When economic uncertainty shifts hiring power from job seekers back to employers, recruiting dynamics change dramatically. This market condition—which recruiting specialist Tim Sprangers calls “uncertain”—creates distinct challenges for talent acquisition teams. Listen to our full conversation with Tim on the Courage to Advance podcast.
“This paralysis really affects everyone,” explains Sprangers, who heads Orin Rice, a Seattle-based sales recruiting firm. “Companies postpone hiring decisions, while potential candidates cling to their current positions, fearing they might be ‘last in, first out’ if they move.”
Kim Bohr, President and COO of SparkEffect, sees this hesitation regularly in her work with executive teams. “When market conditions create uncertainty, we observe a fascinating paradox,” Bohr notes. “Organizations know talent acquisition remains crucial for long-term success, yet decision paralysis sets in precisely when strategic hiring could provide competitive advantage.”
For HR professionals, these market conditions demand fresh approaches. Let’s examine concrete strategies based on Sprangers’ recruitment expertise that work when traditional methods stall.
The Current Hiring Reality
Several factors contribute to today’s hesitant hiring climate: international trade tensions, potential tariffs, and broader economic concerns affecting companies across sectors.
“The ripple effects go surprisingly far,” Sprangers points out. “Even tech companies selling primarily to US customers worry about wider market impacts—how their customers’ customers might react to economic shifts.”
This chain reaction creates widespread caution, with organizations pressing pause on strategic hires while assessing potential risks.
“In our executive coaching practice, we’re seeing leaders struggle with balancing short-term caution against long-term talent needs,” Bohr adds. “The organizations gaining advantage are those willing to maintain selective hiring momentum while competitors completely freeze their talent pipelines.”
Treat Recruitment Like a Trackable Process
One of Sprangers’ most practical recommendations is applying sales metrics to your recruitment efforts—turning gut feelings into measurable data.
“You need to track each step—your applications, your response rates, your interview progression,” Sprangers explains. “If you’re consistently getting to panel interviews but not receiving offers, that pinpoints exactly where to focus your improvement efforts.”
HR teams can apply this systematic thinking by:
- Measuring candidate progression through specific recruitment stages
- Spotting exact points where qualified candidates drop off
- Testing different approaches at problematic stages
- Using actual feedback to adjust methods
This data-driven approach resonates with SparkEffect’s work with HR leaders. “The organizations that maintain hiring effectiveness during uncertainty are those that replace vague feelings with concrete metrics,” Bohr observes. “By identifying specific breakdown points in their recruitment process, they can make targeted improvements rather than overhaul entire systems.”
This strategic approach extends to candidate evaluation tools as well. Organizations leveraging workplace alignment assessments like Harrison Assessments can make more targeted hiring decisions by identifying candidates whose behavioral traits and motivations align with role requirements and company culture, rather than relying solely on traditional interviewing methods.
Substance Beats Style: Focusing on What Matters
Despite worries about automated screening tools, Sprangers offers reassurance that human judgment still dominates the screening process.
“The truth is, most resumes get about six to ten seconds of human attention before the initial yes/no decision,” he says. “In that brief window, what stands out? Numbers. Specific results. Not fancy formatting.”
For talent acquisition teams, this suggests prioritizing:
- Specific results: “Actual figures jump off the page—percentages, dollar amounts, time saved.”
- Clean, standard formatting: “The resume should look familiar and readable, with content that demands attention.”
- Role-tailored materials: “Generic applications signal a lack of focus and genuine interest.”
This approach simplifies evaluation while identifying candidates who clearly understand and can articulate their specific contributions.
“Through our career transition coaching,” Bohr adds, “we’ve found that candidates who focus on quantifiable achievements consistently outperform those with more polished but less substantial materials. The lesson for HR teams is clear: prioritize evidence of impact over presentation.”
The Two-Path Framework for Career Changers
When evaluating candidates making career pivots, Sprangers recommends a straightforward assessment method—looking for strength in either functional skills or industry knowledge.
“When switching careers, you need at least one solid anchor,” he explains. “Either you bring valuable skills that transfer across industries, or you bring deep industry knowledge that applies to a new function.”
This framework gives HR teams a practical lens for assessing transitioning candidates:
- Skills-based candidates demonstrate proven capabilities that can adapt to new sectors
- Industry experts offer market insights that create value in different roles within their field
The critical point is identifying which strength forms the candidate’s foundation and evaluating accordingly.
“Using structured assessment tools helps us move beyond surface-level evaluations,” notes Bohr. “When organizations can identify whether a candidate’s core strengths lie in transferable skills or industry expertise, they make more strategic hiring decisions that reduce long-term turnover.”
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Sprangers emphasizes the timing mistake most people make with professional connections.
“Nobody plants seeds when they’re hungry for vegetables,” he observes. “Yet that’s exactly how most people approach networking—reaching out only when they desperately need something.”
This principle directly improves talent acquisition:
- Build ongoing connections with promising professionals, even without immediate openings
- Create genuine communities around your organization’s work and culture
- Balance online connections with face-to-face interactions
- Provide actual help to potential candidates before making requests
“The most sophisticated talent acquisition teams we work with maintain relationship-building activities regardless of immediate hiring needs,” Bohr explains. “During market uncertainty, these proactive organizations can activate warm connections rather than starting cold outreach when positions eventually open.”
Questions Reveal More Than Answers
The interview questions candidates ask often reveal more about their potential than their responses to standard prompts.
“Natural curiosity shows preparation and genuine interest,” Sprangers explains. “When candidates ask thoughtful questions about business challenges or team dynamics, it shows they’re already thinking about contributing, not just getting hired.”
HR teams can apply this insight by:
- Noting the specificity and relevance of candidate questions
- Creating interview settings that encourage real conversation
- Assessing curiosity as a core predictor of success
- Recognizing that well-researched questions demonstrate investment
“We’ve found that assessment tools measuring curiosity and adaptability strongly predict a candidate’s ability to solve complex problems,” adds Bohr. “This validates what Tim observes about question quality – candidates who demonstrate genuine curiosity in interviews typically show higher engagement and performance once hired.”
Maintaining Progress Despite Uncertainty
Market hesitation creates emotional strain for both hiring managers and candidates. Sprangers advocates for recognizing reality while continuing forward movement.
“When hiring slows, remember it’s the market, not you,” he notes. “Focus entirely on what you can influence—your activities, your follow-up, your preparation—and keep moving.”
HR teams can apply this balanced approach by:
- Having honest conversations with hiring managers about timelines
- Maintaining clear communication with candidates during extended processes
- Controlling internal workflows while acknowledging external constraints
- Creating flexible hiring plans that adapt to changing conditions
“The psychological impact of market uncertainty can’t be overlooked,” Bohr observes from SparkEffect’s coaching experience. “Teams that acknowledge challenges while maintaining consistent activity tend to weather uncertainty much better than those who simply suspend recruitment until ‘things improve.'”
Selecting Effective Recruitment Partners
When working with external recruiters, Sprangers suggests evaluating them based on their discovery process rather than superficial metrics.
“A good recruiting conversation takes time because understanding motivations matters,” he explains. “Pay attention to whether they listen closely and ask insightful questions, or simply push candidates through a standard script.”
For HR teams, this means:
- Choosing partners who invest time understanding your specific culture
- Prioritizing recruiters with actual experience in your industry
- Evaluating partnerships based on candidate quality, not quantity
- Seeking partners who provide genuine market intelligence
“External recruiting partnerships reflect your organization’s values and standards,” Bohr notes. “The best partnerships we’ve observed are those where recruiters function as true extensions of the internal team, sharing insights and maintaining consistent communication, rather than simply delivering candidates.”
Practical Job Search Strategies for Uncertain Times
For HR professionals working through today’s challenging hiring environment, these evidence-based approaches offer a framework for maintaining effectiveness:
- Apply metrics to your hiring process to identify specific improvement areas
- Prioritize substance over formatting in candidate evaluation
- Determine whether skills or industry knowledge matters more for each position
- Build candidate relationships before specific openings exist
- Pay attention to the quality of candidate questions during interviews
- Leverage strategic assessment tools like Harrison Assessments that measure workplace behavior, motivation, and cultural fit to reduce mis-hires when recruiting mistakes are more costly
- Keep moving forward despite extended timelines
- Partner with recruiters who genuinely understand your needs
By implementing these practical approaches, HR teams can create hiring advantages even when market conditions cause others to hesitate.
“Our work with organizations across industries confirms that hiring effectiveness during uncertainty comes down to focus and persistence,” Bohr concludes. “By concentrating on what you can control—your processes, your evaluation methods, your relationship-building, and the quality of your assessment tools—you position your organization to attract exceptional talent even in challenging markets.”
Ready to implement these recruitment strategies?
Download our Strategic Job Seeker’s Success Guide for frameworks that help both HR teams and candidates make smarter decisions during challenging times.
