Recruiting is facing an identity crisis. According to SHRM’s Talent Acquisition Trends for 2025, employers cite economic uncertainty and talent shortages as top concerns. But Jeremy Jenson, CEO of Encore Search Partners, believes the real challenge is how the industry responds.
“AI isn’t killing recruiting,” Jenson says. “Complacency is.”
Jeremy Jenson has spent more than a decade building a premier executive search firm andbelieves the industry’s revenue decline over the past year stems less from innovation, and more from taking the easy way out.
As we enter an era where many firms are choosing speed over substance, they’re forgetting the very thing that made recruiting valuable in the first place: the human element.
He explains, “So many firms have access to the same system and resources. After five years, they’ll be indistinguishable from one another and will ultimately compete each other out of business.”
According to SHRM’s 2025 Talent Acquisition Trends, many employers are dealing with rising labor costs and more pressure to make smart hires. “This is why so many companies are investing in offshoring, automation, and AI,” Jenson says. “They’re trying to cut costs at every level, but tech alone won’t fix poor hiring strategy.”
Jenson often describes it like this: “Much like the relationship between the Corvette Z06 and the Ferrari F8. The Corvette is cheaper and faster, but the Ferrari remains at the top. Class, quality, prestige, and style position us to be the Ferrari of the industry.”
That confidence isn’t accidental. Since 2017, Encore has run on the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which allows their leadership team to consistently solve complex problems in the industry. It’s one of the many long-term investments that have helped the company stay growing while other firms are now racing to catch up.
LinkedIn’s Future of Recruiting 2025 report reinforces the urgency, and it points out that 63% of recruiting leaders expect their role to become more strategic but are defaulting on volume-based tactics even at the expense of talent quality and poor candidate experience. Perhaps the biggest shift came in 2021, when Jenson began working with an Executive Life Coach. It made him a better leader, father, and mentor. The impact on Encore Search’s company culture was so significant that he later hired an on-site performance and mindset coach to help their recruiters excel professionally and personally.
As both SHRM and LinkedIn have observed, many companies are finally shifting from credential-based hiring to performance-based models. He’s seen it firsthand. “A law firm partner that went to Harvard Law School and graduated at the top of their class with a $1M book of business is far less desired than a partner that went to UH Law School that has a $3M book of business. In my opinion, it’s about production and performance.”
Despite this, he doesn’t view AI as a negative force. In fact, he embraces it. Although it’s tempting to default on automation, employers should not rely solely on it. Companies should lean into what makes them irreplaceable. Not faster, not cheaper, but better.
The question companies should be asking is: What do we need to grow the business?Because in this market, you either grow – or you die.
Stay ahead of the curve. Subscribe to HRTechEdge for your competitive edge.
