Back to Research
Industry trends
Read time5 min readUpdatedDecember 2025

The Skills-Based Hiring Shift

How skills-first hiring changes what employers look for and how you should signal capability.

The Trend

Talent Pool Expansion

LinkedIn reports that skills-first hiring expands talent pools compared to degree filters.1

Source
LinkedIn Economic Graph (2025)

The paradigm shift

Traditional hiring filters are giving way to skills-based assessment.

Hiring paradigm shift
Traditional
Emerging
Degree required
Skills demonstrated
X years required
Relevant outcomes
Pedigree and prestige
Portfolio evidence

Talent pools expand

Skills-first filters broaden the candidate set compared to degree-only screens.

Fig. 1 — Paradigm ShiftThe shift from credentials to skills-based signals

What's actually changing

The shift to skills-based hiring reflects a growing focus on demonstrated capability over credentials. Employers are rewriting job requirements to emphasize skills and outcomes.12

This doesn't mean credentials don't matter—it means how you communicate skills matters more. A degree proves you completed a program. Your resume needs to prove you can do the work.

There is also a gap between policy and practice. Some employers remove degree requirements but do not fully shift hiring behavior.3

What this means for resumes

Show, Don't Tell

Listing 'project management' as a skill isn't enough. Show a project you managed and the outcome.

Education Moves Down

For experienced candidates, education should be at the bottom. Experience proves capability.

Portfolio Signals

Links to work samples, GitHub repos, or case studies provide evidence that degrees cannot.

Certifications Rise

Industry certifications (AWS, PMP, Google Analytics) are increasingly valued as skill proof.

Practical application

Lead with what you've done, not where you went. Start bullets with actions and results. "Led migration to AWS, reducing infrastructure costs by 40%" beats "Experienced in cloud computing."

Match the job posting's skill language. If they ask for "stakeholder management," use that phrase—not synonyms. Skills-based hiring often means skills-based searching.

Definition: skills-first

Skills-first hiring prioritizes demonstrated capability over credential filters, often by expanding the candidate pool and searching by skills.1

FAQ

Is skills-first hiring replacing degrees?

Not fully. Skills-first expands pools, but many employers still rely on credentials in practice.

How should candidates adapt?

Use the employer’s skill language and show outcomes that prove the skill.

Does this apply to all roles?

No. Some regulated roles still require specific credentials.

How Recruiter in Your Pocket uses this

01

Skills Extraction

We identify and emphasize the skills demonstrated in your experience sections.

02

Evidence Focus

We help you show skills through accomplishments, not just list them.

Related Research

Quantifying ImpactWritingLinkedIn vs. ResumeSourcingThe Referral AdvantageStrategy

Sources

  1. Skills-Based Hiring: The Big Picture - LinkedIn Economic Graph (2025).
  2. Future of Recruiting 2024 - LinkedIn Talent Solutions (2024).
  3. Companies aren't keeping commitments to hire non-college grads, study suggests - Business Insider (2024).

See what your resume looks like

Run Free Analysis