Navigating an uncertain economy requires a strategic approach to talent acquisition — smart founders know that staying engaged with top candidates is the key to building a resilient team.

Key Takeaways

• Emphasize a lean, relationship-driven approach — focus on building genuine relationships with a smaller pool of exceptional candidates.
• Proactively build your talent pipeline — identify potential candidates, make contact and build rapport long before a role is open.
• Refine your hiring machine — a hiring pause is the perfect time to take a step back and identify what’s working and what isn’t.

In 2024, the tech sector saw more than 152,922 employees lose their jobs, according to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi. While this trend has slowed slightly in 2025, it serves as a stark reminder of how quickly market conditions can shift and how vulnerable even the biggest names in business are to economic pressures.

When the purse strings tighten and headcount freezes, many business owners instinctively put their entire hiring process on hold. However, for savvy founders, this time is a strategic opportunity to build a more resilient, future-ready talent pipeline.

Smart entrepreneurs know that staying engaged with high-impact candidates, even when they’re not actively hiring, can create a powerful competitive advantage. It all comes down to shifting your mindset from reactive hiring to proactive talent engagement. Instead of waiting for a new budget to be approved and then scrambling to fill a role, you can use these quieter moments to build the relationships that will put you ahead of the competition when the time is right.

I’ve spent years helping companies build and scale their teams. I’ve seen firsthand how a bloated, reactive approach to hiring can fall apart in a downturn, and I’ve seen how a more agile, strategic approach can help a company thrive. Here’s how you can make your hiring process more resilient and stay top-of-mind with top-tier talent:

1. Emphasize a lean, relationship-driven approach

When economic pressures mount, it’s easy to assume that a robust hiring process requires a large budget and a massive recruiting team. But in reality, a more nimble, high-touch approach is far more effective. Boutique-style recruiting prioritizes quality over quantity, focusing on building genuine relationships with a smaller pool of exceptional candidates. This model is all about efficiency and impact, which is perfect for an unpredictable market.

Consider the recruiting process at Shopify, a company that has undergone a significant transformation and adapted its hiring strategy to a changing landscape. Following a major round of layoffs, the company has shifted its approach to focus on more strategic, targeted hires. Rather than casting a wide net, Shopify has homed in on building a lean team with specific, high-impact goals. This allows it to stay agile and avoid the “bloated” feeling that can plague companies in uncertain times, a sentiment that CEO Tobi Lütke has emphasized in the past.

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