You can’t build a modern business with an outdated hiring mindset. But a lot of companies are still trying.
It’s 2025, and we’re halfway through the workplace transformation that began in 2020 — and you can feel it. This isn’t the beginning of change anymore. It’s the part where vision becomes reality and companies have to start following through with their plans.
Most leaders know what they want to build; but they haven’t staffed up to actually do it. Instead, they’ve spent the last few years investing in strategy and making surface-level updates to their culture and policies, so they think they’ve done everything they need to adapt to the market, but when it comes to execution; their hiring mindset hasn’t fully evolved.
What happened in 2020 wasn’t a blip. It was a breaking point and a breakthrough that permanently changed how talent works in the economy.
Hiring is never going back to the way it was and that’s not just a good thing. It’s one of the most powerful advantages companies have ever had. The best people in the world are on the market and more accessible than ever. But most companies aren’t capitalizing on it.
They’re still hiring like it’s 2019 by holding onto old expectations and defaulting to outdated habits because they feel familiar. That’s why so many teams are still settling. It’s not because they want to, it’s because they haven’t changed the way they think about hiring to match the market they’re in.
You don’t have to settle. But you do have to evolve.
Companies no longer have to settle for average talent anymore, but they can’t afford to either because settling in this market is no longer unnecessary, so when you do, it puts your whole business at risk.
The talent you need (and want) is out there and the companies that are winning right now already know that. They’re not holding out for a good enough hire that’s local because they’ve opened themselves up to the global market and they’re going after the exact person they need, no matter where they live and they’re paying top dollar to land them.
Since 2020, hiring has changed permanently. Location, industry, and availability no longer carry the weight they once did. The companies that adapted quickly are pulling in top experts from niche fields, while others are still stuck searching for generalists who can do it all for less. That model doesn’t work anymore.
Top performers are still getting multiple offers, even in a tough market, because the best people are always in demand. And now that companies know they never have to settle again, they aren’t. They’re moving faster, competing harder, and raising the bar because they know what it costs if they don’t.
The only way forward is through:
Here’s what you can start doing now to change.
1. Widen your reach and stop settling for average talent close to home
In 2019, the generalist hire made sense. You could find someone nearby, stretch them across a few roles, and trust that they’d figure it out.
But the pace of work has changed. The expectations are higher. Today’s work requires depth, not just range and you can’t get by hiring one person to do five jobs for a below-market salary.
The truth is, that local talent pool you used to rely on isn’t what it used to be. The best people in your area are now part of the global talent pool and they’re getting picked up by companies who are willing to pay what they’re worth.
At the same time, AI has taken over a lot of what generalists used to handle. So if you’re still trying to hire the way you did five years ago, you’re narrowing your search, rejecting the talent you actually need, and settling for what’s left.
It’s not about working harder to find the right person nearby. It’s about looking beyond your immediate radius and tapping into a much bigger, stronger pool of specialized talent that can actually get the job done.
2. Prioritize execution — not potential
If you’ve already invested in strategy, this isn’t the time to gamble on potential. You need people who can build and you need them now.
That means targeting execution-level talent with proven experience in the kind of work you need done. Whether it’s bringing someone on full-time or hiring them on contract to knock out a major project, the approach is the same: hire the best person you can find to get the job done.
Don’t settle for someone adjacent to the role just because they’re available now. Similar experience isn’t the same as the right experience. You can’t afford to train them up, wait for them to figure it out, or put the team through another learning curve because that slows you down and ends up costing you more. You need someone who can show people how it’s done and is ready to go one day one.
Right now it’s go time. This is your build phase. The companies making real progress are the ones hiring people who’ve already done the work that needs to be done and paying them at premium rates, because that’s what they’re worth. You either pay for execution now, or deal with the fallout later, but one way or another, you’re going to pay.
3. Treat hiring like the specialization it is
This is the biggest mindset shift most companies still need to make: hiring isn’t just a process anymore — it’s a strategy.
The talent market has changed permanently. The way people work, what they expect, how they engage, and how quickly they move looks entirely different than the way it did five years ago. And your internal team isn’t set up to manage all of that, because that’s not what they were built for.
Hiring now requires deep market fluency, global reach, constant calibration, and speed. The smartest companies are the ones that know this and they’re outsourcing their searches to experts who can execute.
You can’t afford to waste cycles guessing your way through a critical hire. We know how to do this better than anyone and we’ve been operating in a global-first model since before it was standard. That’s why our clients aren’t falling behind. They’re building ahead.
You Know Things Have Changed. We Give You the Confidence to Hire Like It
The truth is: most leaders know that hiring has changed. They’re not out of touch and they’re not unaware, but they are overwhelmed and that’s why there’s a disconnect between what they know and what they’re doing.
They’ve seen how much the market has changed. They understand the kind of talent it takes to grow a business today. But when everything feels uncertain, they fall back on what’s familiar. Even if it’s outdated. Even if it’s not working. Because in a moment like this, settling can feel safer than making a bold choice alone.
What leaders are missing isn’t knowledge. It’s clarity and the confidence to act on what they already know is true.
That’s what working with us gives you. Not just candidates. Not just reach. But a grounded, strategic partner who understands where you are and knows how to help you move forward. We’re built for the global market and have helped leaders fully shift their mindset before. We have the structure, insight, and experience to help you hire in a way that matches the world we’re living in; not the one we left behind. We know how to help you hire better, move faster, and get the clarity you’ve been missing.
You don’t have to settle. You don’t have to overthink it. And you don’t have to do it alone.
Contact us today to get started.