A few months ago, I met a candidate who changed how I think about resumes — permanently.

She was returning to the workforce after several years away, and on paper, her experience looked dated: There were gaps in employment, a lack of technical certifications and no Fortune 500 experience. But during her pre-hire assessment, she absolutely nailed it. Her scores aligned perfectly with our top performers in communication, adaptability and creative problem-solving.

We hired her. She’s now one of our strongest team members, and she’s also a mom of four, just like me.

This story is not an outlier. It’s a sign of what’s broken with the traditional resume and why so many organizations are rethinking what it really means to be “qualified.”

Let’s be honest: The resume was never a perfect tool. It’s a static list of titles and dates, dressed up with carefully curated bullet points. It gives you some information, sure, but not the stuff that really matters. It won’t tell you how someone leads through chaos, or whether they’ll mesh with your team, or if they’re capable of learning a new system in a week because they have the grit and curiosity to figure it out.

Yet for decades, we’ve let resumes serve as gatekeepers. If your document checks the right boxes, you move forward. If not, you’re out. And that process is failing us in today’s hiring landscape.

The rise of skills-based hiring

Across industries, from hospitality to tech to healthcare, we’re seeing a major shift. Employers aren’t just asking “where did you work?” or “what degree do you have?” They’re asking, “can you actually do the job?”

This shift is driven in part by necessity. Talent shortages, rapid digital transformation, and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace have forced companies to look beyond traditional credentials. Business leaders today would rather hire a less experienced candidate with adaptable skills than a veteran stuck in their ways.

And it’s not just tech skills. In service-based roles, soft skills like empathy, adaptability and communication are now considered essential. The challenge is that those qualities don’t always show up in a resume. That’s why forward-thinking companies are turning to pre-hire assessments, work samples and video interviews that offer a richer view of what someone can actually do.

Resumes are evolving, and that’s a good thing

I’m not saying resumes are going extinct tomorrow. But they’re certainly evolving.

Today’s most effective candidates are no longer listing generic job duties — they’re telling stories. Instead of saying on a resume that a candidate “managed operations,” it’s “led implementation of a new workflow that cut processing time by 40 percent.” That kind of result-focused storytelling gives hiring teams something real to evaluate.

Soft skills are harder to communicate, but not impossible. The key is showing, not just telling. Think “navigated team restructuring with empathy and transparency,” not “team player.”

In some industries, resumes are taking a backseat entirely. We’re seeing more companies prioritize assessments and interviews that simulate real-world tasks over resume reviews. The goal is to see how a candidate thinks, learns and solves problems, not just what they’ve done before. At the same time, AI is reshaping how candidates approach their applications. Savvy job seekers are using AI to tailor resumes that beat applicant tracking systems, often resulting in documents that look polished but generic. As resumes become more uniform and less reflective of the whole person, hiring teams are realizing the need for deeper insights. That’s why there’s a growing shift toward tools and methods that showcase authentic skills, adaptability and potential, not just what fits the algorithm.

Getting rid of the “perfect candidate” myth

One of the most damaging ideas in hiring is the belief that there’s such a thing as a perfect candidate. Spoiler alert: there isn’t. Every single person brings strengths, gaps, quirks and potential to the table.

Some of the best hires I’ve ever made didn’t fit the mold. They didn’t go to the “right” school or have a linear career path. But they showed up with curiosity, coachability and tenacity, and they ended up thriving.

That’s also why we need to rethink how we write job descriptions. Ditch the “preferred qualifications” laundry list. Research shows women and underrepresented groups often won’t apply unless they meet nearly every single requirement. If it’s not essential to success, it shouldn’t be there.

Instead, focus on what success looks like in the role. Describe the day-to-day. Use real, human language. Say “you will” instead of “the ideal candidate will.” Make people feel seen, not screened out.

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