RESEARCH REPORT
Employer Confidence in Resumes Falls
Insights from 900+ Employers on What Comes Next
Resumes have long been the foundation of hiring, but new research shows that confidence in them is slipping. As application volume rises and AI-generated content becomes more common, employers are rethinking how they evaluate talent.
Download this new report from Lighthouse Research and Advisory, in partnership with Criteria, for data-driven insights from 998 employers with practical guidance on how leading organizations are adapting their hiring strategies.
Why This Report Matters
Hiring today is more complex than ever. Talent teams are facing higher application volume, increasing use of AI by candidates, and growing pressure to improve quality of hire. Despite these changes, many organizations still rely on resumes as their primary screening tool, even as trust in that signal declines.
Inside, you will learn how to:
- Navigate the growing gap between resume use and employer trust
- Reduce the risk of mis-hires caused by misleading or AI-generated applications
- Identify more reliable signals of candidate ability
- Shift toward skills-based hiring without overhauling your entire process
- Build a more consistent and predictive approach to talent selection
This report enables talent and HR leaders to understand the changing talent landscape and how to respond with more effective, evidence-based hiring practices.
Key Insights
A preview of what you will find in the report.
Only 33 percent of employers are very confident that resumes reflect true candidate skills
98 percent of employers trust assessments, structured interviews, and work samples more than resumes
Two-thirds of employers have hired someone who misrepresented their skills
Get Your Copy
If your team is navigating high application volume, AI-augmented resumes, and increasing pressure to improve hiring accuracy, this report offers a clear path forward.
Get the data and insights you need to move beyond resume-driven hiring and build a more reliable, skills-focused process.
About Criteria
Criteria empowers organizations of all sizes to hire and develop top talent with science-backed assessments, structured interviewing, and employee development tools. With over 20 years of expertise, we’re committed to helping companies identify true candidate potential - so they can build stronger, more successful teams.
About Lighthouse Research & Advisory
Lighthouse Research & Advisory is a modern analyst firm dedicated to setting the standard for excellence in talent, learning, and HR. By providing compelling research and actionable insights for business leaders, our team’s mission is to navigate the rapidly changing field of human capital management to support today’s talent and learning functions.
Our advisory, research, content, events, HR Awards Program, and other offerings serve tens of thousands of employers across the globe every year.
Put simply: our goal is to chart a new course for talent. We do this with compelling research, innovative ideas, and a strong grasp of the current state of talent and technology at work. We have supported hundreds of organizations with our research, advisory, and insights since our beginning in 2016. In addition, our data also inform key product and strategy decisions at the industry’s leading technology and service providers.