GoKawiilSapia.ai and recruiters push skills-based hiring as AI floods resumes
Sapia.ai CEO Barb Hyman argues traditional resumes are becoming unreliable because AI tools let candidates mass-produce tailored CVs and cover letters, citing UK data showing graduate employers received an average of 140 applications per vacancy in 2025, a 30-year high. She and other recruiters say hiring is shifting toward directly assessing candidates' skills rather than relying on employment history, with Michael Page research finding about two-thirds of UK organizations already using skills-based hiring.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
If resumes lose their value as a filtering tool, employers may need new assessment methods, potentially widening opportunities for candidates whose skills don't match conventional career paths, as Hyman suggests with her hairdresser-to-contact-center example. The trend could also pressure recruitment platforms and firms to build new evaluation products, though how widely skills-based hiring will replace resumes in practice remains uncertain.
- UK graduate employers averaged 140 applications per vacancy in 2025, a 30-year high.
- About two-thirds of UK organizations have adopted skills-based hiring, per Michael Page research.
- Nearly 60% of candidates say they prefer applying to roles defined by skills over qualifications or history.
Source: cnbc.com — Lindsay Dodgson, 2026-09-30
Published there as: “AI broke the job application. What replaces it?”
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