If you’ve been in the recruiting business for a while, you know that every industry has its ups and downs. Some might have urgent needs for talent, while others prioritize quality and are more than willing to wait for the best candidates. As an independent recruiter, your job is to navigate changing trends within your industry and understand the client needs and job roles. After all, it’s pretty hard to sell a position to someone when you don’t know the role. As recruiter specialization becomes more commonplace, which industries will take precedence?

Over the next several years, the labor market will continue to change rapidly, thanks to retiring Baby Boomers, the growing Millennial workforce, and evolving technology. And since no one can truly predict the changes on the horizon, it’s a good idea to start preparing for the future of recruiting now. Whether you consider yourself a generalist or a specialist, you still need to keep up with industry news. It’s important that you understand the challenges your industry faces, and how the changing landscape will affect those challenges. So, let’s take a look.

Healthcare

There’s going to be a lot going on the in the healthcare industry, and we mean a lot. Not only will boomers be retiring from the industry, which will tighten the already narrow talent market, but the number of people needing geriatric care will nearly double by 2050. In short, the healthcare industry is already struggling with an urgent need for experienced workers, and it’s only going to get worse. Temporary roles will likely become more popular as a way to alleviate the shortage. There’s also been a shift in client demands; due to higher rates of physician burnout, healthcare organizations are on the hunt for talent with exceptional interpersonal skills and experience with new medical technology.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is another long-time-chart-topper when it comes to feeling the pinch of the labor shortage. Again, this is mostly due to the massive amount of people retiring from the workforce. But that’s not all. Manufacturing is a particularly tricky industry to recruit for because many of its roles are niche, and specialized skill sets are never easy to find. Furthermore, the misconception that automation and AI will replace these roles has led to dwindling numbers of candidates. There’s still very much a need for skilled talent that can work alongside this technology.

Engineering

For all the disruptive tech we’ve seen lately, you’d think we’d have a ton of STEM majors floating around. Well, we don’t. And it’s one of the primary reasons the engineering industry is on this list. The problem is that recent graduates make up the largest concentration of engineering candidates – and unfortunately, many clients overlook younger talent because of their lack of experience. To make matters worse, employer branding isn’t geared toward the younger crowd, and graduate engineers are leaving for alternative sectors in droves. Independent recruiters who want to make placements in the engineering industry should focus on clearly communicating company culture and benefits, in addition to highlighting a candidate’s most desirable skills (especially if they’re inexperienced).

Information Technology

The final and most obvious industry on this list is – you guessed it – IT. This is a special case because greener talent is often welcomed with open arms, yet historical shortages continue to be exacerbated by the constant push for the latest and greatest tech. The industry is shooting itself in the foot, if you will. Technology is growing at an unprecedented pace, roles are constantly evolving, and the talent market simply can’t keep up. And ironically, despite tech leaders heralding the virtues of innovation and diversity, the industry is still shockingly homogeneous. Out of all the industries on this list, tech requires the most experienced and detail-oriented recruiters.

As industry demands change, so too will recruiting strategies. Suffice it to say that the future of recruiting is an unfamiliar landscape. Specialists will not only be sought after - they’ll be necessary. Independent recruiters who have a firm grasp on the challenges of their chosen industry will rise to the top. So, best start preparing now, right?