Consumer Products Hiring Market Is Shifting

The consumer products hiring market is shifting...fast. And not always in plain sight.

This week, we helped a global brand secure a brilliant commercial leader, not through a job ad or application, but through targeted, strategic outreach. 

They weren’t "on the market" in the traditional sense. But they were open to the right opportunity.

That said - let’s be clear:

Some of the strongest people in the market right now are active candidates. Not because they’re underperforming, but because they’ve been part of restructures, cost-cutting, or global strategy shifts completely outside of their control.

These individuals bring resilience, perspective, and fresh energy.

But if you're only relying on inbound CVs, passive ads, or agency databases you're missing both the actively available and the quietly open.

In today’s market, especially in categories like apparel, toys, health, wellness, and consumer tech, the best hiring strategies combine:

 ✅ Data-backed outreach

 ✅ EVP that speaks to today’s candidate priorities

 ✅ A trusted network that goes beyond what’s publicly visible

Whether candidates are active or not, the job of any good talent partner is to cut through the noise and deliver people who align to outcomes not just availability.

If you're building out your team and want to know what the real talent landscape looks like, we can show you.

This article was first published in LinkedIn, click here to see original post.