In 2005, Realtime opened its doors. Facebook had just left college campuses. YouTube had only launched that year. The iPhone was still two years away. Most developers worked in offices, CVs were printed and hand-delivered, and few could have imagined how fast the tech sector would evolve.
Two decades later, the industry, and recruitment with it, looks unrecognisable. But looking back, the changes reveal some clear lessons for what comes next.
The Tech Roles That Defined Each Era
Every era of tech hiring has been shaped by the dominant skills of the time:
- Mid-2000s: demand centred around Java, C#, .NET, and infrastructure engineers. These were the years of big enterprise systems, with permanent roles being the norm.
- 2010s: the smartphone boom created a rush for mobile developers, while cloud adoption made AWS and Azure talent essential. Data science emerged as a new field.
- 2020s: AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, DevOps, and automation have dominated job specs. The rise of SaaS and fintech in Ireland and the UK created entire new categories of opportunity.
The pattern is clear: roles may change, but demand never slows. As new technologies emerge, so does the competition for the people who can build and maintain them.
The Evolution of Candidate Expectations
If the roles have changed, so have the people applying for them.
- 2005: most candidates expected a permanent, office-based role with a steady salary. Flexibility was rare, and benefits were limited to the basics.
- 2010s: flexibility became a perk rather than a standard. Culture began to enter the conversation, though pay was still the deciding factor for many.
- Post-2020: the pandemic changed everything. Remote and hybrid work went from fringe benefit to mainstream expectation. Candidates wanted work-life balance, progression opportunities, and meaningful projects.
- Today: transparency is non-negotiable. Salary ranges, flexibility, career paths, and company values are all expected upfront. If these are missing, candidates quickly disengage.
This shift tells us something important: top talent increasingly chooses employers not just for what they offer, but how they offer it.
The Employer Side of the Story
Employers have gone through just as much change:
- Long processes were normal in 2005. Multi-stage interviews were seen as thorough rather than off-putting.
- Employer brand didn’t exist. Few companies worried about how candidates perceived them, because there were fewer platforms for feedback.
- Today: hiring speed is critical. Employer brand lives and dies on Glassdoor reviews, LinkedIn posts, and candidate word-of-mouth. The balance of power has shifted — in-demand candidates can and do say no.
What’s striking is that while technology has changed dramatically, one constant remains: the best employers are those that treat recruitment as a competitive advantage, not an admin task.
The Recruitment Process Transformation
How people are hired has changed beyond recognition in two decades:
- 2005: CVs were printed, emailed, or faxed. Interviews were mostly in person.
- 2010s: LinkedIn replaced the CV as the primary career identity. Job boards boomed. Phone screens became common.
- 2020s: video interviews, online assessments, and AI-based screening tools entered the mix. Recruitment CRMs and data analytics reshaped how agencies and companies manage pipelines.
- Today: the process is fast, digital-first, and competitive. But while tools have evolved, the goal hasn’t — finding the right fit between role and person.
Lessons from 20 Years
Looking back, four clear lessons stand out:
- Adaptability wins. The tech market never sits still. Employers and candidates who embrace change thrive.
- Candidate-first is non-negotiable. Companies that ignore what candidates want lose out, no matter how strong their projects are.
- Speed is strategy. The best candidate today could be gone tomorrow. Delays cost hires.
- Relationships endure. Even as tools and platforms change, the strongest hires still come through trusted networks and lasting connections.
What’s Next for Tech Recruitment
So what comes next? The next 20 years will not look like the last. Here’s what we see shaping the future:
- AI everywhere. Demand for AI engineers will continue to climb, but employers will also face the challenge of spotting AI-inflated CVs. Screening and trust will matter more than ever.
- Flexibility as the baseline. The debate is no longer “remote vs office.” It’s about how flexible you are, and how clearly you communicate it.
- Skills over titles. Employers will focus more on what people can do than what their job title was. Transferable skills will carry more weight in hiring.
- Transparency as the standard. Pay ranges, progression pathways, and workplace culture are expected to be spelled out clearly. Employers who don’t will struggle to compete.
- Global meets local. International contracting and cross-border teams will rise, but local presence and cultural understanding will remain crucial.
Conclusion
Looking back across 20 years of Realtime, the lesson is clear: while tools and job titles change, recruitment is still about people.
The next 20 years will belong to the employers who adapt quickly, prioritise candidate experience, and invest in long-term relationships.
And for candidates, it will belong to those who keep learning, stay flexible, and know their worth.
👉 Want to understand what today’s tech professionals really value? Download our latest Attraction & Retention Guide.
