If you’ve been feeling the ground shift under your program recently, you’re not alone. The labor market is in persistent flux, which means what you’re experiencing probably doesn’t even look the same as it did last quarter. For reentry workforce professionals, this volatility means a change in thinking about what the recruitment-to-hire process looks like.
Navigating a hard-to-read job market
Economists call the current environment “low-fire, low-hire.” Instead of mass layoffs or rapid replacements, many employers are being more deliberate in their retention and recruitment efforts. For the latter, that often translates to longer application-to-hire cycles.
This kind of caution is arguably harder for job seekers to work with than a downturn, because there’s no clear signal telling them what to do differently. The need (and thus the timeline for recruitment) also varies wildly across professions. It would seem the current advantage lies with employers.
However, the LinkedIn Talent Research 2026 highlights how job openings have roughly doubled since 2022, yet employers report unprecedented difficulty filling positions. According to National University’s 2026 hiring statistics analysis, 53% of employers say verifying skills is their main obstacle. That’s a symptom of another shift, away from a focus on degrees, titles, and accolades to prioritizing versatility and adaptable experiences.
Giving employers what they’re looking for
Among employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers for its 2026 Job Outlook, 70% report using skills-based hiring. That’s up from 65% the year before. And 71% of those employers use a skills-forward approach at least half the time.
That’s a favorable opening for justice-impacted job seekers, whose transferable skills, work history, and lived competencies may not have read as easily on a traditional resume. Even as employers cite skilled-labor shortages, retention challenges, and a widening mismatch between the roles they need filled and the workers available to fill them, there’s a talent pool waiting to be (re)discovered.
And discovery is largely about positioning. Many employers are investing in upskilling, building longer-term pipelines rather than one-off postings, and prioritizing clear, consistent communication with candidates and staffing partners. Those are behaviors rooted in, and impossible without, sound relationship-building.
The AI question everyone is wrestling with
Yet no conversation about the nature of work in 2026 can exclude AI. Globally, 40% of workers now fear that AI will make their job obsolete, up from 28% just two years ago and in the U.S., that concern runs even higher (Mercer Global Talent Trends 2026 survey).
Much like the market in general, however, the only AI constant is inconsistency. The Economist recently touted an “AI jobs boom,” even as hiring lulls are attributed in large part to AI uncertainty. The Wall Street Journal reported a hot job market for workers without college degrees, even as experts predict AI will nullify many non-degree roles in office environments.
For reentry professionals, this matters in two ways. First, it means the repetitive or task-heavy roles that have historically been common entry points for justice-impacted job seekers may shift in scope or number over time. This underscores the need to build relationships with employers across a wider range of sectors and skill levels.
Second, it means employers themselves may be as anxious and uncertain as job seekers about what’s next. This can make employers more receptive, not less, to workforce partners who can bring clarity with vetted, supported candidates who reduce onboarding risk by meeting current as well as perceived future needs.
Stronger employer relationships are imperative
None of this— selective caution, skills-based hiring, AI disruption— resolves itself through a stronger resume or a better interview coaching session alone. Instead, it’s about employers who trust that you understand their big-picture priorities, can bring candidates ready, willing, and able to help boost their company’s bottom line, and are committed to successful placements defined by sustainability for both employer and employee.
That’s why employer engagement should be viewed as a core professional skill for reentry workforce. In its two-day FutureWorks conference earlier this month, Indeed.com showcased hiring managers and employers who, despite the potential inherent in AI, uniformly lauded “the human advantage.”
How does that look? It’s personal and relatable. It’s cultivating regular contact and open conversations. It’s recognizing how stronger employer relationships expand what your program can offer: more openings, more flexibility, more willingness on the part of employers to actively partner with you, rely on you, trust you as a valued member of their team.
The opportunities in the future of work lie in the gap between quantity and quality—the fine-for-now versus the long-term right fit. Knowing how to seize those opportunities to engage and encourage employers is a significant part of your role as a broker of trust. Instead of trying to keep pace, you can work with employers to set a pace that works for them and for justice-impacted job seekers so that together you’re helping meet needs now and well into the future.
NRWC conducts onsite Employer Engagement Training sessions and is now launching an Employer Engagement Specialist Certification.