When hiring managers comb through resumes, they are looking for a variety of hard and soft skills in each candidate. Hard skills are gained by experience in the specific industry, but soft skills are forged in jobs of every kind. Those in demand most in 2025 are known as transferable – useful no matter the position, industry, or experience level.
As you consider hiring in the new year, we’ve compiled a list of transferable skills to watch for. Employees with these useful soft skills in their arsenal can become valuable members of your team.
Communication
The ability to convey ideas, listen to others’ ideas, and translate those into actionable items is a vital skill in a collaborative work environment. Good communicators exhibit patience, know how to ask relevant follow-up questions, and can synthesize information from one group and pass it along to another. Work communication requires an appropriate tone, clarity, and punctual response time. Modern employees skilled in communication should be proficient in all types: written, in-person, and in video calls where needed.
Dependability
The pandemic introduced a new, more flexible work environment for many companies, which gives employees some leeway with remote work and scheduling that accommodates their lives. Within that paradigm, workers can set themselves apart with their dependability. This skill goes beyond just showing up when scheduled; dependable employees complete assignments without constant oversight, they communicate issues that arise along the way, follow company policy, and promote company culture.
Organization
Dependability is fed by good organization. Well-organized people keep careful notes, calendars, to-do lists, or utilize company project management software in a collaborative environment. They are able to gather information quickly when questions arise. Good organization helps people meet deadlines with a system of goal-setting, task prioritization, delegation, and attention to detail.
Adaptability
The rapidly-changing landscape of new technologies demands adaptability in modern workers. Flexible employees demonstrate they can work with new hires, accept reorganization in departments and management, and learn new systems. Many people work best when they feel comfortable, so some patience is warranted with big changes, but adaptable people demonstrate they can make new situations work just as well. Adaptability is also a valuable skill for handling a new project assignment or pivoting from an expected course. Lots of work projects change along the way; flexibility can help people produce good work in any circumstance.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what others feel by imagining yourself in their point of view. Far from just a therapy buzzword, its value in the workplace extends from entry-level to leadership positions. Empathic workers will be better communicators, more able to compromise, able to offer support to others, and show willingness to help in a crisis.
In the workplace, research psychologist Jamil Zaki explains: “A lot of our social norms reward people based on their individual performances. But it’s also important when we see somebody acting compassionately or empathically to call that out in a positive way, emphasizing empathic behavior and helping it to become normal behavior.”
Collaboration
Most jobs require some level of collaboration with co-workers, managers, customers, or clients. To be a skilled collaborator takes a little bit skills like empathy, communication, and adaptability to another level. Collaboration requires active listening skills; nonverbal cues like nodding and eye contact along with verbal cues like repeating back or asking follow-up questions. Good collaborators accept feedback and make adjustments to their work or behavior, and can effectively communicate feedback to others. They are willing to engage in conflict resolution when necessary, and look for ways for all members of a team to contribute.
Initiative
Initiative refers to the ability to assess a work task and proceed without direction from someone else. Within the parameters of any work assignment, there are likely to be requirements or deadlines that are firm, but often the detail work is up to the employee. Those with initiative will find efficient and effective ways to complete work assignments without a constant need for counsel or oversight. They can solve problems, resolve conflicts, troubleshoot tech problems, make decisions quickly, and pivot when something isn’t working out.
Critical Thinking
In the workplace, critical thinking doesn’t refer to finding faults in others. It refers to the ability to carefully analyze an idea without favoring personal feelings or opinions. Critical thinkers can approach problems objectively. They research using unbiased and reputable sources, ask thoughtful questions, and effectively synthesize data to provide reasonable answers and help solve problems.
The workplace is a great classroom for developing soft skills that are useful in a wide variety of jobs. The most in-demand skills are those that encourage open-minded cooperation and problem-solving. Employees who bring their skillset and look for opportunities to develop others will be great contributors to your business.
When the time comes to bring on new hires, how does your company approach this process? Is it a carefully planned effort, with a focus on how a potential new hire would fit with the culture, or are team leaders scrambling to get top talent to fill a seat? If you find you’re more often in the latter situation, the hiring efforts may not yield the results you want. In fact, hiring without purpose can lead to lower retention and engagement rates, impacting the company overall. Instead of scrambling or throwing a posting out to see what sticks, it’s worth taking the time to determine how to incorporate your business strategy into hiring efforts.
Keep reading to learn how to do so and reap the benefits of higher-quality hires.
What Is a Business Strategy?
First things first: What is your company’s overall business strategy? Components that factor into this overarching concept include the mission, objectives, values, and advantages in the market. If you aren’t sure how to answer that, the first step in improving your hiring efforts is clearly defining the strategy.
The strategy behind any business outlines the plan of action to reach its goals. Of course, the goals of an organization vary widely, so your strategy won’t be exactly the same as the owner of a business operating in an entirely different market. Considering what your company objectives are and the steps you plan to take to achieve them are essential in success.
The Importance of Incorporating Business Strategy into Hiring
One of the key concerns associated with hiring just to hire, rather than focusing on finding the right fit, is a higher turnover rate. Nearly 70 percent of employees are likely to stay with a company for five years if they feel aligned with the company’s value and mission. Failing to identify better fits could cause your company to need to hire more frequently, which is an expensive and time-consuming process.
Productivity rates also decline when employees aren’t good fits for their positions. When a company aligns its hiring needs with the overall strategy behind its growth and operations, the productivity rates are nearly 25 percent higher.
High turnover rates also have a negative impact in the workplace. Employees often have to pick up the slack, taking on additional tasks. This effort can cause important things to slip through the cracks or hinder the company’s ability to respond to market trends.
Identifying Hiring Needs
After you have a clear picture of the strategy behind your business, you can start to consider how that factors into the team members you plan to bring onboard. If your business is new, you may be hiring some of the early employees. An established business may need new hires to fill open positions as people leave or to take on newly created roles.
Create a plan that outlines your expected hiring needs over the coming 12 months. From there, you can incorporate any unexpected needs that arise, such as when jobs are vacated. With a sense of what positions will need to be filled, you can come up with a better strategy for finding and identifying individuals who would fit well.
You can also take this opportunity to review workforce data, including performance, turnover, and engagement levels. Identifying any trends, such as higher turnover rates in a specific department, can help you make adjustments that support workplace goals.
Design Your Recruitment Process
Whether you have a distinct hiring process in place or not, now is the time to make sure the next new hire has a positive experience. Design the recruitment process in a way that aligns with your company strategy and reflects the overall brand.
Create an employer value proposition (EVP) that clearly defines the benefits, expectations, and opportunities that come with working for your company. Share this information with those you think could be good fits for open jobs. By designing a process that matches your business strategy, you can attract and choose candidates who align with the vision and culture, as well as provide positive contributions to help your company meet its goals.
Improve your hiring efforts with ApplicantStack, a platform designed with today’s recruitment in mind. This solution includes tools for recruiting and bringing on top talent, ensuring a seamless and efficient process for everyone involved. Explore the features or take it for a free test drive today.
In today’s competitive job market, retaining top talent is a top priority for organizations across industries. While factors like competitive salaries, workplace culture, and flexible work arrangements play a crucial role, professional development is emerging as a cornerstone of employee satisfaction and retention. Companies that prioritize the growth of their workforce not only nurture talent but also create an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to stay. Explore how investing in professional development can boost employee retention.
The Link Between Employee Development and Retention
Employees want more than just a paycheck; they seek opportunities to grow and advance in their careers. A lack of career progression is one of the leading reasons employees leave their roles. By investing in professional development, organizations demonstrate their commitment to their employees’ long-term success. This commitment fosters loyalty and encourages employees to envision their future within the company, rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere.
4 Benefits of Investing in Employee Development
Explore four key benefits that come with putting employees first.
Building Engagement and Job Satisfaction
Professional development initiatives—such as skills training, leadership programs, and tuition reimbursement—enhance employee engagement. When employees see that their organization is willing to invest in their growth, they are more likely to feel a sense of purpose and belonging. This sense of fulfillment translates to higher job satisfaction, which significantly reduces turnover rates.
Closing Skills Gaps and Increasing Competence
In a rapidly changing business landscape, skills can quickly become outdated. Companies that offer ongoing training and development equip their workforce to adapt to new challenges, technologies, and market demands. This not only benefits the organization by closing critical skills gaps but also instills confidence in employees as they build competencies that make them more effective in their roles.
Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
Organizations that prioritize professional development gain a competitive edge in attracting high-caliber candidates. Talented professionals are drawn to employers known for fostering growth and offering career advancement opportunities. Once onboard, these employees are less likely to leave, as they find the development resources they need to thrive.
Enhancing Leadership Pipelines
Professional development is vital for cultivating future leaders. Programs that identify and nurture high-potential employees prepare them to take on leadership roles, ensuring a seamless transition during organizational changes. This forward-thinking approach reduces the risk of leadership gaps and further demonstrates the company’s commitment to employee success.
Tips to Implement an Employee Development Program
Investing in professional development doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are a few cost-effective strategies:
Offer Online Learning: Provide access to webinars, online courses, and certifications that employees can pursue at their own pace.
Mentorship Programs: Pair employees with mentors to help them gain insights, advice, and hands-on experience in their fields.
On-the-Job Training: Facilitate cross-functional training and stretch assignments to help employees expand their skill sets.
Lunch-and-Learn Sessions: Host informal learning events where employees can share knowledge or hear from guest speakers.
Encourage Conferences and Networking: Support attendance at industry events to keep employees inspired and connected.
Boost Retention and Reap the Benefits
Investing in professional development is more than a strategy for improving skills; it’s a commitment to the growth and well-being of employees. Organizations that prioritize this investment create a culture of loyalty, innovation, and resilience. By doing so, they not only enhance retention but also position themselves as leaders in their industries. When employees grow, so does the company—a win-win situation for all involved.
In the past decade, a huge shift in the workforce has seen many more opportunities for virtual workers. Gallup found that 27 percent of workers are exclusively remote, 21 percent are exclusively in the office, and 53 percent of workers have some kind of hybrid schedule. The pandemic suddenly sent 70 percent into remote work, and in the years since that number has declined. But compare 2019’s remote workers (8 percent) to 2024 (27 percent), and it’s clear some amount of remote work is likely here to stay. Virtual hiring is an important component of remote work, and companies can work to make it a more positive experience by considering some of the following tips.
What Is Remote Work?
Remote work is a flexible arrangement between an employee and a company that allows for work tasks to be accomplished outside of an office setting. Often an employee works from home by using technology such as virtual meetings, phone calls, or business messaging software in lieu of face-to-face meetings. Hybrid work may require a number of hours or days per week spent in the office while the remainder are remote.
Remote workers are often hired virtually, so a well-organized hiring strategy is vital.
How to Make Virtual Hiring a Positive Experience
Explore these seven strategies to implement in your virtual hiring process.
Write an accurate job description
When your job description clearly spells out expectations, applicants who fit the role are more likely to apply. For example, if a job is described as remote but doesn’t explain that workers are expected in the office once a month for a meeting, a candidate who lives on the opposite side of the country may not be a good fit.
Examine your hiring technology
Since virtual candidates will generally interact with the company using virtual meetings or phone calls, it’s important to make the experience as seamless as possible. Send invitations to calls with plenty of advance notice. Ensure the interviewer is in a well-lit space with no audio distractions and a neutral background. If multiple interviewers are on the call, make sure everyone’s technology is functioning properly.
Keep candidates up to date during the hiring process
Along with a detailed job description, a timeline of what to expect during the hiring process can help you stay connected to the candidate. Provide details about possible number of interviews, an expected timeframe for contact, or methods by which you’ll contact them.
Employ relationship-building strategies
Effective communication relies on non-verbal cues to foster connection. During video interviews, ensure all interviewers are engaged and focused on the candidate as if they were there in person. Personalize written communication so it doesn’t sound like it’s been copied and pasted over and over. The hiring process always requires effective communication, but the virtual element means making sure the tech is working well and isn’t frustrating those efforts.
Focus conversation on company culture
HR professional Kathleen O’Donnell suggests that “having structured conversations – one where you determine the questions ahead of time, and ask everyone the same questions – reduces the chances of bias.” These questions can focus on topics like collaboration or team-buiding to get a feel for how a potential remote worker can fit in with the existing cutlure. Hiring managers can observe and compare reactions to determine the candidate that’s the best fit. It’s also a good time to encourage questions and discussions to help the candidate get a feel for the culture.
Be clear about expectations
During the interview process, make sure a candidate knows if your company has specific requirements for working space, internet access, hours of accessibility, or time clock software. Since the work space isn’t being provided, a potential remote worker should know what is expected of them from the beginning.
Develop a robust virtual onboarding strategy
A virtual onboarding strategy ensures a remote worker doesn’t get hired and then left on their own. Create a checklist of important tasks like explaining benefits and their associated deadlines, providing access to company documents, delivering laptops or a welcome box of company swag. Jumping right into onbarding can help a remote worker feel like a valued part of the company from the first day.
As the workforce bends towards flexibility, your company’s hiring pool can be opened up to prime candidates in other locations. Effective virtual hiring requires some pre-planning and organization, but finding an ideal remote employee can make it all worthwhile. ApplicantStack is a highly effective tool that can streamline hiring, both virtually and in person. Explore how it will help improve your recruiting efforts.
After investing time and energy into the hiring process, you hope new hires find success and longevity in their new roles. Employee retention remains a topic on the forefront of hiring managers’ minds, especially as a recent Gallup poll suggests that 1 in 2 workers is “watching for or actively seeking a new job.” First impressions may be vital for encouraging newly offered employees a reason to stay. Here are some ideas to improve employee retention during the hiring process.
What Makes Employees Look For Other Jobs?
The same Gallup poll categorized reasons people look for other jobs into two categories: “Engagement and Culture” and “Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance.” Engagement and culture can describe obvious factors like pay and benefits and conflicts with direct supervisors or leadership, but also includes advancement or career opportunities.
Wellbeing and work-life balance factors include the job not being a good fit, being faced with unrealistic requirements, relocation stresses, or work-life balance that weighs heavily on the work and not enough on the life.
When asked, poll respondents ranked work-life balance, job security, and increased pay among the high priorities when seeking a new job, but the highest ranked reason may be surprising. People gave “Allows me to do what I do best” a 61 per cent importance factor. This number could indicate that skilled employees feel bogged down by tasks that do not allow them to perform to their capabilities. It may imply companies aren’t tapping into their talent in the right way, or giving enough leeway to inspire creativity and innovation.
Why Create an Employee Retention Strategy?
Addressing each of these factors (plus any more you may identify that are unique to your industry) can go a long way in keeping your job candidates and new hires engaged and excited about the prospects ahead.
Average time to hire can vary by industry, but according to the SHRM the average is 36 days, and may take up to 100 person hours of company time. Each of those days and hours is an opportunity to present the best possible view of the company and address any personal concerns with prospective candidates. Knowing in advance what the new hires value can help you mold a hiring strategy with those values in mind. It’s not always possible to make every concession, but a good faith effort may go a long way in preparing a path for retention. If negotiations reach an impasse, it may reveal that person is unlikely to be a long-term fit.
How to Hire With Retention in Mind
Consider the company brand
Long before the job is posted and the resumes start coming in, it’s worthwhile for the company to evaluate its public-facing image, says HR Pro Sharlyn Lauby. Consider the website, social media, and other avenues where the company promotes its brand: do they offer an ecosystem that promotes employment even if no jobs are open? “Hopefully,” Lauby says, “this will attract interested individuals to your career site where they can opt-in to hear about company information and openings. Recruiters can use this data to build talent pipelines and stay in touch with potential candidates.”
Evaluate technology
This is also a time to evaluate your technology: Is your website easy to navigate? Do pages where prospective employees fill out applications or upload resumes work properly? Does your company have a tool to organize the applications easily and efficiently? Does the applicant receive immediate feedback? A tool like ApplicantStack can manage all of the data and organize it into actionable items for quick turnaround.
Refine job postings
Accurate job postings are another way to ensure the right candidates apply for open positions. Vague and clichéd job descriptions may get you a lot of response, but they may produce more work of sorting to find the truly qualified candidates. Job descriptions that overpromise and underdeliver can be a huge blow to employee retention efforts. New hires who feel duped by idealized or inaccurate job responsibilities are less likely to stick around. It’s a good idea to have multiple eyes on any job description before it goes public. This ensures accuracy and shows a good faith effort to portray the job as it will be.
Negotiate benefits and perks
Much has changed in the job landscape over the years since the pandemic. Workers had to adjust quickly to a different way of working, and many found those promoted a better work-life balance. Options like working remotely meant not relocating and uprooting their families. More sick leave meant people stayed home when they were ill. Flexible work time meant parents were able to adjust schedules for kids’ activities and needs. Floating holidays allow people to take time off on the most meaningful holidays. Perks like gym memberships, ergonomic office equipment, or company service days help people feel valued as humans with myriad needs and interests.
While every company will make policies that fit the work best, it’s useful to be open to how potential employees place value on their time and working arrangements. Where possible, negotiating a beneficial situation to both parties can encourage retention.
An employee retention strategy will be most effective when it includes the hiring process. Recognizing where the company could make improvements in job descriptions, organization, communication, and negotiation can help put your company well below the concerning statistics.
Recruiting top talent can be a challenge, especially when you’re competing with major players in the market. But with the right approach, identifying and appealing to qualified jobseekers can become second nature. Check out a few of the top characteristics of successful recruiters to figure out what skills you could be working on in the new year.
What Is a Recruiter’s Role?
The role of a recruiter is sourcing potential candidates and connecting talented individuals with members of the appropriate hiring time. They may also be referred to as headhunters, although these can be two distinct roles. Headhunters often seek candidates who aren’t actively looking, while recruiters tend to seek out individuals who are open to new roles.
Recruiters can also serve as brand ambassadors, emphasizing what the culture looks like and what a potential new employee could expect when working for the company. They may also be involved with administrative tasks, including managing applicant databases and scheduling interviews.
After filling roles, a recruiter may analyze recruitment metrics to determine things like how long it takes to bring on a new hire, the cost to fill a position, and other factors, to improve future outcomes.
Characteristics of Successful Recruiters to Develop
If you don’t feel good about your skills in any of the following areas, consider how you could improve. These are the top characteristics of successful recruiters.
Communication
Since recruiters are often the first point of contact with potential new hires, their communication skills are vital to success. A friendly and transparent communicator can put a candidate at ease and effectively describe the job and company overall. Consider how well you communicate and whether this is an area you could work on in the coming year.
Networking
Good recruiters are driven by targets, and they achieve their goals by maintaining a large network. The ability to continue to network, even when not actively filling a role, is a skill that can greatly benefit a recruiter in their efforts to match qualified candidates with jobs as they open up. Tips to build your network include:
Attending networking events in your industry
Actively using social media to expand your reach
Collaborating with colleges, universities, and other educational institutions for fresh, new talent
Using personalized communication for direct outreach
Relationship building
Building relationships goes hand-in-hand with networking. As you expand your network, you can form relationships with talented individuals and potentially tap into future potential. Maintaining regular contact throughout the hiring process is one tool for establishing bonds with those you work with, along with learning more about each candidate’s interests and professional aspirations.
Problem solving
A successful recruiter must continuously adapt to new situations and challenges. Overcoming difficulties in the hiring process or resolving conflicts that come up between employers and potential new hires are all part of the job, and the ability to face those struggles head-on and solve the issues can make a big difference in your success.
Managing an effective hiring process
Maintaining a consistent hiring process is also a key skill of any good recruiter. When they source a candidate, that individual should move into a process that keeps an open line of communication and allows the organization to achieve its talent acquisition needs.
Make sure every candidate goes through the same stages, and those who are selected for interviews are asked a standard set of questions that is relevant to the position.
A more effective hiring process is easier to achieve when you have a robust applicant-tracking system in place. Explore how ApplicantStack can simplify the way you find and hire top talent, with tools like text-based communications, job templates, and reporting. You can even get started for free!
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