2026 Recruitment Strategy: Real Talk From Two Expert Recruiters

Recruitment in 2026 looks and feels different from what it has in years past. Candidate expectations are shifting, hiring timelines are less predictable, and what worked even a year ago doesn’t always land the same way now. This evolving landscape calls for an updated recruitment strategy.

To unpack what’s working (and what’s quickly losing steam), we sat down with two Senior Recruiters from HR Annie Recruitment who are in it every day: Katy Byrtus and Carly Richter.

Katy Byrtus (KB) specializes in candidate experience, career coaching, and inclusive hiring. With a background in recruitment, people operations, and DEI, she excels at building relationships and creating community. Katy’s experience in social work and HR gives her a unique perspective on how to drive positive change in organizational culture. Connect with her on LinkedIn!

Carly Richter (CR) brings a deep passion for people to every stage of the hiring process. She focuses on identifying top candidates, supporting career journeys, and helping employers retain great talent. Carly excels at connecting job seekers with the right roles and partnering with clients to create meaningful hiring experiences. Connect with her on LinkedIn!

Read on to hear their thoughtful, honest insights on what employers should rethink, refine, or double down on as they shape their recruitment strategy for 2026.

 

Q1: As we kick off 2026, what’s the one thing employers should prioritize in their recruitment strategy this year?

Katy Byrtus: Candidate experience. Put yourselves in the candidate’s shoes when you’re designing your recruitment strategy and processes, and think about how inclusive, equitable, and aligned it feels with your organizational values. You want candidates walking away from an interview feeling excited and ready to join your team! Not scratching their heads as to how the conversation felt. This will help not only recruit top talent but also retain them at your organization.

Carly Richter: Transparent, comfortable communication with candidates, especially around compensation. Candidates want to know what they’re walking into, and employers who talk openly (and confidently!) about pay build trust fast. Training hiring managers to feel comfortable having those conversations makes everything smoother. It doesn’t need to be a big, formal reveal, just clear, consistent communication throughout the process. It sets a great tone from the start.

Q2: What’s a recruitment consultant strategy or approach that worked well in 2025, but you’re already seeing lose steam in 2026?

KB: Even though it’s still an employer’s market, candidates are getting more vocal with what they will and won’t put up with within the hiring process. We used to see much more use of assessments in the recruiting and hiring process, and we are now seeing pushback from candidates who are discouraged and tired of job seeking. I have even seen candidates push back or pull out in this stage, so ask yourself, what are you really assessing, and is it really necessary at this stage?

CR: Job ads are becoming an even bigger opportunity this year. In the past, a standard, polished template usually did the job. It conveyed the basics and brought in solid applicants. But in 2026, candidates are looking for something that feels more real and less “copy-and-paste.” They’re responding more to ads with personality, clarity, and a genuine sense of what it’s like to work at the company. When an ad sounds human and actually speaks to the people you want to attract, engagement jumps.

 

Q3: AI tools seem to be everywhere in recruiting now. What’s one specific way you’ve seen technology genuinely make hiring easier or better for you and your clients?

KB: The use of note-taking tools that record interviews has been a game-changer. We can refer back to help us with offer negotiations, timelines, and things we missed in our conversations. I’ve seen some tools get fairly complex, where you can link different interview conversations and ask it to contextualize answers, tone, and more. It’s also helpful in creating targeted, follow-up messaging to candidates throughout the interview process.

CR: AI-powered note-taking is my secret weapon. When I’m doing client intakes, these tools capture everything: the tiny details, the throwaway comments, all the context I don’t want to miss. It helps me get aligned with the role so much faster. And the best part? I can go back later and ask things like, “Wait, what did they say about that certification again?” and it pulls it right up. Total lifesaver and time saver.

Q4: What are the most common concerns or expectations you’re hearing from candidates right now that employers might not be aware of?

KB: We’re still hearing a lot about hybrid and onsite requirements, as it relates to the role, their teams, and organizations. Candidates are still looking for more flexibility within their workday, even if an employer has onsite requirements. Questions you can ask yourself when planning your 2026 recruitment strategy include:

• Can employees start and end their work days at different times?
• Could they start and/or end remotely, as long as they come in for some core working hours?
• Could different teams make their own decisions on their team requirements for on-site engagements, and can it be different than other teams in your organization?
• And overall, what is the point in having people in person?
• Are there business needs that require this?
• Are meetings generally held on the days that folks are in the office?
• Are you making the best use of their time on those days you all come in, or are they still sitting at their desks on Zoom calls with one another?

CR: Hands down: timelines and consistent updates. Candidates tell me all the time that they were left hanging in another recruitment process (not mine!), and even a short check-in makes such a difference. Whether they’re moving forward or not, communicating with them leaves a positive impression, and honestly, it builds your future pipeline for free. I know hiring is a whole job on top of your actual job, but incorporating a little extra communication into your recruitment strategy goes a long way.

 

Q5: When you sit down with a client who’s struggling to attract or hire talent, what’s your go-to recommendation for improving their recruitment strategy in 2026?

KB: Simplify, simplify, simplify. Let’s go back to basics. Create a simple and repeatable workflow that you can customize for any role. Keeping it straightforward and easy for candidates and hiring managers to navigate. At the attraction stage, think about what your job ads say about the role and your company. You’re not just using the same job description you developed with your HR Manager and posting it as the job ad, right? You’re taking the time to craft a compelling and engaging ad, telling someone why they would want to work at your company!

CR: Start with market research! It’s eye-opening. Understanding the “why” behind a slow search is huge. We can run a market report that helps clients see where their pay and job structure sit compared to the market. You may not be the highest paying, but at least you know your starting point. And then, get creative! Job ads don’t have to be boring. I recently reworked one to make it more fun and appealing for sterile techs applying to a Dental Assistant role, and it worked! People want to read something that feels human.

Q6: If you had to describe the current recruitment landscape in just one word, what would it be, and why?

KB: Unhinged..but, seriously. Employers are reverting back to some bad recruitment strategy habits since pre-pandemic times, with upwards of 6-8 rounds of interviews, dragging processes out for months at a time, asking for unpaid work from candidates to “prove” they know how to do the work, ghosting candidates, not considering employee referrals, the list goes on. And the candidates are even more depleted and desperate than before–and I don’t mean this as bad on the candidate’s part. I mean this as a reference to how competitive the market continues to be and the increased amount of work asked of candidates in every application process they go through. Stop it, just stop it!

CR: Unpredictable. Things shift quickly: candidate behavior, employer needs, timelines, all of it. Surprises pop up all the time. But that’s why partnership matters–we adjust, pivot, and figure it out together so employers don’t have to navigate that unpredictability alone.

 

If you’re looking for support with building your 2026 recruitment strategy, we’re here to help! Reach out today to learn more about our Recruitment Consulting services and chat with one of our experts about strengthening your hiring strategy and approach for the year ahead.