In the world of small business hiring, traditional resumes and applications have long been the go-to methods for evaluating potential candidates. However, these outdated approaches often fail to deliver the right talent with the necessary skills. For small businesses, every hire is crucial, making it essential to adopt more effective hiring practices. Here’s why resumes and applications don’t work for small businesses and what should be done instead.
Resumes Focus on Experience, Not Skills
A resume is essentially a historical document—it tells you where a candidate has worked, what their job titles were, and how long they stayed. But it doesn’t necessarily tell you what they can actually do. Small businesses need employees who can step in and contribute right away, which requires a clear understanding of their skills, not just their job history. Many candidates may lack formal experience in a role but have transferable skills that make them a perfect fit. A skills-based approach helps identify those individuals.
Keyword Filtering Misses the Best Candidates
Many businesses use automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes for keywords, but small businesses often don’t have the resources for such software. Even when they do, these systems can filter out highly qualified candidates simply because they didn’t use the exact phrasing the software was programmed to recognize. This means businesses may never even see candidates who could be perfect for the role. Instead, evaluating candidates based on demonstrated skills rather than resume jargon ensures the right fit.
Resumes Are Often Exaggerated or Misleading
Studies have shown that a significant percentage of job seekers embellish their resumes, inflating their experience, responsibilities, or skills. For small businesses, making a hiring decision based on potentially misleading information can be a costly mistake. Without a structured way to validate skills, employers are left guessing whether a candidate can truly do the job. Skills assessments and competency-based hiring methods provide a more accurate representation of a candidate’s capabilities.
Traditional Applications Are Inefficient and Time-Consuming
For small business owners, time is money. Reviewing stacks of resumes and applications is not only tedious but also ineffective. Many applications include generic information that doesn’t help in making a hiring decision. On the flip side, a streamlined skills-based hiring process allows businesses to quickly identify candidates with the abilities they need, reducing the time spent sifting through unqualified applicants.
A Better Approach: Skills-Based Hiring
Instead of relying on resumes and applications, small businesses should implement a skills-based hiring process. This approach focuses on:
- Identifying the core skills required for the job
- Using skills assessments to evaluate candidates
- Conducting structured, competency-based interviews
- Removing barriers that exclude qualified individuals, such as unnecessary degree requirements
By shifting the focus from experience to ability, small businesses can build stronger teams, improve retention, and ensure they are hiring candidates who can truly perform the job.
In today’s competitive market, small businesses can’t afford to make hiring mistakes. Moving beyond resumes and applications to a skills-first hiring approach is the key to finding the right talent that will help businesses grow and succeed.