[Forbes Expert Panel] 20 Outdated Hiring Practices To Avoid (And What To Do Instead)

>>Forbes Council’s Expert Panel<<

Written by Forbes Expert Panel

Published July 24, 2025

As the job market evolves, so too must the strategies hiring managers use to attract and retain top talent in a competitive landscape. Clinging to outdated practices—like sticking too closely to rigid job descriptions or making age-based assumptions—can limit access to diverse, high-potential hires. Instead, companies should embrace more inclusive, data-driven and candidate-centric approaches.

To help employers stay ahead, 20 Forbes Human Resources Council members share common hiring missteps they've seen, and what to do instead for more effective recruiting.

1. Only Considering Candidates With The Exact Skill Set You Want

When reviewing résumés and interviewing candidates, don’t just pass someone along because they may not have the exact skill set you’re looking for. Many individuals are eager to learn and possess skills that can transfer to the new role. Seeking out candidates who are motivated, problem solvers and want to help is key because they are often individuals who are ready and eager to take advantage of opportunities. - Lindsay Gainor, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK

2. Resume-Based Hiring

In today’s evolving job market, traditional hiring often overlooks capable candidates. Leaders should shift from résumé-based hiring to skills-based hiring strategies. Resumes miss the real potential and skill match. Leaders should start exploring assessment tools that measure job-relevant skills and adaptability. This will also help identify diverse, high-potential talent and future-ready teams. - Bhavesh Kapoor, Intrizen

3. Looking For Candidates Who Did The Same Job You're Hiring For

Don't look for talent that has done the same job somewhere else. After baseline skills, the power skills of tomorrow are agility, emotional intelligence, curiosity and resilience. Looking for "same" experience may feel safe, but you're risking stagnation and resistance if you are not considering these other traits. Hire for potential and you'll find people stretching in ways you never imagined. - Sonia Vora

4. Unstructured And Inconsistent Interviewing

One hiring practice to avoid in 2025 is unstructured, inconsistent interviewing. When managers rely on gut instinct or ask different questions for each candidate, they risk poor hires and missed talent. Instead, use structured, role-specific interviews with consistent evaluation criteria to improve hiring speed, quality and fit. - Dina DeMarco, Hueman People Solutions

5. Letting Ego Factor Into Hiring

As businesses grapple with a turbulent market in the second half of the year, managers need to lose their egos with hiring. Most leaders are holding on to bad hires for an extended time to avoid “looking bad” with their peers. Instead, they should own the decision, admit the hire was a mistake and move forward quickly. Failing fast can save the company, department and other employees the headache. - Shannon Gabriel, TBM Consulting

6. Only Looking At Ambition

Avoid placing a significant weight on ambition without balancing it with the person's potential, hunger and willingness to learn the business from the ground up. We are in an era of hires wanting to accelerate through the business to mid- and senior-level roles too early, impacting their longer-term career and especially in terms of credibility as leaders later. - Angela O'Donovan, UCC

7. Treating Recruitment Like A Volume Game

In industries where headcount is output, it’s not enough to find talent; you need better hiring operations. Too many hiring teams still treat recruitment like a volume game: more listings, more candidates and more outreach. But in human-first industries—from logistics to healthcare—operational chokepoints are why qualified workers wait, and why revenue gets left on the table. - Vardhan Kapoor, Firstwork

8. Not Looking For 'Culture Add'

In 2025, business leaders and hiring executives must move beyond culture fit and actively prioritize culture add. They must invest in talent that brings diverse perspectives, leads through uncertainty and challenges the status quo to drive meaningful, future-proofed impact. The best hires don’t just align with core values; they amplify them to disrupt, elevate and lead organizations into the future. - Stella H. Kim, HRCap, Inc.

9. Overreliance On AI Screening

Managers looking forward to 2025 should avoid overrelying on AI-powered screening tools without human oversight, even though AI systems can efficiently process large volumes of applications. Overusing such systems may inadvertently filter qualified applicants due to algorithmic bias or insufficient contextual understanding. - Sherri Reese, Michigan State University

10. Only Using Job Boards Or Recruiting Firms

Don’t rely solely on job boards or recruiting firms. Also, partner with apprenticeship intermediaries and local workforce agencies—every state has them, and they’re often overlooked. These entities reach candidates not visible through traditional channels, including newly trained talent. Many offer free screening and matching services. Apprenticeships are a proven method of skills-based hiring. - Ximena Gates, BuildWithin

11. Ghosting Your Applicants

Avoid ghosting applicants. Campaigning for a job is stressful enough without unearned silent treatment from an organization someone’s pining for. Maybe the file fell through the cracks, but on the receiving end, it reads as callous. Communicate clearly and well, set process milestones and stick to them and absolutely, positively let folks know when, per the cliché, you’re going in a different direction. - John Kannapell, CYPHER Learning

12. Asking Interviewees For A 'Resume Recap'

Stop asking candidates to walk through their résumé—it wastes time and signals you're unprepared. You've already seen their background. Instead, identify key skills for the role, find signals in the CV and ask targeted, high-impact questions. Skip the recap; dig into value. That’s how you hire smarter in 2025. - Shiran Danoch, Informed Decisions

13. Running Unpaid Summer Internship Programs

Stop short-term, unpaid internships during the summer. Unpaid labor for Gen Z appears to send a message that you aren't committed to them and don't take them seriously. Instead, hire students year-round as part-time paid interns who could turn into full-time workers over the summer, and perhaps a full-time hire when they graduate. - Subha Barry, Seramount

14. Ignoring Talent From Nontraditional Backgrounds

Hire for ability, not biography. Résumés often reflect access, privilege or connections, not actual ability. In 2025, focus on what candidates can do, not just where they’ve been. Use skills assessments, real-world tasks or job auditions to identify true talent, especially from nontraditional backgrounds. This one shift improves performance, increases diversity and unlocks overlooked potential. - Sheena Minhas, ST Microelectronics

15. Making Age-Based Assumptions

Managers should avoid age-based assumptions that younger candidates are inherently more tech-savvy or adaptable because this unfairly excludes experienced professionals and limits diversity. These stereotypes reduce the opportunity to see the whole person behind the résumé. Instead, managers should prioritize skills-based hiring to assess a person's potential for a more diverse workforce. - Sherry Martin

16. Hiring With A 'Speed Dating' Mindset

Stop treating hiring like speed dating. Rushed, gut-driven processes spike bias, erode team cohesion and undermine equity. Instead, use structured interviews tied to key competencies, balance AI-based screening with diverse human insight and hold cross-functional panels accountable. That’s how you hire sustainably and inclusively in 2025. - Apryl Evans, USA for UNHCR

17. Manual Application Ranking

When hiring, managers should avoid manually ranking applications, a time-consuming process that can introduce bias and delay in decision-making. When trained and used responsibly, AI can help surface top talent based on consistent, inclusive and data-driven criteria. Instead of spending hours sorting resumes, managers can focus on higher-value tasks like interviewing and team fit. - Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, myWorkforceAgents.AI

18. Prioritizing Culture Fit Over Values Alignment

Eliminate the vague concept of “culture fit”—it's subjective, susceptible to bias and limits innovation brought by differing perspectives. Prioritize values alignment or contribution to the existing culture. In hiring, use structured behavioral interview questions to assess how candidates embody organizational values and contribute new perspectives that enhance the organization's culture instead. - Jennifer Rozon, McLean & Company

19. Evaluating Candidates Based On Past Jobs Alone

Instead of evaluating a candidate for the exact roles they have held in the past, which hiring managers should avoid in 2025, it's important to evaluate the candidate for the skills they would bring to the job. These skills might be wrapped up in a job that a client held in a different industry, but they could still thrive in the new role. - Jennifer Morehead, Flex HR

20. Identifying Tasks Over Desired Outcomes

Managers must rethink roles by starting with the outcomes expected, not tasks. Identify which tasks truly require a human, and which can be automated, outsourced or handled by AI. Then update the skills and qualifications needed. Only after this redesign should hiring begin. - Prithvi Singh Shergill, Tomorrow @entomo

Source: Forbes

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