Our most in-depth hiring insights yet — get the full 2025 report {April Newsletter}

wesolvtech

Welcome to WeSolv’s monthly newsletter for our employer and university partners! Here, we’ll break down trending hiring news and equip you with the insights you need to support, attract, and hire talented advanced degree candidates. Click here to receive these newsletters directly to your inbox each month.

In over a decade of connecting employers to advanced-degree talent, I’ve seen how fast the hiring world shifts. But the urgency and frustration I’m hearing from hiring teams and university partners now has hit a new level.

Employers are overwhelmed with applications, yet struggling to find candidates with the right skills. It’s like hunting for a needle in a haystack — and the haystack just keeps getting bigger.

Meanwhile, university leaders are asking: Our grads are highly skilled and ready to lead — so why aren’t they landing roles like they used to?

This disconnect runs deep, even at legacy programs. The Wall Street Journal reports that 1 in 4 2024 Harvard MBAs were still job-hunting three months post-grad.

This isn’t just about rapidly evolving tech or job requirements. It’s a sign skilled candidates’ are being overlooked — and it’s costing everyone. That’s why we created our new report: The Ideal Candidate Recruitment Experience: 2025 Research.

We surveyed MBA and advanced degree candidates across 300+ advanced degree programs to find out what they want from recruitment today. The result? The most comprehensive hiring research of its kind, with some loud and clear answers.

📊 Just a few highlights:

➡️ 95% of candidates say skills-based hiring improves recruiting — but most aren’t being engaged this way.

➡️ Highly skilled candidates were 68% more likely to favor experiential hiring methods over traditional methods, like job boards and career fairs.

➡️ Women were 50% more likely to say skills-based hiring helps them stand out to employers, and Black candidates were 25% more likely to say it helps show their true abilities.

➡️ Despite attacks on DEI, candidates are prioritizing companies with DEI programs 3x more than in 2024.

Download the 2025 Recruiting Benchmark Now

In 2025, strategic hiring isn’t about attracting more candidates — it’s about standing out to the right ones and ensuring top talent can be seen for their real skills.

This report is your roadmap to just that. Read on for a few of our actionable takeaways — then download the report to dive into the data, see if your firm made the top companies cut, and learn what to do if it didn’t.

To turning candidate data into hiring action,

Stella Ashaolu
CEO and Founder, WeSolv

➡️ A summer of layoffs. It’s in the forecast, and 81% of U.S. workers say they fear losing their job this year. With Trump tariff talk, federal layoffs surging, recession fears mounting, and even “safe” employers like the government downsizing, Americans aren’t just staying put — they’re bracing for impact. (More.)

➡️ A “no thanks” from Harvard. Faced with a demand to scrap DEI programs and screen international students for ideology, the university stood its ground — even with $9B in federal funding on the line. (More.)

➡️ Some MBA programs are beating the odds. Others? Riding on reputation. The new U.S. News MBA rankings are out — but the real story isn’t just who’s up or down. It’s in the hidden metrics: yield rates that signal true demand, salary stats that don’t match the headlines, and programs that quietly outperform their rank. (More.)

➡️ Rainbow capitalism in retreat. Ahead of June, corporate Pride sponsors are backing away in droves — and organizers say it’s not just the economy. Under pressure from Trump’s DEI crackdown, companies are going silent. Some Prides are down nearly 90% in funding. For the sponsors who stay, it’s a clear chance to signal you aren’t a fair-weather ally. (More.)

➡️ Costco meets with Iowa AG over DEI. One of the 19 GOP attorneys general pushing Costco to drop its DEI policies claims to have had a “productive” meeting with the retailer. There’s currently no indication the “new Target” has promised to change any policies, meaning the “productive” talk could be yet another example of anti-DEI pundits claiming a false victory. (More.)

➡️ AI ROI? It’s getting real. A new Josh Bersin report finds AI tools aren’t just hype — they’re really boosting HR performance, from speeding up candidate searches by 95% to improving internal mobility and reducing bias. The catch? Vendors are charging premium prices, and HR teams need to choose wisely. (More.)

———————————————————-