ways or evolve into strategic talent experts. The smart ones chose evolution.
94% of business leaders expected employees to pick up new skills on the job by 2026, and recruiters were leading the charge.
Along with learning to use AI tools, recruiters were mastering prompt engineering to get better candidate descriptions, diving into data analytics to understand hiring patterns, and learning ChatGPT, which freed up hours every week.
Recruiters who invested in these skills placed candidates 40% faster, made smarter, data-backed hiring decisions, and positioned themselves as strategic partners.
The message was crystal clear: the future belongs to recruiters who combine human intuition with data.
How was 2025 for Recruit CRM?
1. Feature rollouts that transformed workflows
Throughout 2025, we introduced capabilities that didn’t just improve processes but fundamentally changed how recruiters work.
a. AI Sourcing
Finding the right candidates used to mean hours of manual searching across job boards and LinkedIn.
Our AI sourcing feature completely turned that around. Recruiters can now simply type the type of candidates they need [e.g., Senior engineer in Berlin] and identify the perfect-fit candidates in minutes.
b. Data Enrichment
Incomplete candidate profiles were costing recruiters time and placements.
Data enrichment solved that by automatically filling in missing details like current employment, contact information, and social profiles.
What used to require detective work per candidate now happens instantly.
c. InMails with LinkedIn Integration
Managing LinkedIn conversations outside your ATS meant constant tab-switching and lost context.
Our LinkedIn messaging integration brought everything into one place.
More than sending and receiving LinkedIn messages directly into the ATS, we gave this premium feature a quick upgrade.
Recruiters could send InMail messages to non-connections as well and manage entire candidate relationships without ever leaving Recruit CRM.
2. Publishing our first Recruitment Insights Report
2025 marked a milestone for us: we published the State of Recruitment Technology: 2025 Report.
This was the first comprehensive look at how recruitment agencies were actually using technology, what was working, and what was just noise.
We surveyed experienced recruitment leaders across global markets to uncover the truth about RecTech adoption.
The findings were revealing: while 93% of recruiters used an ATS, only 50% saw real results.
We dug into what top performers were doing differently, how AI was cutting time-to-hire, and where automation was genuinely moving the needle.
The report became an essential resource for agencies trying to make smarter technology investments.
It validated what many suspected: having technology isn’t enough. You need the right technology, used the right way.
3. Expanding global reach & client success
As the recruitment landscape evolved, our footprint grew stronger.
More than 2,000 recruitment agencies started using Recruit CRM in 2025, joining firms across 100+ countries who trust us to power their hiring operations.
From boutique executive search firms to high-volume staffing agencies, our clients proved that the right technology makes all the difference.
Moor Recruitment saw a 35% increase in its candidate database after switching to Recruit Craft. The simplified application process made it easier for candidates to apply, helping this AI-driven engineering consultancy build its talent pool faster than ever.
Athyna unlocked high-volume hiring efficiency with our AI candidate matching, moving from spreadsheets to automated workflows that made managing multiple clients and roles seamless.
Lupa saved $6,000-$10,000 per month by switching from their custom-built ATS to Recruit CRM, consolidating scattered workflows and speeding up hiring while making it more structured.
WEFY Group achieved a 25% productivity boost, saving almost two hours per day per recruiter through our API and Workflow Automation features.
What does Recruit CRM have in store for 2026?
2025 was big. But 2026? We’re going all in.
- Bill & Pay for contract staffing: A complete solution for managing invoicing, payments, and compliance for contingent workers. With most of the workforce going contingent, you’ll need this.
- Free AI tools: We’re launching more free AI-powered tools like our candidate sourcing feature. Think job description generators, interview question builders, and more throughout the year.
- Smarter integrations & automation: New premium features and integrations designed to automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on relationships and placements.
- More industry research: Deeper insights, data-driven reports, and tactical playbooks to help you stay ahead of market changes.
Stay tuned. 2026 is going to be our biggest year yet.
3 key hiring trends to look out for in 2026
We did a recruitment webinar with Brittany Pollari, Talent Partner, Awin Global, to find out what your competitors know that you don’t and what you should be doing to set the groundwork for 2026. Here are some solid trends to follow:
1. Gen Z will rewrite the rules
Gen Z will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030, and they’re already changing expectations.
They demand authentic communication without corporate buzzwords, clear growth opportunities, and work-life balance.
For them, technology should enhance human connection, not replace it. They also conduct extensive research on companies before applying, making employer reputation critical.
2. Contingent workforce will explode
The contingent workforce currently represents 40% of global workers and is projected to hit 50% by 2027.
Recruiters need to build blended workforce models and use platforms to manage freelance, contract, and gig workers effectively.
Most importantly, these workers need to be treated as valued team members, not just temporary fill-ins.
3. The candidate experience pendulum swings back
Despite widespread AI adoption, candidate experience hit its lowest point in 14 years, with only 26% reporting great experiences.
When the market inevitably shifts back to favoring candidates, companies that prioritized respect, flexibility, and transparency will win the talent war.
Organizations focusing on human capabilities are 1.8x more likely to report solid financial results.
Bottom line: AI is here to stay and will only grow more prevalent, but putting the “human” back in human resources is what will truly set you apart in 2026.
