Rethinking resume review and unlocking potential with skills-based hiring solutions

The whole premise of Human Potential Intelligence is the idea that candidates have a story—and part of a winning hiring strategy should be learning what that story is.

The traditional “rearview HR” approach really doesn’t do anything for candidates or hiring teams—because focusing solely on what candidates have done isn’t as important as what they’re capable of doing in the future.

Embracing skills-based hiring means rethinking how you’re maybe using resumes currently and opting for a more well-rounded approach that sets you and candidates up for success. 

Resumes are one-dimensional. Candidates are not.  

According to its definition, a resume is “a brief account of your personal details, your education, and the jobs you have had.”

But are candidates not more than a brief account of what they have done? 

At HireVue, we believe in hiring processes designed to unlock candidate potential—processes that assess skills and abilities.

Name. Address. Alma mater. Degree.

All factors on a resume—and all factors that can invite bias into the process.

Did you know that according to one study, applicants with “black-sounding names” are less likely to get a call—compared to identical resumes of different names? Or that candidates thought to be white are 30% more likely to be hired?  

According to LinkedIn, “Skills-based hiring is a recruitment approach that focuses on evaluating candidates based on their skills, rather than on their education or past work experience.” 

Skills-based hiring is not only a more objective way of evaluating talent but a more effective way as well. 

Bias can also come in other forms as well—like familiarity bias. Have you ever had an affinity for someone because they’re from the same town, like the same music, or cheer for the same team? When your interviews aren’t structured, it’s easy to let bias creep in—even when it’s unintentional. Ensure all your candidates are asked the same questions by “structuring” the hiring experience so everyone is evaluated more fairly.

Read the Guide to Structured Interviewing here.

A move towards skills and abilities. 

According to the 2024 Global Trends Report, there’s a promising landscape ahead for the implementation of skills-based hiring. 

• 34% of TA leaders say they’re comfortable using skills assessments and already use them across the hiring process, up from 29% the year prior
  
• 65% use skills assessments to determine potential
• 21% of TA leaders have replaced resumes with skills-based assessments

As teams move towards a skills-based hiring strategy, there should be an evening of these stats—a move away from resume review towards a smarter, more effective alternative assessing skills and competencies. 

Assessing talent

HireVue Human Potential Intelligence provides AI-driven tech specifically designed to assess skills and competencies for any role. By adding assessments into your hiring strategy, you can ensure you’re backing your decisions with data instead of bias—which is often unconscious. 

Assessments are quick and easy to complete, offering candidates a positive experience in the process. HireVue offers a vast library of competency-based questions designed to unlock the potential of your candidates.

Assessments have allowed Nestlé, the Swiss multinational food and beverage corporation, to look beyond resumes and CVs and tap into the potential of their candidates. They’re able to find candidates who are motivated, innovative, and have a mindset focused on growth. As a result, they’ve created a strategy rooted in fairness and have reduced their time-to-hire by 10 days.

Ready to learn more about skills-based hiring? Request a demo.