Picture this scenario: A registered nurse with years of experience walks into what should be a straightforward job interview. Instead, the candidate faces hours of written tests, role-playing scenarios, hands-on demonstrations, panel interviews, and behavioral assessments. All to be told that they’ll hear back later, with no specific time frame.
“That’s an awful candidate experience,” said Chris Covey, talent sourcing lead at Texas Oncology. “You’re asking someone who maybe has an hour and a half outside their normal life to sacrifice hours, and then they don’t even get an offer in a timely manner.”
Covey’s example illustrates a growing challenge with skills-based hiring: Organizations need ways to evaluate skills without overwhelming candidates.
More organizations are rethinking hiring by going beyond resumes and adding portfolio reviews, take-home assignments, structured interviews, and job simulations to better assess real-world skills. Skills-based hiring allows organizations to be more adaptable to evolving workplace needs, reduces bias in hiring, and is a better indicator of on-the-job success than resumes alone. In fact, 90% of companies using skills-based hiring reduced mishires, according to a 2024 TestGorilla report.
Skills-based hiring also widens the talent pool. According to SHRM’s 2024 Talent Trends report, 73% of organizations that eliminated degree requirements for certain positions reported finding at least one new hire they would have previously considered unqualified for the role.
But without a clear structure and purpose, these additional processes can quickly become time-consuming for hiring teams and burdensome for candidates. According to Indeed’s 2024 Workforce Insights Report, 49% of job seekers said most application processes “are too long and complicated,” and 33% said they abandon overly complex application processes.
Skills-based hiring has real advantages — but only when it’s implemented thoughtfully, with organizational goals and candidate experience in mind.
The Hidden Cost of Overcomplicating the Process
Increasingly, organizations are incorporating skills-based hiring because it supports project-based work models, better predicts candidate fit, reduces bias, and creates more consistent and inclusive hiring practices.
While skills-based hiring offers multiple benefits, there are several pitfalls to consider to avoid creating a process that drives candidates away. Tests, simulations, and other assessments can be complex and take hours to complete.
“Hours of tests and assessments can be exhausting for all parties and signal a lack of respect for the individual’s time,” said Jerry Sagmaquen, senior manager of talent acquisition at business and technology consulting company Slalom. “Processes that candidates see as unreasonable can result in disengagement or withdrawal from the process, especially among high-performing individuals.
Overcomplicating the skills-based hiring process is also taxing for HR teams. According to a 2024 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey, 53% of employers reported a lack of department time and resources to implement new hiring practices.
“That’s where I think assessment overload can play against organizations,” Covey said. “It needs to be designed so it is repeatable and designed to avoid overanalyzing the results. There is no perfect person, but if you use scientific methods, it standardizes the process rather than going with your gut.”
4 Tips for Designing Effective Assessments
Without a thoughtful structure, skills-based hiring can undermine candidate experience and efficiency.
When hiring design is intentional and assessments are tied to actual job demands rather than guesswork, the result is better hires, faster onboarding, and stronger team output overall, leading to higher productivity. Intentional hiring also reduces candidate fatigue and frustration.
Organizations developing a skills-based hiring process should consider these four elements:
- Core competencies. “Create assessments based on skills for use in the interview questions to understand if this candidate has the necessary skills, and use scenario-based technical questions specific to the role,” Covey said.
- Transparency. Limit the amount of time for assessments, let the candidate know the type of assessment they will be taking, and give them an anticipated time frame for completion, Sagmaquen advised.
- Intentionality. Avoid using assessments just for the sake of using assessments. “Understanding what the job description should be and how the skills are applied is really important in doing a good design of a hiring strategy,” Covey said.
- Skills blueprint. Evaluate current and future skills essential for company growth, define what success in the role looks like, and get buy-in from leadership on what to assess in the hiring process. “The resulting skills repository not only improves the candidate and hiring team experience, but it also provides critical information the organization can use in different ways to ensure people are in the right roles,” Sagmaquen said.
The Right Balance
At best, skills-based hiring expands opportunity, improves job fit, and helps teams thrive. But
when the process becomes too complex, it can drain candidates and delay decisions, just likethe experienced nurse who was put through hours of assessments with no outcome.
That’s the danger: When well-meaning rigor turns into candidate fatigue, everyone loses.
The solution is to design skill-based hiring with balance. Hiring teams should aim for processes that are structured but human, rigorous but respectful. Organizations that strike that balance between thoughtful design and candidate experience will be best positioned to build stronger, more capable teams.
“Hiring is a human process,” Sagmaquen said. “When we are thoughtful and intentional about how we hire, we make better decisions and create better experiences for everyone.”
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