Why Confidence Is Beating Volume in Early Career Hiring

The resume has stopped being a reliable signal

Recently I joined a panel of talent leaders to discuss how employers are adapting to one of the toughest hiring problems in recent memory: applications that look perfect on paper but tell you almost nothing about the person behind them. Having worked with many organizations to improve their talent strategies, this is an area of growing concern that I have seen first-hand regardless of industry, region or role.

Every panelist agreed on one thing. AI has made it remarkably easy for candidates to produce polished resumes, cover letters, and even interview answers that sound impressive but may not reflect real ability. Jena Brown, who leads global talent management for Concentrix's B2B sales division, described running into candidates who used AI for their resumes, their work samples, and their case studies. This means recruiters now have to be better with their human skills to distinguish what's presentation and what's capability.

Meredith Trotta, global director of university recruitment at Veeam Software raised a similar point, predicting that authenticity is going to rule supreme, as AI becomes standard practice, and Felix Martinez, director of talent acquisition at GE Appliances took the same transparent stance, telling candidates upfront when AI is part of the process rather than treating it as a hidden test. Francesca Jones, who leads early careers recruiting for EY in the US, agreed candidates want clarity on where AI is welcome and where it isn't, since mixed messages only add to the noise.

Accurate decisions need real evidence

Together with the move away from reliance on resumes is a wider shift towards objective data that can provide real evidence to make better decisions. Concentrix shared research that showed very little statistical correlation between high performance and years of experience, something that is reshaping how they evaluate candidates. A high performer may have only one year of experience, while a low performer can spend a decade in a role and still do the work poorly. Instead of screening for a specific number of years in a role, Concentrix recruiters are trained to recognize transferable skills wherever they show up, for example, a student who ran a small business on the side, a college athlete who took coaching seriously, or a student council leader who knows how to organize people.

EY is applying similar thinking with the firm is deliberately shifting toward a more skills-based model and widening its lens beyond traditional academic credentials as it builds the workforce of the future. Both companies are backing this shift with real structure, with the help of SHL’s assessments—Concentrix uses assessments alongside tailored case studies and competency-based interviews to pressure test what candidates can actually do, while EY runs a formal internship program with midpoint evaluations, and consistent onboarding across three cohorts a year.

Technology should remove noise, not judgment

So, from a recruitment side, where does AI and technology actually help? Jena's team looked into AI recruiting tools across the hiring funnel and found that AI is best-placed to absorb the repetitive, objective screening work, while people stay firmly in charge of judging confidence, adaptability, and authenticity with the help of validated assessment data. This human oversight is critical for any people decision-making, not just for best-practice, but increasingly for legal compliance. Concentrix is also using assessment data at a macro level to shape campus development programs before candidates even apply, based on the insights they are seeing into the skills that need working on most.

EY takes a comparable view on the human side of the process. Francesca  acknowledged it wasn’t easy to make high volume feel personal but stressed that clarity is the starting point, so candidates should understand each of the steps in the process. Every touchpoint, she added, is still a chance to build the brand's reputation with someone who may return later in their career. This is something Meredith at Veeam was also focused on, using tools to help manage volume but with an awareness not to lose the personal touch that helps ensure candidates still have a great experience.

What does this mean for your hiring strategy?

Across these conversations, the same idea kept surfacing in different forms: behavior and durable skills matter more than a polished surface. This aligns with tree analogy SHL often use to describe skills, where technical, perishable skills are the leaves, sitting at the top but change often. Durable skills, like adaptability, curiosity, and willingness to learn, sit at the roots, acting as the foundation for most roles as they predict long-term success far better. Concentrix and EY are both hiring for the roots, using data and structure to do it consistently at scale, and it's a principal GE Appliances and Veeam Software are applying in their own ways too, whether through structured intern evaluations or a deliberate focus on quality over quantity.

Overall, hiring strategies will continue to change and be challenged by AI, new tech and evolving candidate expectations, but trusted, defensible data will always be needed to underpin any talent decisions, and the best organizations will build processes that ensure speed, accuracy and fairness in equal measure.

Watch the full webinar replay to hear more about the shift from managing volume to building confidence, including practical detail on assessment design, candidate communication, and how to bring hiring managers along on the change journey.