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Vacations, beach days, and out-of-office replies: the unofficial signs of summer. And if you’re in recruiting or ...
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New year, same hustle and it’s already a busy one.
On the first 2025 episode of The Hirewell Update, we jumped straight into what everyone wants to know: which roles are growing fastest, and what that says about where the job market’s headed. From AI engineers to travel advisors (yes, really), we break down LinkedIn’s “Jobs on the Rise” report and what it means for candidates, hiring managers, and curious onlookers alike.
Let’s just say: the job market isn’t just changing. It’s expanding in directions few predicted.
AI: Still Dominating the Conversation, and the Hiring
We couldn’t start this episode without talking about the big one: artificial intelligence.
AI Engineers
These aren’t just hot roles, they’re shaping the future of how every industry operates. AI engineers are building the tech behind automation, LLMs, and NLP systems. Skills like Python, PyTorch, and prompt engineering are in high demand.
Where? San Francisco, NYC, Boston, and, of course, remote. Nearly 35% of these roles are fully remote, with another 25% hybrid. That flexibility isn’t going anywhere.
AI Consultants
Less code, more strategy. AI consultants help companies figure out how to use all that powerful tech. With ~4.5 years of experience and a solid technical foundation, these pros are becoming must-haves for forward-looking teams. Hybrid setups dominate here too, flexibility matters even in strategy.
A Surprise Comeback: Travel Advisors
In a post-COVID world, travel isn’t just back— it’s booming. And people are done winging it.
That’s where travel advisors come in. They’re curating full experiences, leveraging social media, and offering expert guidance. 80% of them are women. And about 27% are working remotely, so yes, it’s a serious career and a solid side hustle, too.
Also, side note: Emily’s planning her honeymoon with one. (She’s already ahead of the curve.)
Healthcare Is Still Hiring: Enter the Physical Therapist
Demand for physical therapists is climbing, especially in urban centers like New York and Chicago. While remote work isn’t an option here (this role is the definition of hands-on), job security and human interaction make it a fulfilling path for those in healthcare.
Fun fact: nearly two-thirds of physical therapists are women, continuing the trend of female representation in care-based roles.
Sustainability Specialists: Green Jobs, Real Growth
Environmental analyst. Sustainability specialist. Whatever the title, this role is rising fast.
These professionals help organizations assess their social and environmental impact and actually do something about it. With climate tech taking off and new regulations coming from the EU and U.S., this is more than a buzzword. It’s a full-on hiring category.
We’ve seen it ourselves. Climate tech clients are ramping up, and this trend is just getting started.
AI + Everything Else: The Crossover Begins
One theme we kept coming back to? Cross-pollination. AI is bleeding into every industry, from sustainability to healthcare, and it’s raising the bar for technical literacy and adaptability across the board.
Whether it’s learning how AI is changing your field, upskilling into tech, or embracing new roles altogether, flexibility is key. The winners in 2025 will be the ones willing to evolve with the work.
The Takeaway: It’s a Year of Opportunity (If You’re Ready)
Tech is bouncing back. Healthcare remains strong. Green jobs are real. And flexibility, both in mindset and role structure, is a make-or-break factor.
If you’re a job seeker, keep your eye on momentum and upskilling opportunities.
If you’re a hiring leader, know that competition for specialized roles is heating up fast.
And if you’re not sure where you fit yet? You’re not alone. But now’s the time to figure it out.
For deeper insights, fresh trends, and custom hiring help, visit talentinsights.hirewell.com or learn more at hirewell.com.
We’re back for another season of The Hirewell Update, tune in and let’s navigate 2025 together.
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If you’re hiring in 2026, you’re dealing with two realities at the same time.
First, traditional signals like degrees and pedigree are losing their value.
Second, Gen Z is reshaping expectations around speed, transparency, and trust.
Together, those forces are pushing talent acquisition into its next evolution.
As we outlined in Agentic HR Is Here: What Talent Acquisition Really Looks Like in 2026, recruiting is becoming more autonomous at the execution level. But autonomy alone doesn’t solve the core hiring problem.
You still need a better way to evaluate people.
That’s where skills-first hiring comes in.
The Degree Barrier Is Collapsing
For decades, degrees were used as a shortcut.
Not because they reliably predicted success, but because they reduced perceived risk and simplified decision-making.
That logic no longer holds.
Roles are changing too fast. Job titles mean less than they used to. And in a market where AI can generate a polished resume in seconds, pedigree is an even weaker signal.
Companies need capability, not credentials.
Skills Intelligence Is Becoming the New Operating System
The bigger shift isn’t just skills-based hiring. It’s skills intelligence.
Instead of organizing work around static job descriptions, companies are starting to think in terms of capabilities. Work is assigned based on skill, not hierarchy or tenure.
This is the same evolution happening across workforce planning more broadly. Not headcount planning, but capability planning.
And it’s the only model that holds up in a fast-moving market.
Why Skills-First Hiring Is Accelerating Right Now
Skills-first hiring is gaining traction because it solves multiple problems at once.
It improves quality of hire.
It increases internal mobility.
It reduces bias tied to pedigree.
And it aligns better with how work actually gets done.
But it’s also accelerating for a more practical reason.
The resume is no longer reliable.
As we covered in The AI-on-AI Hiring Arms Race, recruiting teams are now dealing with a flood of highly optimized, AI-generated applications. Many look great on paper and collapse under real scrutiny.
When that happens, skills-based evaluation stops being a “nice to have.” It becomes the only way to restore signal.
Gen Z Is Forcing the Issue
Now layer in Gen Z.
By 2026, Gen Z is one of the fastest-growing segments of the workforce. They are also the least tolerant of slow, opaque hiring processes.
One of the most important data points in the market right now is this:
A majority of Gen Z candidates will drop out if a hiring process exceeds 22 days.
Speed, to them, isn’t about impatience. It’s about competence.
If a company can’t run a clear, efficient hiring process, candidates assume it can’t run the business well either.
Ghosting Is No Longer a Candidate Experience Issue
It’s a trust issue.
A large percentage of job seekers report that looking for work negatively impacts their mental health. The biggest driver isn’t rejection.
It’s silence.
Waiting to hear back. No closure. No clarity on next steps.
For Gen Z, that lack of transparency is a dealbreaker. It signals misalignment, not just poor communication.
In 2026, how you hire is inseparable from how you’re perceived as an employer.
The New Hiring Deal in 2026
For Gen Z, the hiring experience is part of the offer.
They expect:
- speed and clear timelines
- skills-based evaluation
- consistent communication
- honest feedback
- values alignment
If the process feels like a black box, they assume the culture is the same.
This is where skills-first hiring and agentic systems intersect. Technology can speed up execution, but only leadership can ensure the experience remains human.
What Talent Leaders Should Be Doing Now
The companies adapting fastest in 2026 are focused on a few fundamentals:
- Shortening the hiring process
By removing unnecessary steps, not by cutting corners. - Shifting from resumes to proof
Work samples, structured interviews, and skills assessments matter more than pedigree. - Improving transparency
Candidates don’t need perfection. They need clarity and closure. - Designing hiring for humans
Technology should reduce friction, not replace basic respect.
Final Thought
Skills-first hiring isn’t just about fairness. It’s about accuracy.
And Gen Z isn’t asking for special treatment. They’re forcing employers to modernize a hiring process that’s been broken for a long time.
The companies that adapt will hire better, faster, and with less churn. The companies that don’t will keep blaming the market while losing candidates to competitors who simply run a better process.
Most companies agree with skills-first hiring in theory. Very few have operationalized it in a way that actually improves outcomes. If you want help redesigning your hiring process for 2026, especially around skills-based evaluation and candidate experience, we can help. Reach out and we’ll walk you through what’s working right now.
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