06.4.2025 Bob Wallace
Recruiting is stalling because we're still chasing paper.
There is a troubling trend in the industry. Open roles linger, pipelines dry up, and teams feel stuck. And it's stalling recruiting!
The issue isn't just a talent shortage. It's that too many hiring managers, recruiters, and HR leaders are still relying on resumes.
But resumes are dying.
They aren't gone quite yet, but they're close, and candidates are driving the trend. Over time, many have lost faith in the value of resumes. They post fewer of them, they update them less often, and the ones that do exist are increasingly stale.
Relying on resumes as the foundation of recruiting means chasing paper instead of connecting with people. And when that's your foundation, it doesn't just slow you down. It stalls hiring altogether.
Why Resumes Don't Work Anymore
Not long ago, Monster and CareerBuilder were the giants of online recruiting. But after years of steady decline, both collapsed. One key reason? “Fresh” resumes were almost nonexistent. At one point, even minor edits, like updating a phone number or email on a years-old resume, counted as new, leaving the rest of the content outdated.
Indeed and LinkedIn profiles are stronger, but even they don’t tell a full story. At best, they’re snapshots of what someone was doing, not who they are today. Candidates know it, too. They’ve seen their resumes lost to databases or screened out by AI. Many have stopped updating them altogether.
That’s why recruiting stalls when the focus is solely on resumes. Waiting on a piece of paper is not the same as recruiting people.
Related Read: Alternatives to Indeed Job Postings
Paper vs. People
Successful recruiters have already shifted. They’ve stopped waiting for resumes and started focusing on people.
What matters most is simple:
- A job title that signals potential fit.
- A phone number or email to make contact.
- A conversation that reveals interest, availability, and alignment.
Think about it. If you know someone is an engineer and you have an engineering role, do you really need a polished resume first? Or do you need to connect and start a conversation?
The strongest candidates are passive candidates, the ones not posting resumes. They are often the most valuable, happily employed, not juggling 15 interviews, and more open to the right opportunity when approached directly.
Recruiting succeeds when the focus shifts from paper to people.
The Automation Trap
Over-automation is another reason resume-first strategies stall. The industry has poured significant technology into hiring: AI filters, portals, automated screenings, but it hasn’t solved the problem. Instead, it has alienated candidates.
Imagine calling your bank. Endless menus, no human connection. Eventually, you just press “0” to reach a real person. Candidates feel the same way. The more their applications are handled by bots, the less motivated they are to post resumes or apply at all.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
We’re in a market where unemployment is ticking up, the highest since 2021, yet it still takes an average of 10 applications to fill one role. Why? Because resumes and job postings don’t match the way people actually look for opportunities anymore. A 2024 LinkedIn Talent Solutions report found that companies using data-driven recruiting strategies reduce hiring turnaround time by an average of 30% compared to those relying on job boards and static resumes.
We all heard the phrase “Time kills all deals.” Sitting back and waiting for resumes means giving stronger recruiters a head start. Recruiting stalls when you’re playing catch-up.
The teams that win make direct connections quickly and focus on conversations, not postings. The fastest way to accelerate hiring is simple: remove the barriers and increase human contact.
The Bottom Line
Resumes haven’t disappeared completely, but they are no longer the foundation of hiring. Both candidates and successful employers have moved on. Recruiting doesn’t stall because resumes are static. It stalls because organizations still chase them, long after candidates stopped providing them.
Recruiting succeeds when it shifts from paper to people. Contact data, conversations, and live signals drive speed, engagement, and retention in ways resumes never can.
If your hiring process is still resume-first, you are already behind. The future belongs to teams that stop recruiting papers and start connecting with people.
Or send us your toughest role, and we'll show you how people-first recruiting fills it faster.
