Talent Acquisition Day 2025

It’s hard to believe just how much recruitment has changed over the past 20 years, and we’ve seen it all firsthand at Anton Murray Consulting. Back in the early 2000s, things were much simpler (and a lot slower). We relied on printed CVs, job boards, and our own personal networks to connect candidates with clients. There was a lot more phone time and face-to-face coffee chats (which we still value, by the way) but the process was more reactive and time-intensive. Fast forward to 2025, and we’ve evolved alongside the industry, embracing cutting-edge AI and data tools to complement our traditional relationship-driven model. While the core of what we do hasn’t changed, connecting the right people with the right roles, and how we do it has completely transformed.

In the early years, most recruitment was done through job boards and email – very little automation, and certainly no AI. You’d post a role online and hope the right person stumbled across it. Around the mid-2000s, LinkedIn and social platforms really started to shift the game. Suddenly, recruiters could actively source passive talent – people who weren’t necessarily job hunting but were open to a conversation. That’s when the industry started getting more proactive. At Anton Murray Consulting, we started integrating these tools into our daily work, combining digital sourcing with deep sector knowledge and long-standing client relationships. Around that same time, applicant tracking systems (ATS) started becoming more common, helping to organise candidate pipelines more effectively. But everything still had a very human touch. Which, in many ways, remains the heart of our approach today.

By the 2010s, things ramped up. Automation tools began to handle a lot of the repetitive admin work, like screening resumes, scheduling interviews, sending follow-up emails. And this freed up our consultants to spend more time building meaningful relationships with clients and candidates. Analytics also became a big part of the puzzle, helping us track key hiring metrics like time-to-fill, retention rates, and diversity benchmarks. At Anton Murray Consulting, we began to use data not just to report on our performance but to help clients make smarter hiring decisions. Meanwhile, the rise of mobile and remote-friendly applications made it easier than ever for people to apply for jobs, and for recruiters to connect with talent across regions and time zones. Then came the pandemic, which truly changed everything. Overnight, remote interviews and onboarding became the norm, and we adapted quickly, keeping the process seamless and personal, even when face-to-face wasn’t possible.

Now here we are in 2025, and the changes haven’t slowed down, they’ve accelerated. Artificial intelligence is now an integral part of our recruitment process at Anton Murray Consulting. We use AI tools to help identify candidate matches based on skills, experience, and even career trajectory. That doesn’t mean replacing the human element. Far from it. But it helps us get to the right shortlist faster and with better insights. Predictive analytics now allow us to anticipate hiring needs for clients before roles are even open, and internal talent marketplaces are gaining real traction. Candidates care more than ever about culture, flexibility, and purpose, not just salary. And we help clients adjust their EVP (employer value proposition) to match. We’re also leaning into skills-based hiring in a big way. Whether it’s a junior analyst or a seasoned investment manager, the focus is shifting from degrees and pedigree to real-world capabilities. It’s an exciting time, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of it.

At the end of the day, while the tools have changed, the principles haven’t here at Anton Murray Consulting. We still believe recruitment is fundamentally about people: understanding what drives them, what they’re looking for, and how they fit into a broader team or company culture. AI helps us do that more efficiently, but it’s still the personal relationships and industry knowledge that make the difference. As a boutique financial services recruitment firm, we’ve always prided ourselves on staying nimble, and that’s exactly what’s allowed us to evolve with the times. Whether we’re placing a senior trader in Hong Kong or helping a graduate kick-start their career in Sydney, we combine the best of both worlds: smart tech and smarter humans. And if the past 20 years are anything to go by, we’re only just getting started.