HR leaders want to ditch bad recruiting habits like ghosting candidates and rigid assessment tests in 2025

This year was a tough one for recruiters.

As hiring demand declined amid a labor market cooldown, they were pummeled with a rapidly growing volume of applications from job seekers desperate to get their foot in the door—and angered when hiring teams didn’t respond.

So, when asked what trends they’d like to ditch in 2025, it’s arguably no surprise that many HR leaders focused on breaking the cycle of bad recruiting habits.

Rethink culture fit. “One workplace fad to leave behind in 2024 is the ‘culture fit’ hiring approach. While it may seem beneficial, prioritizing candidates who align with a company’s existing culture often comes at the cost of diversity and innovation. Although cultural cohesion is important, overemphasizing ‘fit’ can lead to homogeneity, stifle diverse perspectives, and overlook individuals with unique experiences or viewpoints. A more effective strategy is embracing ‘culture add’—hiring individuals who bring new ideas, skills, and perspectives that enhance and evolve the company culture. This shift can foster a more inclusive and dynamic workplace in 2025 and beyond.”—Sandra Rosa, CHRO, Syniverse

Stop relying on rigid candidate tests. “One trend that I’d like to see left behind in 2024 is using standardized assessments as an elimination tool to measure candidate suitability during the interview process. Some people are good test takers, and others are not. Giving someone a one-size-fits-all test to determine whether they’d provide value to an organization can cause you to miss out on truly unique talent. I hope that hiring in 2025 and beyond shifts to evaluating candidates’ skill sets in a holistic way and that someone’s value is not solely based on the adult version of standardized test scores.”—Iman Abbasi, CHRO, Plume

Look inward. “In 2025, we need to move past the pursuit of the ‘perfect candidate.’ If companies can’t find the ideal fit in their pool of job applicants, it’s time to look at talent already on your payroll. While many companies believe they lack the talent needed to reach their goals, the reality is, their internal mobility program probably just isn’t up to par. In fact, recent research found just 50% of HR leaders and 23% of employees say these programs are effective. Organizations likely already have everything they need to succeed but must prioritize identifying it internally before looking outward. One way HR teams can do this is by leveraging AI to spot employees with strong potential and transferable skills, benefitting both the company and the employee, while reducing recruitment costs.”—Hannah Yardley, CHRO, Achievers

Ghost the ghosting. “I would love to see the ghosting of candidates become a thing of the past. If a candidate has taken time to apply for a role, HR professionals have a duty to respond to that application. The response might take weeks or months. It doesn’t have to be personal in nature, though it's nice when one can give feedback specific to the candidate. Most applicant tracking systems allow HR to send mass emails with a few clicks. Give folks some closure, say thank you for their time, and leave candidates with a positive impression of your organization. It’s the least we can do.”—Katie Ward, talent acquisition specialist, Vitamin Angels

Consider career-long learning. “The debate over degree vs. no degree as part of job requirements: While it’s great that we’ve seen this trend of major companies ditching college degree requirements (it’s surely a key driver for diversity in the hiring pool), I hope the conversation in 2025 will move beyond degree vs. no degree and focus more on how much employees are learning post-college—including the breadth of trainings they’ve undergone, both technical and non-technical.”—Jan Meyer, global head of learning systems, SAP