New Presidential administration changes may completely shift the course of certain professions. For some career professionals and job seekers this means rethinking their plans. For others, it lends to staying put. But for talent leaders and hiring organizations, it means getting ahead of it all.
Presidential transitions are known for impacting political careers, especially when one party transitions to another. However, with President Trump’s signaling of broader and more immediate changes, multiple professions and industries best be prepared. In fact, Federal employees are already feeling the effects as the new President ended remote work arrangements on his first day in office.
Projecting this impact is essential for businesses smart enough to plan ahead for talent impacts from talent acquisition to employee retention. The timing of prospective changes to the Federal government in conjunction with a decline in both birth rates and college attendance could massively impact candidate pipelines and demands across key professions.
For organizations keen to stay ahead of the changes, there’s an opportunity to use data to your advantage. Measuring industry, organization, and brand perception can help talent leaders maintain a competitive advantage. This is especially important in professions like teaching or law enforcement where recent or anticipated changes are already causing sentiment to shift.
Career educator Rebecca Cogswell has spent 25 years in education including teaching at the elementary and middle school levels in both California and Pennsylvania. Trump’s inauguration speech promised change to the nation’s education system building on his campaign promises to shutter the Department of Education so she is watching and waiting to see how new administration changes will affect her industry and her career.
“We already have a teacher shortage and bringing more uncertainty into the teacher profession will keep future educators away,” says Cogswell. “It is worrisome how this will affect our underserved school districts around the country. Adding more stress to those schools or for sure steer teachers away from the profession.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the profession has been on the decline since the 1970s, now at its lowest levels of employment in 50 years.
“On the other hand,” says Cogswell, “those who agree with the direction Trump wants to go regarding education, might bring new people to the profession out of the woodwork.”
Cogswell’s sentiments speak to the need for more regular and rigorous data to anticipate how perspectives may shift. For some employees and candidates, their perceptions can change rapidly and understanding those swings are essential to drive strategy and spend decisions for hiring and retention.
For example, consider the impact of the Presidential pardon news on the policing profession. Those convicted in the U.S. Capitol riot include many who assaulted officers during the attack. These kinds of newsworthy issues draw tremendous attention to a profession already struggling with recruitment and retention. Without regular workforce and candidate data, talent leaders don’t have the intelligence to understand how these actions might affect law enforcement talent pipelines and make quick decisions to address any issues.
Many talent acquisition and people leaders do have workforce planning mechanisms in place to address and forecast needs. Experienced teams factor in economic and market conditions, company growth, and key factors like employee retention. But few have custom insights – focused on their brand, their company, and their target audience. Fewer still have a regular cadence of workforce market insights to measure real-time.
Another industry poised for growth under the new administration is oil and gas. Laura Varn, a 30-year human resources and communications professional. Most recently the Vice President for People, Culture, and Communications for Parkland Fuel, Varn predicts Trump’s expansion of oil drilling will have a substantial increase on hiring.
“While technology plays a large role in the drilling process (instead of humans) you need humans to fulfill the entire cycle of work: extra people to run the machines at all hours, to dispatch, to manage, to processing and to deliver,” says Varn.
For these employers, monitoring employer brand perception can make all the difference in meeting audacious hiring goals. It allows them to assess their own reputations as employers alongside economic and governmental decisions, and adjust strategy real time.
These kinds of insights can help leaders customize recruitment marketing messaging by geography, age, function, or level and monitor both the impact of these messages on their target audiences and their employer brand perception.
In other industries like government contracting, leaders are poised to see if Trump’s focus on government efficiency will impact their business and hiring needs.
“As the new presidential administration takes office, we anticipate a shift in priorities for government programs, which may affect the types of contracts being awarded,” says Julien Singh, the CEO of government contracting firm, Crossroads Talent Solutions. Singh sees greater efficiency in government as translating to a higher demand for specialized contractors.
“While some may perceive this as creating a more competitive environment,” he says, “we believe it enhances the appeal of government contracting as a career by emphasizing innovation, measurable impact, and professional growth opportunities.”
Kari Van Curen, Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Career Mobility for BAE Systems says the company hasn’t changed their staffing strategy.
“Our hiring plans align seamlessly with our growth trajectory and our dedication to national defense and security, which remains the same as we welcome a new administration.”
But BAE Systems is leveraging their new employer brand, according to Van Curen: “We are excited to see it continue to evolve alongside the shifts we’re seeing in the talent market.”
The company launched its employer brand, “Where Purpose Connects,” in 2024.
Still, it can be challenging to manage an employer brand in a time where a population can appear divided. Strong employer brands require authenticity to stand out from the competition. And differentiation often means taking a stand especially when it comes to culture and values.
“In a 50/50 country, large businesses will find they can’t attract the best talent while risking the wrath of either side. The challenge will be in standing up for values without falling into political traps,” says Andrew Bleeker, President of Bully Pulpit International.
Bleeker, who was the Internet Advertising Director for Obama for America, knows all too well how talent swings as Presidential administrations change.
“If the staff feels like the new leadership doesn’t respect them, it is often the most talent that will be the first out the door.”
According to Bleeker, this would be a generational opportunity for private industry. It’s also another example of why capturing sentiment and perception matters. Anticipating the when and why behind talent migrations translates into real dollars saved.
These savings come from leveraging real-time candidate insights into the ability to hire more quickly and tailor engagement strategies to what employees value real-time. This goes well beyond the reactive measurement of capturing content clicks and impressions.
Organizations have to evolve to proactive and regular measurement that captures how their unique audiences think and feel.
For now, Cogswell remains bullish about the future of teaching: “I am truly optimistic that there are educators out there go to work every day to advocate for the children and provide them a place of learning, safety and fun. Those are the people that will always stay regardless of who is in office.”
It’s the ‘for now’ sentiment all people leaders should manage. Sentiment and perception can change quickly and data is just a point in time. In a volatile time of change, understanding how talent feels now, and tracking those shifts over time is the only way to get ahead and stay there.