Why Hiring in the Resiliency Profession is Getting Harder – And What to Do About It

The first quarter of 2025 brought hiring headwinds across many industries. Inflation concerns, tariff negotiations, and political uncertainty created a “wait and see” mentality, triggering hiring freezes and budget caution across departments, including resiliency. While the broader employment market remains tentative, job activity within the resiliency profession is beginning to rebound. This resurgence is fueled by growing regulatory mandates, persistent cyber threats, ongoing supply chain instability, and heightened board-level focus on organizational preparedness.

Despite this uptick, many companies are struggling to fill key resiliency roles. Positions remain open longer, creating stress for overburdened teams and introducing gaps in critical response planning. The question is: Why is it so difficult to hire right now?

The Growing Challenges in Resiliency Hiring

1. Shrinking Virtual Talent Pools

The return to hybrid and in-office work has complicated recruitment. Many professionals who once operated fully remotely are now prioritizing location, flexibility, and work-life balance. Employers with rigid location requirements are facing smaller candidate pools, especially when roles require in-person presence a few days per week. For niche roles in business continuity, crisis management, IT disaster recovery, or third-party resiliency, this significantly narrows viable options.

2. Candidate Fatigue on LinkedIn

LinkedIn remains a key sourcing tool, but it’s saturated. Resiliency professionals, especially those with in-demand credentials or leadership experience, are inundated daily with recruiter messages. As a result, even well-qualified opportunities can get ignored or overlooked. Candidates are increasingly reluctant to respond unless they recognize the sender or already trust their network. It's no longer about who reaches out first; it's about who they trust enough to reply to.

3. Misalignment Between Job Specs and Market Realities

Another hidden hurdle: many job descriptions still don’t reflect how the profession has evolved. Employers often list unrealistic combinations of technical expertise, leadership expectations, and program management responsibilities without aligning with current compensation benchmarks or talent availability. The result? Fewer applicants, longer hiring cycles, and missed opportunities to onboard talent capable of growing with the role.

The Case for Specialized Recruitment in Resiliency

The resiliency profession is complex and ever-changing. The titles alone, ranging from Business Continuity Manager to Crisis Response Lead, IT Resilience Director, or Third-Party Risk Advisor, mean different things in different organizations. Hiring for these roles requires more than keyword searches and templated outreach. It requires context.

That’s why engaging a specialist recruiter can make all the difference.

At Resilience360 Advisory, we live and breathe this profession. With over 25 years of experience in staffing and talent strategy across business continuity, crisis management, cyber resilience, and more, we know what the market looks like, what top candidates are looking for, and how to identify the right fit both technically and culturally.

We typically deliver locally based, pre-screened talent within one week of engagement. From there, we assist your internal HR team in streamlining the entire hiring process, from coordinating interviews and assessments to offer negotiation and onboarding strategy.

And while we don’t take a sales-heavy approach, the truth is: most hiring managers and internal recruiters tell us the same thing - “We wish we had engaged you sooner.”

Final Thought

As the demand for resiliency professionals grows, so do the complexities of finding and hiring the right talent. Traditional sourcing methods are no longer enough. Today’s hiring environment requires trusted networks, deep industry insight, and the ability to align skills, expectations, and compensation. Whether you're building your first crisis management program or strengthening your cyber resiliency bench, the right hire matters, and getting it right the first time saves time, money, and momentum.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any staffing questions. We are here to help you assess the appropriate personnel need, be it managed services, consulting referrals, temporary, or a permanent hire. Additionally, we have sample job descriptions and several BCM Research Reports available for review. You can also find great hiring manager video content posted on the BC Management YouTube channel. Visit our website to schedule a discovery call or request staff.

COMING SOON – RESILIENCE360 ADVISORY!!!

Resilience360 Advisory will offer a holistic approach by integrating Career Coaching • Program Counsel • Strategic Staffing into a single, comprehensive solution. With over 25 years of experience in staffing, resiliency program benchmarking, and leadership development, we provide a unique value proposition to empower professionals to achieve their career goals and partner with organizations to build and strengthen resilience programs through peer-driven data, elite consulting referrals, and smart hiring strategies.