Skills Tests Impress More Than a Résumé
So says one CEO and professionals with whom Communication Intelligence spoke
Should the résumé be judged as antiquated and be discontinued as a hiring tool, at least for less technical jobs? One CEO believes so. Business Insider spoke to her and decided a headline for its article should be, This CEO wants to kill the résumé.
Strong wording: “Kill.”
"We don't look at anyone's résumé, ever," Khyati Sundaram, the CEO of Applied, told Tim Paradis at B.I.
Of course, that can't work for all jobs. Yet is “no resume” a better approach, maybe far better, for filling some — or many — positions?
Sundaram’s reasoning, you ask? She says her philosophy of testing for skills can help make hiring fairer. The company might use only five or six questions per test to help identify suitable job candidates, Paradis reported. “In a statistical analysis, Applied found that 60% of the about 25,000 hires made through its platform would have been overlooked based on their résumés,” Paradis writes.
If that is accurate, that is a very significant number.
Making hiring more fair is a big positive, is it not?
There’s more though: In one (admitted) small study, “the approach resulted in a two-thirds increase in women getting into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) roles. In a larger review, Black candidates getting jobs in finance and consulting went up nearly 80%, according to the company,” Paradis writes.
Again, big numbers. Impressive ones.
One more quote in the article stood out.
"Organizations are willing to place bets on people where they feel like they at least have the potential to demonstrate or be aligned to some of the skills that they need — even if they haven't had work experience around those things.”
Communication Intelligence, the Newsletter, spoke to three professionals to gain their thinking on this reframing of thought.
“If the applicant passes tests, it will determine how the person will perform in the job knowing their skills and experience in detail,” Scott Lieberman of Touchdown Money says. Lieberman has been on the HR hiring committee of various companies for over 10 years and has been featured in the Society for HR Management (SHRM).
The resume has long, arguably had nagging issues associated with it.
“A resume creates an employer bias which directly impacts their decision to hire,” says Joel Wolfe, founder and president of HiredSupport, an outsourcing customer service agency. “Solely relying on the interview can help fill vacancies in your company because you are not only relying on the candidate’s previous experiences but on the skill set required in the position you are hiring for.”
“The approach of diminishing the resume's importance can be practical for many roles, particularly those that are skill-specific or have measurable performance criteria,” says Stephen Greet, co-founder at BeamJobs, a company dedicated to optimizing job search strategies and resume enhancement for job seekers across various industries.
“Our work is grounded in the belief that a well-crafted resume is a vital tool for job seekers,” he adds, “However, I also recognize the value of innovative hiring practices.
“By focusing on skills assessments or task-based evaluations, employers can tap into a broader talent pool, potentially uncovering candidates who might need to be noticed due to non-traditional backgrounds or gaps in employment. This method champions competence over credentials, aligning more closely with the actual demands of the job.”
It’s important to realize why this philosophy has come to the surface and gained some level of increasing use and supportive traction.
“It is a fairer way to select potential candidates since some people may have skills not listed on their resumes or (they) have a higher degree of knowledge than others who have extensive resumes but don’t have the expertise needed,” Lieberman says. “Focusing on the results of tests rather than relying on HR’s assumptions about educational background and past jobs levels the playing field for genders and ethnicity.”
It serves the job seeker and employer, he asserts.
“It benefits the applicant in finding the job they are qualified to do but also allows the companies to expedite what once was a long process.”
Foolish judgments are made at times too concerning a resume. Excessive weight is given what matters less about a candidate’s potential or suitability. Employers are forfeiting opportunities to hire excellent professionals and applicants are suffering.
“Don’t judge a candidate based on the formatting on their resume,” Wolfe says. “As the world moves towards diverse and inclusive hiring practices, it’s important to understand that a resume might at times paint a picture that doesn’t favor the job applicant. The school they graduated from, their previous employer, interests, and hobbies are all biases that are removed when resumes are pushed to the side, leading to fair hiring practices.”
Skills over subjective, at times flawed interpretations (whether human or technological) are costly, unethical problems to consider and solve.
“This philosophy has gained traction as industries evolve rapidly, with new roles prioritizing specific skills over traditional educational pathways or work histories,” Greet says. “Additionally, there's a growing recognition of the bias inherent in conventional hiring practices. By adopting more direct measures of a candidate's ability to perform specific tasks, companies aim to create a more equitable hiring process.”
Success, on a small or larger scale, using this approach communicates something about the status quo of the hiring process.
“This type of hiring process is synonymous with diversity and inclusion,” Wolfe says. “When this hiring process was conducted on a smaller scale, a remarkable two-thirds surge was seen in women getting into STEM roles. This shows that the said company cares about diversity as a core part of its hiring practices and not just a presentation slide for the stakeholders.”
“Success using skills-based hiring underscores the potential for a more inclusive and meritocratic approach to recruitment,” Greet states. “It suggests that traditional resumes may only sometimes be the best predictors of job performance. Instead, direct assessments can provide a clearer picture of a candidate's suitability, helping to break down systemic barriers and foster diversity in the workplace.”
There are potential dangers with this commitment.
“The risk I see with such a practice is that the objective information is missing from the candidate’s portfolio,” Wolfe says. “This includes aspects such as qualifications, experience and achievements. It may cause issues for the hiring manager to evaluate the applicant or if they would be the right person to go forward with.”
There is also the possibility that this new way could be a less-thorough and incomplete method for the task at hand.
“One risk is the potential for oversimplification of the hiring process,” Greet warns. “While task-based assessments can be efficient for specific roles, they may only partially capture a candidate's soft skills, such as leadership, communication or teamwork.”
He also forecasts the potential for new problems.
“Another concern,” Greet says, “is the design and fairness of the tests themselves, which must be carefully managed to avoid introducing new biases.”
Wolfe and Greet identify what they most respect about the concept and practice.
“I like how this practice creates a level playing field,” Wolfe analyzes. “It doesn’t matter the school you went to or the CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) you score. What matters in this process is how well-equipped you are to handle your work.”
Greet sees more qualified people being considered for roles of their interest and being able to get the opportunity to prove it. It’s intelligent improvement, he professionally opines.
“The most appealing aspect is its potential to democratize the hiring process,” Greet says. “Focusing on tangible skills and abilities can level the playing field, allowing candidates from diverse backgrounds to showcase their competencies directly. It aligns with a future-oriented perspective on work, where adaptability and skills are paramount.”
Communication Intelligence, the Newsletter is an accompanying publication of Communication Intelligence magazine.
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