Top 3 recruitment challenges for advisory & legal services

TL;DR  

Advisory and legal firms rarely struggle to explain what they do. The bigger challenge is explaining why a candidate should choose one firm over another, especially when many roles appear similar on the surface. 

For HR and recruitment teams, this creates a distinct set of hiring challenges, shaped by strong candidate expectations, demanding assessment processes, and a market. Building on conversations with leaders and recruiters in advisory and legal services, as well as drawing on insights from our 2026 HR Report, three issues consistently stand out.

Overview 

• Why standing out in a crowded market is difficult
• Why candidate expectations go far beyond salary
• Why long recruitment processes increase candidate drop-off
• What this means for recruitment in advisory and legal services moving forward

1. Talent attraction in a crowded market

From a candidate perspective, advisory and legal firms often look remarkably alike. Similar job titles, similar career paths, similar promises of growth and impact, and often similar language in job ads. 

This makes it difficult for organizations to stand out with a clear and credible value proposition. While most firms offer learning opportunities and exposure to complex projects, candidates increasingly look for specifics: what kind of work they will do, who they will work with, and how the firm operates day to day. 

For recruiters, this means that attracting talent is less about visibility and more about clarity. Without a distinct narrative around culture, ways of working, and development, even strong brands risk blending in to the point of getting overlooked.

2. High expectations from candidates 

Advisory and legal services, as well as consulting, attract ambitious candidates and with ambition comes high expectations. Many candidates are not just evaluating a role, but a long-term trade-off between their career, workload, learning, flexibility, and personal life. 

Therefore, while salary remains important, it is rarely enough on its own for these ambitious candidates. In our 2026 HR Report, over 5,000 candidates told us that when choosing which roles to apply for, career development potential (24%), company values and culture (24%), and team and leadership (19%) matter more than salary and benefits, which ranked fourth at 14%. Candidates therefore increasingly expect: 

• clear development paths and feedback 
• flexibility in how and where they work 
• meaningful projects with visible impact 
• a culture that supports performance without burnout 

When these expectations are not addressed early and transparently, misalignment can appear late in the process, or shortly after hiring, when reality does not match what was communicated. 

For HR teams, the challenge therefore lies in balancing an attractive employer story with an honest representation of what the job entails. 

3. Long recruitment processes and high candidate drop-off 

Advisory and legal recruitment is designed to assess problem-solving ability, communication skills, and business acumen, often through case interviews, presentations, and multi-step assessment processes. 

While these methods are effective, they also make hiring time-consuming and demanding for candidates. Long processes increase the risk of: 

• candidate fatigue 
• competing offers progressing faster 
• drop-offs between interview stages 

From the recruiter’s perspective, this can result in significant effort invested in candidates who ultimately disengage, not as much due to lack of interest, as due to process complexity or lack of momentum. 

Moreover, in our 2026 HR Report, when asked what they find most frustrating in a job application process, candidates pointed first to lack of feedback or updates, followed by long or complex application requirements, and unclear job descriptions. 

Therefore, maintaining candidate engagement throughout lengthy assessment stages remains one of the most persistent challenges in advisory and legal recruitment. 

What's next?

Advisory and legal recruitment will continue to be demanding, but it doesn’t have to stay complex or disconnected. By clarifying their value proposition, managing expectations early, and streamlining recruitment processes, firms can attract the right talent and keep candidates engaged throughout the journey.

At Talentech, we partner with advisory and legal firms across the Nordics and the Netherlands to:

• Differentiate their employer brand through clear positioning and authentic communication

• Reduce candidate drop-off with structured, transparent recruitment processes

• Improve candidate experience with consistent communication and predictable timelines

Explore how our recruitment solutions support advisory and legal firms HERE.