People ask us questions all year long about hiring, careers, and where the liberty movement is headed. As we kick off the new year, we decided to consult the most reliable oracle we know: the Talent Market database—channeled through our very own Magic 8-Ball.

Unlike some predictions, every answer below is grounded in Talent Market’s data from thousands of searches and placements conducted over more than 16 years.

Here’s what it had to say:

  • Is the liberty movement only hiring senior people now?
    🎱 Don’t count on it.

    Talent Market works on searches from entry level all the way up to executive level, and trust me when we say there is love to go around at every level!

    In 2025, our searches broke down like this:

      • Entry/junior level: 27%
      • Mid level: 46%
      • Senior management/executive: 27%
  • Do I need an advanced degree to get ahead in the liberty movement?
    🎱 Very doubtful.

    If you’re still contemplating an advanced degree, you may want to slow your roll (and your tuition payments).

    Consistently throughout the years, the majority of our searches have not required any kind of advanced degree.

    Since 2009, a whopping 82% of searches required no advanced degree! Another 8% indicated an advanced degree was preferred but not required, and only 10% required an advanced degree.

    The exceptions, of course, are legal roles (which require a JD), senior level policy roles (which often call for an advanced degree in economics or policy), and some high-level finance roles (which sometimes call for a CPA or related degree).

  • Is it true that fundraising continues to be the greatest talent need in the liberty space?
    🎱 You may rely on it.

    Early in my career in the liberty movement, I assumed policy roles would dominate hiring demand. Working at Talent Market has cured me of that assumption.

    Fundraising continues to be the single largest talent need across the movement. In 2025, 24% of our placements were in development and fundraising—nearly double the share of policy roles (13%) and more than double legal roles (10%).

    Turns out ideas don’t fund themselves.

  • I heard that Talent Market is consistently bringing new talent to the liberty movement. Is that really true?
    🎱 It is certain.

    There’s a never-ending misconception that we just recycle the same pool of people over and over again. But that’s classic misinformation and Magic 8 Ball disapproves.

    In 2025, 66% of our placements hailed from outside of the free-market nonprofit sector. And that figure has remained remarkably consistent over time.

  • Is virtual hiring going the way of the Dodo bird?
    🎱 My sources say no.

    Yes, there’s been plenty of chatter about return-to-office mandates. And yes, our 2025 data show an increase in in-office placements (41%, up from 30% in 2024).

    But “remote hiring is dead” is just plain wrong.

    Case in point: 59% of our searches in 2025 were either virtual or offered a virtual option.

    The dodo lives to see another year.

  • Is hiring in the liberty movement competitive?
    🎱 Signs point to yes.

    In 2025, we averaged more than 40 applicants per search, with many searches exceeding 100 applicants.

    As Talent Market’s network grows exponentially each year, competition for roles will only intensify.

    This is great news for clients, and a great inspiration for candidates to put maximum effort into every application.

  • Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone tracked liberty-oriented talent development programs so that we had a sense of what the talent pipeline looks like?
    🎱 Signs point to yes.

    And when Magic 8 Ball says signs point to yes, what she really means is: TALENT MARKET IS ALREADY DOING THIS!

    In addition to maintaining the largest and most detailed talent database in the liberty movement (with more than 32,000 individuals), Talent Market also tracks hundreds of liberty-oriented programs in our database.

    This includes internships, fellowships, clerkships, training and development programs, network and engagement opportunities, and university-affiliated centers and programs. Our goal is to broadly map and track the talent pipelines that indirectly and directly serve the liberty movement.

    We also meticulously track which programs the individuals in our database have participated in, allowing us to observe how talent flows into and through the movement over time.

    Fun factoid: in 2025, we made 212 placements, and 126 of those candidates had participated in at least one liberty-oriented program.

  • Is Washington, DC still the center of hiring in the liberty movement?
    🎱 Reply hazy, try again.

    There’s a common misconception that free-market nonprofits are heavily concentrated in the Washington, DC metro area, but the data tell a different story.

    In fact, 67% of our clients are located outside the Beltway.

    This is excellent news for candidates who can’t relocate to DC—or who are ready to leave it behind.


So what does the Talent Market 8-Ball see in 2026?

A movement that hires broadly, values skills over credentials, desperately needs fundraisers, welcomes new talent, embraces flexible work, and stretches far beyond Washington, DC.

In other words: the liberty movement’s talent ecosystem will be bigger, more competitive, and more dynamic than ever.

In the meantime, Talent Market will keep serving the liberty movement by tracking people and programs, dorking out on data,  making connections, and filling critical talent needs.

Because when our Magic 8-Ball speaks, it’s really just the data talking.

🎱 Outlook: Strong.