As recruiters, we’re often asked:

  • What do employers look for in a change professional today?

  • What do recruiters look for?

  • What are the latest trends in change?

  • Do employers still want accreditations, and if so, which ones matter?

Being close to the market gives us a front-row view of how expectations are shifting. Here’s a snapshot of what’s changed, and what still matters.

What Employers Look For

1. Cultural alignment still tops the list.
Whether the environment is fully hybrid, on-site, or globally distributed, leaders want people who fit their team culture, bring positive energy, and can build trust quickly.

2. Proven experience in complexity.
Clients want evidence of managing change across large, matrixed organisations, often global, and the ability to tailor approaches across diverse industries.

3. Adaptability and breadth.
T-shaped skills remain valuable. Many organisations expect Change Managers to flex beyond the traditional toolkit, contributing to process mapping, training design or UAT. In leaner teams, versatility equals employability.

4. Digital and AI Literacy
AI is not just a technology shift – it’s a behavioural one. It’s not always about replacing jobs, it’s about changing how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how people interact with data and each other.

Change Managers are now helping organisations navigate what it means to work with technology, not against it. That might mean supporting leaders to use AI-driven insights for faster decision-making, helping teams build confidence in new tools, or guiding employees to understand how automation enhances – rather than threatens – their roles.

In this environment, the role of Change Management is to make AI adoption human. It’s about helping people understand how these new tools reshape the way they think, collaborate and create value – for themselves, their teams, and their clients.

5. Agile and experimentation mindset.
Pure waterfall environments are increasingly rare. Most programs are Agile, hybrid, or “Wagile”. Employers want practitioners who can thrive in ambiguity, iterate quickly and co-create change with delivery teams.

6. Demonstrated value.
The number one requirement remains value add– someone who uplifts the capability of others, mentors juniors, coaches leaders and enhances existing methodologies. Value isn’t about being cheap; it’s about impact.

What Recruiters Look For

Your CV is your first impression. Include:

  • Company name, project name and your role

  • Team size, stakeholder groups and geographic spread

  • Project purpose and business outcomes

  • Metrics where possible (adoption %, employee reach, etc.)

Clients want to see complexity and diversity – multiple transformation types (technology, process, culture) across different sectors.

When meeting candidates, I look for how they link strategy to benefits realisation. I often ask:

  • When have you built capability within a team to sustain change?

  • How have you anticipated and removed obstacles?

  • How have you encouraged the business to take shared ownership of change outcomes?

The best Change Managers can clearly connect what they did with why it mattered.

Trends in Change Management (2025)

  1. AI and Digital Transformation
    Many organisations are embedding AI to drive efficiency, forcing a cultural and capability shift. Change Managers are now translators, helping humans trust, use and benefit from technology.

  2. Human-Centred Design and Lean Thinking
    Blending design principles with Change is now standard. Creativity and empathy are as valued as structure and governance.

  3. Data-Driven Change
    Measuring readiness, adoption and sentiment through analytics tools is becoming the norm. Data storytelling is now a key change skill.

  4. Wellbeing and Change Fatigue
    Hybrid work, cost pressures and continuous transformation have made psychological safety a strategic priority. Leaders are looking for Change Managers who can help maintain engagement and resilience.

Courses and Accreditations

Accreditation alone doesn’t make a great Change Manager, but it does signal a structured approach. The most recognised certifications remain:

  • Prosci (Being Human) – globally recognised, tool-based and practical

  • PCI (ChangeFirst) – focuses on real-world application

  • APMG Change Management Accreditation – academically grounded and widely accepted

  • CMI’s Accredited Change Manager Program (Foundation, Specialist, Master) – solid, tiered professional framework

Courses you should really look into:

Lean Change gives you tools – not a methodology – to help move change forward. It focuses on reducing waste, testing ideas quickly and continuously improving how things are done. For Change Managers, this means being able to simplify processes, experiment with solutions and make fast, evidence-based adjustments when something isn’t working.

Human-Centred Design, on the other hand, is about understanding people first – their motivations, fears and needs – and designing the change experience around them. It’s empathy in action. HCD ensures that transformation isn’t just delivered to people but created with them, resulting in higher engagement and stronger adoption.

Together, Lean and HCD bring a balance of structure and creativity – helping Change Managers drive momentum while keeping people at the heart of every decision.

Employers value flexibility – someone who has a framework and discipline, but can tailor their approach to suit the organisation.

In Summary

Change Management continues to evolve. AI, automation, cost pressures and hybrid work are reshaping how organisations operate. To stay relevant, Change Managers must evolve too – adapting their toolkit, maintaining their curiosity and continuing to bring both structure and humanity to transformation.

 

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