Recruitment dynamics have evolved dramatically over the past years, mostly due to the turbulence caused by the pandemic and its side effects on companies. Businesses have had to decrease dependence on traditional hiring practices like resume screening and adopt more effective strategies, such as skills-based hiring. As a result, numerous companies today can make more informed hiring decisions, retain new talent, and identify skilled candidates.
With how popular skills-based hiring has become, misinformation is only expected, especially with companies who are just transitioning into this recruitment strategy. If this is your case, then you’re in luck. In this piece, we will debunk 10 of the most common skill-based hiring myths and explain the truth behind this hiring strategy.
Myth 1: Technology in skills-based hiring dehumanizes the recruitment process
This myth is based on the assumption that incorporating technology-powered processes in hiring means treating candidates like numbers and prioritizing automation over human interaction. As a result, the recruitment process becomes cold, impersonal, and unfair.
While this myth has logical backing, it isn’t completely true. Statistically, 86% of recruiters say Applicant Tracking Systems, a form of technology in recruitment, has helped them hire better without dehumanizing the process.
Skills-based hiring involves the use of technologies like AI, Applicant Tracking Systems, and online assessments to identify candidates who have the skills your company needs. However, it’s easy for recruiters to perceive these technological advancements as a replacement for human judgment.
Technology doesn’t dehumanize the hiring process. It enhances the human aspects of recruitment
Integrating technology and AI into your recruitment eliminates human bias by focusing on skills, not names, background, or age. Based on the system’s evaluation of the candidate’s skills, experience, and performance, it can project how each individual would perform if hired. As such, it can suggest top candidates for the job. However, it’s human recruiters who make the final call.
Aside from candidate assessment, technology has made communication between candidates and recruiters much easier. Now, candidates can get smart answers to common questions or speak with an AI chatbot for deeper inquiries. This ensures that the candidates don’t feel ghosted when recruiters aren’t available to answer their questions.
With AI-driven insights, recruiters can tailor their interviews and screening processes to check for job-relevant skills. This way, the recruiters can learn more about what the candidates can do and who they are, empowering them to make more informed hiring decisions.
Myth 2: AI hiring tools in skills-based hiring will replace recruiters
With how popular AI in hiring has become, it’s easy to believe that businesses won’t need the human power of hiring managers, an HR team, or even recruiters. After all, automating tasks has become one of the most common benefits of AI, and it is being applied to skills-based hiring. HR.com’s report states that 56% of companies that use AI in their hiring attest to this, listing depersonalization as a major concern with this practice.
This is inaccurate because, to a large extent, AI depends on human operations to be efficient. For example, while you can use AI tools to automate some recruitment processes, such as job postings and candidate data entry, the system still needs a recruiter’s management skills. This helps add a more relatable touch and ensures that the process is personalized to each candidate.
AI assists recruiters rather than replace them
The importance of human power in AI-driven recruitment doesn’t stop there. AI systems work with machine learning, which basically identifies patterns in hiring and combines the insights with data from various sources provided by the recruiter.
Plus, beyond automating repetitive tasks and performance grading and ranking, recruiters are vital for deeper evaluation, negotiation, and communication for relationship-building with candidates. Beyond candidate evaluation, recruiters are critical in setting up the onboarding process after making a hire.
Recruiters can also use an AI assessment builder to generate a skills assessment tailored to the role into which you’re hiring. This can help save time and effort, providing you with data that makes it easier to focus on choosing the right candidate.
In all, AI is integral to skills-based hiring as it makes the process faster, seamless, and even more effective. Not to mention, it helps eliminate bias and allows companies to adapt to the ever-evolving trends in recruitment.
Myth 3: AI tools in hiring are ineffective
Many recruiters and even candidates believe that AI hiring tools like resume scanners and automated interview platforms promote bias in hiring. Essentially, they believe that if the system is trained or configured to suit a certain population, it could lead to unfair hiring outcomes.
However, this is only a myth because AI tools are constantly improving, expanding their data sources, and streamlining their machine learning to reduce bias in hiring. Ultimately…
AI tools aid skills-based hiring
According to The Hays 2025 skills report, around 67% of businesses use technology to tackle skill shortages within their company, adopting methods like data analytics and AI in hiring. By integrating AI-driven tools into their technology stack, companies can automate simple tasks like data entry while overseeing other more demanding hiring tasks.
Additionally, AI in recruitment allows companies to broaden their candidate pool, as some of these tools can send job postings across various platforms to attract candidates with diverse backgrounds. This, in turn, leads to a more inclusive hiring process and increases the probability of hiring a highly skilled candidate for the role.
Regarding candidate assessment, AI tools like Applicant Tracking Systems and resume screening tools use machine learning to scan resumes for required skills for a position and rank candidates based on their applications. Companies can also use AI-powered skill tests to grade candidates’ test performance and spotlight the best fit for the role.
Myth 4: Talent is scarce
On the surface, this myth makes a lot of sense. For instance, A 2025 ManpowerGroup Talent survey showed that Australia is currently grappling with a talent shortage. Currently, 77% of employers in its Asia-Pacific region reported difficulties in finding skilled workers.
Considering this, it’s easy to believe that skills-based hiring would reduce that pool even further since it’s meant to filter applicants.
However, with better research, you will discover that skills-based hiring does the exact opposite. In fact, its whole concept focuses on attracting more candidates for a position and then filtering through them until you locate and hire someone with the right skills who fits into your company and can help you reach your goals. Essentially…
Skills-based hiring makes it easy to find ‘scarce’ talent
Traditional hiring practices that emphasize formal education can exclude a significant portion of capable individuals who might not have attended or completed college. Notably, 50% of the adult workforce in the U.S. doesn’t have a college degree, yet many possess the necessary skills for high-demand roles.
Basically, this means that the major reason you might be finding it difficult to locate talent is that your talent pool is limited to only those with degrees. By adopting skills-based hiring, companies can access this underutilized segment of the workforce, effectively broadening their talent pool.
Myth 5: Skills-based hiring is unfavorable to college graduates
With skills-based hiring shifting companies’ focus from degrees to proven skills, some employers and even candidates believe that the practice puts college graduates at a disadvantage. Although this myth stems from the processes behind skills-based hiring, it’s still a misconception.
Skills-based hiring prioritizes skills that some college graduates might not possess despite their degrees. Companies that understand this have begun to drop degree requirements, with 34% of businesses no longer listing them on job postings and 86% of hiring managers shifting to skills-based hiring. But this doesn’t mean it puts them at a disadvantage. It only spotlights those who meet the company’s role requirements and have a better job fit.
Skills-based hiring is fair to everyone, including college graduates
Unlike traditional hiring practices, such as resume screening, which are prone to hiring bias and human error, skills-based hiring provides a fair platform for all candidates to demonstrate their skills.
For example, if your company relies on resume screening and prioritizes degrees in hiring, it discourages potential candidates who don’t meet these requirements from applying. And for those who do apply, it puts them at a disadvantage because the recruiter might overlook their application, deeming them unfit before even giving them a chance to show their skill.
Skill-based hiring techniques, like skills testing, on the other hand, focus more on determining whether or not the candidate has the capabilities your company needs, not just degrees. This ensures that college graduates with the required skills have as much of a shot at the position as non-traditional candidates.
Myth 6: Candidates can manipulate assessments
When it comes to skills-based hiring techniques like skills assessment, especially for remote roles, some companies believe they are unreliable. This is because there’s a chance the candidates can Google the answers to each question while taking the test, which means they can move on to the next stage of recruitment even though they don’t have the necessary skills.
While this myth has logical support, it also has some significant loopholes. For one, it is based on the assumption that skill assessment questions are solely straightforward how-to, what-is, and why questions, which isn’t accurate. In reality…
Skill assessments aren’t easy to manipulate
Unless inadequately set up, a skill assessment hosted on a reliable platform such as Vervoe can’t easily be manipulated by candidates. For example, Vervoe offers anti-cheating features like timed and multiple-format inquiries, which restrict the candidate from seeking answers on Google or other search engines.
Skills testing also employs situation-based questions, which, unlike straightforward what, how, and why questions, require an in-depth understanding of the subject matter. This knowledge can only come from experience in similar roles or with similar projects.
Myth 7: Skills-based hiring takes time
As a recruiter, you can agree that hiring a new candidate is a time-consuming task, especially if you want them to undergo several screening procedures. In fact, the average time to hire a new employee can range between 43 days for large companies to 29 days for smaller businesses.
Some companies believe that skills-based hiring takes more time because it requires the use of assessments. They believe that assessments are just another skill evaluation strategy, adding complexity and lengthening the time to hire and time to fill a particular position.
Well, this point is once again a myth because skills-based hiring does the exact opposite. By employing strategies like pre-employment assessments, companies can screen thousands of applicants simultaneously, allowing for less time consumption and better resource management. Save to say:
Skill-based hiring saves time
By incorporating skill-focused strategies like skills testing into your recruitment, you can effectively evaluate how fit a candidate is for a position within minutes. Furthermore, if you use a platform that offers personalized AI grading and performance ranking, you can assess thousands of candidates simultaneously. Plus, you don’t have to go through the stress of scoring each candidate individually.
An excellent example of this is iSelect, an Australian insurance comparison site that used skills testing with Vervoe to reduce hiring time by 50%. Team Global Express is another excellent example of skill-based hiring in action. In this case, the logistics company reduced hiring time from 63 to 30 days. This alone is proof that skill-based hiring is beneficial for spotting top talent quickly and effectively.
Myth 8: Interviews are more reliable than skills tests
While interviews provide valuable face-to-face interaction with candidates, they shouldn’t be viewed as inherently more reliable than other assessment methods. Though direct conversation allows candidates to showcase their skills and experiences, interviews come with their own limitations.
Candidates often prepare extensively, researching the company and tailoring their responses to match perceived expectations. This preparation, while demonstrating initiative, can sometimes make it challenging to distinguish between well-rehearsed answers and genuine capabilities.
Skill tests are more reliable for vetting skills
While you can use structured interviews to improve how skill-focused your interview process is, it still, to a large extent, depends on the interviewer’s perception of the candidate and their responses. This leaves some room for various forms of bias resulting from how subjective the process can be.
Skill tests, on the other hand, offer an objective way to evaluate candidates’ skills based on how well they perform on these assessments. Essentially, the results of the skills tests depict how well the candidate understands the role, how experienced they are, and how well they can apply their skills to solve tasks related to the role. This offers a more reliable way to predict their performance with your company.
Myth 9: Skills-based hiring doesn’t work for various industries or locations
This is typical of companies in remote locations or those hiring for roles that aren’t focused on hard skills, such as hospitality roles. While this might have been true in the past, due to limited skills-based hiring practices and the inaccessibility of technology, it definitely is a different ballgame now.
The introduction of online skills assessments allows you to screen candidates for the required skills and assess their proficiency level as well. Plus, skills testing has been diversified in a way that questions can be curated to fit any role, skill, or industry. This ensures adequate skill evaluation no matter your industry or location.
Skills-based hiring is suitable for any industry and location
With 91% of hiring managers reporting skills scarcity as their top challenge, almost 66.7% of companies have switched to skills-based hiring processes, regardless of industry or location. This is possible due to the availability of online skills testing platforms, job simulations, and even virtual interviews, which help employers tailor their recruitment to assess skills rather than degrees.
Additionally, companies can use situation-based questions unique to their industry or even location while conducting structured interviews and creating skill assessments. This makes skills-based hiring more flexible and applicable to practically any scenario.
Myth 10: Skills-based hiring leads to bad hires
The whole idea of skill-based hiring is to combine the most effective techniques for assessing skill and proficiency levels to prevent bad hires. However, it is possible to make a bad hire, even when you believe you’re practicing skills-based hiring, which could bring about this misconception.
Skills-based hiring actually leads to great hires
Skill-based hiring is a holistic approach that includes skill-focused assessments, interviews, and even job descriptions. These strategies help you hire not only the right fit for a position but also someone who aligns with your company and its values.
So, beyond testing for technical skills, you should also integrate structured interviews, a skill-based job description, and behavioral assessments. Another great way to optimize your skill-based hiring is by using talent acquisition software to reduce human errors or bias.
Currently, less than half (45%) of businesses rate their recruitment technology stack as good or excellent. This means that not many companies are using technology to optimize their skill-based hiring even further, leaving lots of room for improvement on those grounds.
By combining these practices and tools, you can identify candidates with extensive skills and knowledge. This will equip you with enough information to make the right hiring decision and even improve your recruitment processes in the future.
Note: Our comprehensive ebook gives you everything you need to implement effective skills-based hiring. From practical techniques to proven strategies, we’ve compiled the essentials into one actionable resource. Download it now to build stronger teams and make more confident hiring decisions.
Practice skills-based hiring the Vervoe way
A 2020 report from the World Economic Forum found that by 2025, at least 50% of all employees will need to be reskilled. As a result, companies must now, more than ever, recognize the need for a skill-centered approach to hiring. This can help save time and resources while ensuring the process maintains efficiency.
From using the right strategies to integrating the right platforms, you need all the help you can get to execute a top-notch, skill-based hiring process. Fortunately, Vervoe offers an easy way to assess candidate skills and predict job performance. Our platform offers job simulations, a comprehensive assessment library, and even AI-powered personalized candidate grading to take the stress out of hiring and replace it with efficiency.
Whether you’re a startup or a leading name in your industry, Vervoe can help you apply skill-based hiring correctly. Register for a free demo, and we’ll take it from there!
