Technology has made it easier than ever to find candidates to fill open roles. Job boards, professional networks and AI tools can now surface hundreds of profiles in seconds. But gaining enough candidates isn’t the issue. Instead, the tension between quality and quantity is increasing as recruiters struggle to identify the best people for the role.

In fact, only 15% of leaders are confident they’re hiring the right person and 60% express doubts about them. It’s pretty hard to onboard new hires and set them up for success in their roles when you’re unsure if you want them there at all.

Traditional Signals Are Out Of Favor

This is a frustration I’ve heard time and again. Companies are absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of resumes and profiles yet underwhelmed by the results of their hiring efforts. It’s a complete mismatch. Traditional recruiting methods make the problem worse, relying on outdated signals like prestigious degrees or previous job titles that act as no more than “hints” about the breadth of a candidates’ skills. And while it’s easy to assume that a Stanford computer science graduate will make a great hire, this approach overlooks a wealth of untapped talent.

The real opportunity lies in identifying high-quality candidates beyond these obvious markers. For example, someone who didn’t attend a top-tier university but has shown rapid career progression or has experience in unique environments may bring just as much value to the table—if not more. Unfortunately, these candidates often slip through the cracks because their potential isn’t as scannable.

For this reason, some companies have scrapped traditional signals altogether. Juro, a software company, no longer reviews resumes during its hiring processes, preferring instead to ask two simple questions to applicants for a sales role: “Why do you want to work in a sales role?” and “Why do you want to work for a tech startup?”

Similarly, household-name employers like Google and IBM have scrapped college degree requirements from some of their positions.

That said, there’s nuance here. The key is to understand why you want to eliminate a particular technique, then decide if a superior alternative exists. In some cases, the traditional markers are still valid. For example, college degrees can indicate that candidates possess valuable skills like the ability to succeed in unstructured environments or present coherent arguments. Instead of dismissing these signals entirely, companies need a more balanced approach.

Skills-Based Hiring Is Useful If You Know What Skills You Need

The trend toward skills-based hiring—focusing on the specific abilities required for a role rather than less relevant credentials—offers a more targeted way to evaluate candidates. Research from McKinsey reveals that hiring for skills predicts job performance five times better than hiring based on education and twice better than work experience.

However, skills-based hiring only works if organizations know precisely what they’re looking for. To get there, companies must first take inventory of their existing skills, then identify gaps and forecast future needs over one, three and five years. This planning keeps hiring efforts aligned with the company’s long-term goals so all new talent can contribute meaningfully to organizational growth.

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