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\u201cIt may seem like companies don\u2019t need to invest as much in attracting candidates because supply exceeds demand,\u201d says Yarden Gur, Brand Marketing Manage at Intuit, who was named one of the leading employer branding women for 2025. \u201cBut when you\u2019re looking for very specific talent, experienced builders or exceptional young prospects, those broader numbers become irrelevant. For certain roles, competition never disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds that the perception that employers can now dictate strict return-to-office policies does not fully reflect reality. \u201cHybrid work is no longer a perk, it\u2019s infrastructure. A company that doesn\u2019t offer at least one day of remote work filters out roughly 70% of its relevant talent pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
More broadly, the idea that the labor market operates like a pendulum, sometimes favoring employers, sometimes employees, can be misleading. \u201cPower shifts are temporary,\u201d says Sharon Israel, CEO and co-founder of Xtra Mile, an international marketing firm. \u201cIf employers exploit that power, the damage can be long-lasting. No company wants employees who stay only because they have no alternative. The moment the market improves, they will leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the surge in job seekers stems from widespread layoffs. According to an Innovation Authority employer survey conducted in December 2025, 35% of tech companies laid off employees in the previous six months.<\/p>\n
In January, Amazon announced 16,000 layoffs, in addition to 14,000 cuts the previous October, totaling 30,000 out of 1.58 million employees worldwide. Cisco, HP, Applied Materials, and Lightricks have also announced recent reductions.<\/p>\n
Layoffs may be cyclical in tech, but they erode what experts call the \u201cpsychological contract\u201d between employer and employee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a growing sense of distrust, and communication becomes critical,\u201d says Viki Groner, lecturer and partner at HRD, a firm specializing in AI, HR, and employer branding. Companies that downsize must often intensify employer branding efforts to rebuild trust and retain remaining staff. Moreover, layoffs frequently trigger additional voluntary departures.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday there is a crisis of trust across the ecosystem,\u201d says Gur. \u201cThe challenge is to stop the snowball effect. Employer branding professionals must mediate difficult decisions internally and externally, presenting a full and honest picture rather than one-sided messaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a result, employer branding during layoffs has become more subdued. Instead of flashy billboards and expensive videos, organizations are focusing on deeper internal engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no longer about flashy campaigns costing hundreds of thousands of shekels,\u201d says Groner. \u201cIt\u2019s about holistic, internal and external alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n
External pressures are forcing the field to mature. In the past, employer branding often revolved around rankings, perks, and parties. Today the focus is shifting toward impact.<\/p>\n
Hila Zaguri, who runs the Employer Branding Israel Community, says recognition now goes to \u201cpeople who have driven real change within organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The real test, she argues, is how companies behave during crises. Some firms have engaged in high-profile social initiatives during wartime and national trauma. Others have supported employees serving in reserve duty or families affected by conflict.<\/p>\n
Aviv Weizmann, Marketing Manager for EMEA at Aerospike and a judge in the employer branding awards, says organizations are grappling with existential and moral dilemmas: whether to take public positions, how to support affected employees, and how to navigate polarization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe political and social climate enters the workplace through the front door,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd yet companies still have to meet targets and remain profitable. Employer branding may seem secondary, but it\u2019s critical. We spend most of our waking hours at work. An organization disconnected from social reality becomes irrelevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The instability has reshaped employee priorities. While salary remains important, it is no longer the dominant factor.<\/p>\n
According to Gur, the top consideration for tech talent is now personal development and upskilling, particularly in AI. \u201cPeople want to know they won\u2019t fall behind,\u201d she says. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to join a company that restricts tools and limits exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second key factor is psychological safety, followed by the ability to use generative AI tools in daily work.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployees want to feel they can make mistakes, ask difficult questions, propose half-formed ideas, and challenge the status quo,\u201d says Gur.<\/p>\n
Interest in AI usage has surged. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a 20% jump in the importance candidates place on using AI as a legitimate workplace tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
LinkedIn data shows that work-life balance, meaningful goals, and learning opportunities, particularly AI-related, now outweigh salary among Generation Y and Z employees. Glassdoor data suggests companies that ban AI tools are increasingly viewed as less innovative.<\/p>\n
Adi Avital, R&D and Product Talent Marketing Manager at Gong, says Israeli candidates are asking different questions amid ongoing uncertainty: \u201cIs the company stable? Does it know how to manage crises? Is there a real long-term vision? Do employees feel they have influence even during difficult times?\u201d<\/p>\n
AI is also reshaping recruitment itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more noise online,\u201d says Amit Lavy, Global R&D Brand & Developer Relations Team Lead at AT&T. \u201cPeople are searching for authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says their strategy focuses on people first. In 2025, 40% of recruitment came through employee referrals and 30% through LinkedIn. The company highlights employees publicly, at conferences, meetups, blogs, and social media, as a way to humanize the brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a world flooded with AI-generated content, human context becomes even more important,\u201d Lavy says. \u201cAI is an incredible tool, but authenticity builds trust.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4,000 resumes for 15 positions. That\u2019s what happened when HiBob opened a junior program, and in today\u2019s high-tech…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-292567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}