Within the ’80s, it was shoulder pads. Within the ’90s, it was boy bands.
At the moment, TA traits come and go sooner than a candidate can hit “fast apply”—leaving many TA professionals with the tough job of determining which traits are right here to keep, and that are merely passing fads.
And nowhere is that extra obvious than within the expertise acquisition software program panorama. As software program continues to evolve and increase, recruiters are confronted with the final word query: what’s in, what’s out, and what’s value investing in long run?
To assist separate quick fads from perpetually finds, we’ve pulled collectively 5 traits which might be poised to have an enduring influence on expertise acquisition—and your hiring practices—by 2026 and past.
Development 1: AI & Automation
At the moment, you can’t open an (on-line) newspaper, log into social media, or clear out your inbox with out encountering a brand new tackle AI and automation.
This saturation indicators a transparent shift: AI has moved from experimental hype to anticipated within the TA panorama.
And for good motive. As stress mounts to rent sooner with out sacrificing high quality, groups are turning to AI to extend velocity, consistency, and capability.
Based on Make use of’s 2025 Recruiter Nation Report, 43% of recruiting groups are leveraging AI. How, you ask? The purposes are as assorted because the expertise itself, with groups stating they use AI in areas like:
- Speaking info to candidates or new hires
- Chatbots and clever candidate messaging
- Job description suggestions
Notably absent from this checklist is AI-driven decision-making. And that omission is telling. The prevailing sentiment throughout TA groups is evident: whereas AI can take away friction and handbook work, hiring selections should stay human-led.
As this pattern accelerates, so does scrutiny. The identical report reveals that adoption is more and more formed by belief and governance issues. Amongst HR decision-makers, 59% cite knowledge privateness and safety as the highest issue when evaluating AI instruments, adopted intently by human oversight (58%), explainability (50%), regulatory compliance (45%), and bias discount (36%).
This indicators a broader evolution out there. AI in TA is not about proving worth—it’s about proving accountability.
Trying forward, the dialog is shifting decisively—from ought to groups use AI to how they’ll use it nicely. The subsequent part of AI in expertise acquisition software program will likely be outlined by maturity: AI embedded deliberately throughout workflows, ruled by clear guardrails, supported by human oversight, and built-in right into a broader, related hiring ecosystem.
The takeaway: AI and automation are reshaping expertise acquisition—however the successful groups aren’t chasing novelty. They’re investing in AI that reduces busy work, protects belief, and retains people firmly within the driver’s seat.
Development 2: Enhanced Candidate Expertise
For a lot of candidates, the applying and interview course of are not simply operational steps—they’re the primary, most seen indicators of what working at an organization is basically like. And ought to that have fall quick? The influence doesn’t keep non-public. Job evaluate websites, social platforms, and Reddit threads have turned candidate expertise right into a public, brand-shaping drive.
This shift has made candidate expertise a defining expertise pattern—not only a recruiting concern.
So the place does the market stand at this time? Based on Make use of’s Benchmarks Report, the typical candidate expertise rating sits at 2.9 out of 5—unchanged from 2024.
As competitors for certified expertise stays excessive, the hole between firms that ship a transparent, participating expertise and people who don’t is widening. Candidate expertise is more and more the distinction between constructing a sustainable expertise pipeline and always reopening the identical roles.
What’s driving this pattern isn’t a single second within the course of, however how persistently candidates really feel knowledgeable, revered, and supported—from utility by onboarding. Throughout the market, expertise is taking part in a bigger position at each stage:
- Entice & Have interaction: Software friction is changing into much less acceptable, pushing groups towards mobile-friendly, streamlined experiences that respect candidates’ time with out sacrificing high quality.
- Display screen: Extended silence is now a reputational threat. Automated updates are more and more used to preserve transparency and cut back candidate drop-off.
- Interview: Interview companion instruments are shifting focus again to human dialog by dealing with notes and surfacing insights after the very fact.
- Choose: Information-supported selections are serving to groups transfer sooner and shut the loop extra reliably—decreasing the “left on learn” expertise candidates more and more name out.
- Onboard: Automated onboarding is rising as a continuation of candidate expertise, not a handoff—setting the tone for day one and past.
Trying forward, candidate expertise will likely be formed by how nicely expertise acquisition software program balances automation with empathy. The pattern isn’t towards eradicating people from hiring—it’s towards utilizing expertise to create readability, consistency, and momentum whereas preserving the private contact candidates anticipate.
The takeaway: Candidate expertise stays deeply human—however in 2026 and past, the market is signaling that considerate expertise adoption is important to delivering it at scale. Groups that get this steadiness proper gained’t simply enhance scores—they’ll strengthen belief, employer model, and long-term hiring outcomes.
Development 3: Distant & World Hiring Capabilities
The phrase distant was once most intently related with turning on the TV. Since 2020, it’s come to imply one thing totally totally different—and that shift has completely reshaped how organizations rent.
Distant work has expanded organizations’ skill to entry expertise far past geographic boundaries. In consequence, world hiring is not a distinct segment technique—it’s an more and more frequent working mannequin. Supporting it efficiently, nonetheless, requires the proper expertise acquisition software program.
The place pre-2020 interview processes typically centered on in-person conversations, at this time’s hiring journeys look markedly totally different. TA groups now depend on totally digital channels to speak, consider, and collaborate with candidates—typically throughout time zones, areas, and borders.
And this isn’t a brief adjustment. Based on the 2025 Job Seeker Nation Report, when requested why they’re actively searching for a brand new position—past greater compensation—46% of job seekers cited the necessity for extra flexibility or distant work choices.
As distant and world hiring turns into customary, groups are more and more turning to expertise to assist consistency and scale, together with instruments that assist them:
- Maintain processes and interviews structured and truthful throughout recruiters and hiring groups
- Present clear, comparable indicators of candidate match by scorecards, tech-enabled notes, and interview clips
Trying forward, world hiring will proceed to push expertise acquisition software program to evolve. The main focus will likely be on enabling scale with out sacrificing equity—delivering structured, constant experiences no matter the place candidates or hiring groups are situated.
The takeaway: A certified candidate pool is not outlined by proximity to headquarters. As distant and world hiring solidify as long-term traits, TA groups will want expertise that delivers attain, consistency, and effectivity at scale.
Development 4: Superior Analytics & Insights
“Are you able to pull a report on that?”
At the moment, virtually nothing in expertise acquisition strikes ahead with out knowledge to again it up. However throughout the market, a rising hole is rising between what recruiting groups measure and what really drives hiring outcomes.
Based on the 2025 Recruiter Nation Report, recruiters most frequently pull studies associated to candidate expertise (56%), hiring prices (55%), time to rent (55%), and recruiter exercise (48%). But when requested which metrics matter most, HR decision-makers pointed to retention fee of rent (30%), adopted by supply of rent, hiring supervisor satisfaction, high quality of rent, candidate satisfaction, and recruiter satisfaction.
Compounding this problem, many recruiters are nonetheless monitoring metrics throughout fragmented programs and countless Excel spreadsheets—making it tough to attach efficiency knowledge to strategic selections.
This indicators a broader pattern shift in expertise acquisition: groups are starting to maneuver away from static, backward-looking studies and towards ongoing measurement and forward-looking analytics. More and more, expertise acquisition software program is predicted not simply to report on the previous, however to floor patterns, traits, and indicators that information smarter selections.
Right here’s how that shift is taking form throughout TA groups:
- Transferring away from backward-looking studies and prioritizing insights that inform technique
- Transitioning from spreadsheets to centralized platforms with built-in analytics
- Closing the hole between effectivity metrics and outcome-based measures like high quality of rent and retention
- Investing in AI-powered instruments that floor real-time insights
- Constructing knowledge fluency throughout recruiters and hiring managers
Trying forward, the expectation is evident: measurement alone is not sufficient. The worth lies in understanding what the information means—and appearing on it.
The takeaway: Expertise acquisition is transferring past measurement for measurement’s sake. The pattern is towards monitoring metrics that really transfer the needle—and utilizing analytics with confidence to drive higher hiring outcomes.
Development 5: Integration Ecosystems
Keep in mind when a tech stack meant only one or two programs? At the moment, that quantity is considerably greater—and nonetheless rising.
Based on the 2025 Recruiter Nation Report, recruiting groups are actually juggling a patchwork of instruments: background checks (67%), recruitment advertising and marketing platforms (58%), video interviewing instruments (51%), scheduling software program (49%), and CRMs (47%). Reasonably than driving velocity and ease, this rising fragmentation is creating siloed workflows that sluggish groups down and introduce threat.
This marks a transparent shift within the TA expertise panorama. As stacks increase, the problem is not entry to instruments—it’s how nicely these instruments work collectively.
The reply? Integration.
Trying forward, the success of expertise acquisition software program will rely much less on what number of instruments groups use—and extra on how nicely these instruments work collectively. Integration will turn into a strategic requirement, not a nice-to-have.
As groups transfer into the subsequent part of expertise development (hey, AI), prioritizing integration will likely be key to conserving programs purposeful and future prepared.
Throughout the market, the payoff of integration is displaying up in tangible methods:
- Lowered duplicate knowledge entry and fewer handbook handoffs
- Clear visibility throughout the hiring journey, from first contact by onboarding
- Simpler enlargement into new areas or workflows with out rebuilding processes
- Stronger alignment between recruiters, hiring managers, and HR leaders
- Higher flexibility to evolve the tech stack as wants change
The takeaway: Funding in expertise acquisition software program doesn’t cease at implementation. Integration is the connective tissue that permits hiring expertise to scale, adapt, and ship long-term worth.
How Lever Helps These Developments
Whereas quick fads might dominate headlines, enduring traits are what really reshape how TA groups work—and work collectively. Because the expertise acquisition panorama continues to evolve, specializing in expertise that strengthens workflows, candidate expertise, and crew effectivity will likely be important.
Lever’s AI-powered recruitment platform—with capabilities to assist sourcing, monitoring, and relationship constructing, responsibly—helps groups meet at this time’s hiring calls for whereas making ready for what’s subsequent.
Obtain the total Recruiter Nation Report to discover the traits shaping hiring methods at this time—and schedule a demo to see how your friends are leveling up their hiring processes for tomorrow.
