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Blog thumbnail Why AI explainability matters for hiring teams

As AI tools have transformed hiring, AI explainability has become a hot topic among recruiters and hiring managers. The common perception is that explainability is only important for identifying bias and reducing compliance risk in hiring after the fact. While that’s certainly true, it’s far from the most important reason your AI hiring systems need to be explainable. Ultimately, AI explainability matters because it actively helps you understand who you should hire and why certain candidates are

Why AI explainability matters most for hiring teams

richard sutherland

Blog thumbnail Why AI pilots keep failing

In July 2025, a report from MIT‘s Project NANDA dropped a statistic that sent shockwaves through the tech world: 95% of enterprise AI initiatives are delivering zero measurable return. Despite $30 to $40 billion in investment, the vast majority of AI pilots are stalling, failing, or quietly getting shelved. The report immediately sparked a huge debate. AI doomers had the perfect statistic to herald the inevitable AI crash they‘d long foreseen, and AI evangelists quickly hit back, criticizing the

MIT says 95% of AI pilots fail. The problem isn‘t what you think

Lately, there’s been a lot of hullabaloo about hiring for qualities like attitude, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. And it’s not hard to see why: The World Economic Forum's latest Future of Jobs Report predicts that, as things change at record speed, nearly 40% of today’s jobs will either change or become obsolete in the next five years.  Naturally, employers are looking for people who can think, act, and adapt. So candidates’ soft skills, values, and behaviors have (in my opinion, dese

Affinity is only skin-deep: How a single bias leads to shallow hiring

We’ve been digging into the data from 3.9 million skills tests taken on our platform, and one number just about jumped off the screen.  Testing for AI skills has skyrocketed 166% in the last year. Businesses are urgently hunting for people with hands-on technical skills. We're past the "AI-curious" stage and firmly in the "who can actually build with this?" era. But what are the fastest-growing tests, and which skills exactly are employers looking for? 

AI skills testing soars by 166% globally. But which skills are rising fastest?

Years ago, Dr. Larry Stybel, a retained search consultant specializing in CEOs and board directors, was tasked with finding a CEO for a non-profit company. Since the client couldn’t afford his fee, Larry decided to interview candidates over the phone instead of traveling to meet them in person.  "I sent four candidates I thought the selection committee would want to see," Larry recalls. "But Candidate A was my top choice. Sure enough, A was offered the CEO job." Later, Larry flew to meet the new

What sourcing biases look like (and how to avoid them)

Blog thumbnail Top 9 talent acquisition strategies for 2025

Our 2025 State of Skills-Based Hiring Report discovered what seems to be a chasm: 70% of job seekers told us it’s hard to find a job, but 63% of employers told us that it’s hard to find great talent. We believe strong talent acquisition strategies – emerging and overlooked ones – can fix this problem by helping you connect with the right job seekers (and vice versa). Below, we explore what we believe are the best talent acquisition strategies – from talent sourcing to AI interviews. 

Top 9 talent acquisition strategies for 2025

We’ve been in the screening game long enough to know how hard it is to get that initial screen right. With hundreds of applicants on the table, how can you know who’s worth your time? How can you discern who’s inflated their resume and who’s underselling themself, a hidden gem waiting to be found? There are other questions too, of course. "How do we get through this pile of applications faster? I’ve already done ten screening calls this week. Do I really need to do another one?" For too long the

Making first impressions fair: AI video interviews as an opportunity multiplier

Why 78% of candidates choose AI job interviews (and what it means for hiring) featured image

There’s plenty of conjecture about the use of AI job interviews, and the skepticism is evident. According to our latest State of Skills-Based Hiring Report, although 65% of employers admit to using AI in various parts of their hiring process, only 20% use it for interviewing.  When I spoke to HR and hiring expert Yashna Wahal about this, she told me she “gets it.”  “Many employers feel like outsourcing one of the most human parts of hiring to an algorithm is crossing a line. It can feel unethica

Why 78% of candidates choose AI job interviews (and what it means for hiring)

In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan to earn his patronage. The letter was essentially a summary of his skills, strengths, and achievements in engineering, design, and weaponry. He aligned it closely with the needs of the Duke, which got him the patronage.  Historians credit da Vinci with crafting the first resume. Cut to the 20th century, when industries and corporations were growing quickly. Resumes became a norm in the art of pitching one’s capabilities and a saving 

Time to look beyond resumes? Here's what experts say about sourcing's paper gatekeeper

AI literacy is currently one of the most in-demand technical skills, topping LinkedIn’s 2025 Skills on the Rise list. Yet, new research by BrightHire and Harvard Business School’s Future of Work project reveals that 93% of candidates have never been asked a question about their AI skills, even after three interviews.  That shocking gap reveals a broader issue: Traditional interviews consistently appear to assess skills but rarely test actual capability. Below, I break down why interviews fall sh

93% of candidates aren’t asked about 2025’s top skill. Here’s why that matters

Blog thumbnail Job seekers might be using AI less than you think 

AI has made its way into nearly every corner of the working world, and hiring is no exception. Most employers are using AI in recruitment in some way, shape, or form.  Naturally, they assume job seekers are doing the same. We surveyed employers and job seekers for our most recent annual The State of Skills-Based Hiring report – and 73% of employers told us they’ve seen a spike in AI-generated resumes.  But here’s the twist: Only 37% of candidates say they’re using AI in their job applications. T

Job seekers might be using AI less than you think

What today’s tech layoffs mean for hiring teams featured image

In 2025, US tech companies have been laying off hundreds of employees a day on average.  These layoffs are destabilizing for not only employees and job-seekers but also hiring teams, who are being forced to rethink their approaches to recruitment. Companies of all sizes are facing surges in applications, uncertainty in evaluating fit, and pressure to move fast.  To stay both grounded and competitive, you must understand why layoffs are happening, how they affect you, and what tools you can use t

Behind the headlines: What today’s tech layoffs mean for hiring teams

Blog thumbnail LinkedIn Recruiter is letting us down

Sarah Doughty first entered recruitment at the cusp of its digital evolution. The rules were completely different. Even big players like Robert Half refused to let recruiters like her touch tools like LinkedIn Recruiter.  Back then, the industry was run by old-school headhunters who built networks, drew org charts on pieces of paper, and found leads and referrals over "mystical lunches."  "There was this really secretive smoke-and-mirrors industry," Sarah says. "You had these people who knew eve

LinkedIn Recruiter is letting us down: What sourcing experts are finally saying out loud

After years of widespread job-hopping across the labor market, more workers are now staying put with their current employers.  According to 2024 research by WTW involving 45,000 employees worldwide, 62% of North American workers intend to stay in their job for the next two years, up from just 49% in 2022.[1] But is this period of stability and improved retention rates, coined the “Big Stay,” a blessing or a hidden risk for employers?  In this article, I pull back the curtain to understand what’s

The Big Stay: Why workers aren’t leaving and what it means for your business

Blog thumbnail Why is hiring getting harder

According to TestGorilla’s latest State of Skills-Based Hiring Report, 63% of employers say it’s harder to find talent now than it was last year.  Everyone’s go-to theory? Talent shortages – a phrase you’ve probably heard a hundred times by now. What’s interesting, though, is that our report also revealed that 70% of candidates are finding it difficult to get jobs.  Doesn’t sound like just a talent shortage problem to me… I think hiring has a match-making problem, and it’s wreaking havoc for eve

Why is hiring getting harder? A hot take from an HR expert

Our latest webinar was one for the books. I was joined by Luke Davis, head of RPO talent solutions at Matchr, and our head of people Olive Turon for a discussion about what’s wrong with your hiring process and why holistic, skills-based hiring is the key to finding top talent. It features plenty of hot takes and exclusive data from our latest report. You can watch the recording on-demand here, but I thought I’d jot down the big takeaways for anyone who’s more of a reader. 

4 big takeaways from our latest webinar

Since the start of the year, there have been massive political, legal, and cultural shifts against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. This has led to several high-profile companies walking back on their previous commitments in very public ways.  However, while DEI may be under fire, TestGorilla research suggests that most employers haven’t abandoned it. In this article, I examine why this is the case and present the argument for skills-based hiring as a practical, apolitica

DEI is under threat, but most employers are staying committed (& how you can do the same) 

"It's funny – we often don't get treated like the other employees in the organization because we're supposed to fix things for other people. If we're off sick, nobody knows what to do. If we need access to work support, nobody knows what to do because we're the ones that do that."  These are the words of Kirsty Baggs-Morgan, an HR leader with 25 years of experience in the industry. She’s also a resilience coach – so when it comes to understanding the challenges HR folks face, she really knows he

Exposing HR's biggest hurdles with burnout and resilience coach Kirsty Baggs-Morgan 

featured image for your hiring process probably isn't holistic enough

Hiring is’t easy at the best of times. And, according to our data, recruiting is only getting harder. 63% of employers say it’s getting more difficult to find the right match for their open roles. I can stab a good guess at why this is happening. Your hiring process probably isn’t holistic enough.  For our 2025 report on the State of Skills-Based Hiring, we surveyed over 2,000 employers and job seekers to understand their real-world experiences with hiring – what worked, what didn’t, and where t

Your hiring process probably isn't holistic enough – Here's why that's a problem

featured image for bait-and-switch job offers

It’s a tough job market – talent gaps are growing, skills needs are changing faster than ever, and candidates are pickier about who they work for. Employers are in a war for talent, and many are struggling to fill open roles.  Some companies have turned to unethical tactics to lure in job applicants, including ghost jobs and bait-and-switch job offers.  While bait-and-switch offers may seem like a clever way to get candidates through the door, they can cause serious long-term damage.  Below, I e

Bait-and-switch job offers: The latest hiring scam

Allyship isn’t a label. It’s an action, a verb. Unfortunately, in the current climate, silence – inaction – can feel easier than using your influence to stand up and support others in the workplace. And even good intentions can undermine real progress if there’s no follow-through or if the follow-through is poorly executed or performative. My take? Businesses must prioritize authentic allyship – not just to support their underrepresented employees but also to reap business benefits, from attract

Allyship defined – and how to do it at work

We're happy to announce the launch of our annual report – The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2025! This is the 4th year we've done this report. We surveyed over 2,000 employers and job seekers across the US and the UK to collect some of our best insights yet.  It's an interesting, but difficult, time for hiring – AI is being used across the board and skills test adoption is up – yet the majority of employers and job seekers say it's harder to connect talent with opportunities. Read on for more dat

The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2025 is live! 

Layoffs are still hitting hard in 2025, and people are more confused than ever. In the past, mass layoffs have largely affected a particular economy or sector and had clear causes: recessions, bubble bursts, a global pandemic, or course corrections after overhiring.  This time feels different. Cuts are happening across industries worldwide – even in companies performing well. And unlike before, hiring hasn’t bounced back quickly, leaving job seekers in the dark about their futures.  Things are s

2025 has seen record layoffs. What does this mean for the labor market?

Micro-credentials are supercharging skills-based hiring featured image

Talent shortages and fast-changing job markets have forced employers to rethink how they hire. Several new ideas have taken center stage in this shake-up: gig work, AI recruiting, skills-based hiring, and now micro-credentials. Below, I help you understand what micro-credentials are, why they're gaining traction, and how to use them thoughtfully so you can make strong hiring decisions, stay ahead of the curve, and avoid falling into some common traps.  


Micro-credentials are supercharging skills-based hiring

Blog thumbnail Kirsty Birch on Why You Should Have a Well Being KPI

Most businesses only chase key performance indicators (KPIs) like growth, revenue, and customer retention. In the relentless pursuit of these goals, they become obsessed with the numbers. This often comes at the cost of their employees’ well-being, resulting in underperformance, retention issues, and reputational damage.  Hitting business goals while nurturing your employees might seem like a stretch. But Kirsty Birch, a seasoned workplace well-being trainer (and an experienced accountant, to bo

Workplace well-being expert Kirsty Birch says companies should have well-being as a KPI

Blog post thumbnail Scaling back DEI will have consequences

“DEI would have ruined this country. And now it’s dead.”  With these words, newly elected President Trump declared an end to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs in the federal government during a press conference on February 1st, 2025. With a rising tide of political and cultural backlash against DEI, many employers are unsure where they stand.  My take? Companies must stand firm in their commitment to DEI policies and practices where they can.  In this article, I take a closer look 

Scaling back DEI will have consequences – here’s why

What will applying for jobs look like in 2050 featured image

The way we hire has changed so much over recent decades. Job applications are entirely digitized, companies are using AI resume scanners, and applicant tracking systems have turned candidate management on its head.  But this isn’t the end: Change is expected to continue and perhaps accelerate.  How can you invest in the right technologies, plan effective hiring strategies, and beat the competition? We can help.  Below, we share eight ways that applying for jobs will change between now and 2050 s

What will applying for jobs look like in 2050?

Skills-based hiring

Technology, AI, and new work practices have shaken things up and sparked a hot debate: Are middle managers still relevant?  While some argue these roles will vanish, others insist they remain crucial – but that they’re on the brink of complete transformation. You must grasp the shifts in middle management and strategize so you’re not left behind by more adaptive market leaders.  That’s where we come in. Below, we define what middle management is, dive into eight ways it's changing, and discuss w

The future of middle management: Will it evolve or end?

Human resources

Is a ‘covering culture’ undermining your organization’s well-being efforts featured image

– “I edit the way I talk and act around my coworkers so as to make myself appear ‘less gay.’”  – “As a Black woman, I don’t want to be seen hanging out with a group of only Black women. It would seem 'too Black' if we were all seen together.” – “I don’t want people to know I was poor growing up, so I try not to talk about my childhood at work.” [1] The above quotes collected by Deloitte reflect employees’ experience of “covering” – or downplaying their true selves – in the workplace.  Covering c

Is a “covering culture” sabotaging your employees’ wellbeing?

Hiring & recruiting

As a recruitment professional, you know how much work goes into finding the perfect candidate for a role. You then need to make sure you successfully onboard them to set them up for success in their new job.  After all this effort, the last thing you want to do is lose a talented team member because they become demotivated and disengaged. To guarantee you retain the best talent and keep them performing at their best, you need a toolbox full of strategies that motivate, engage, and empower your t

What is job enrichment? Examples, benefits, and more

Mindfulness at work benefits and best practices graphic

Mindfulness isn’t just a trending buzzword – it’s a meaningful shift in how we approach work, and it’s here to stay.  Companies that embrace mindfulness often see better focus, reduced stress, and improved productivity. Ignore it, and you risk employee burnout, lower engagement, and a blow to your bottom line.   Despite this, many employers struggle to incorporate mindfulness. Some don’t really know what it means or how to practice it. Others brush it off as fluff or face pushback from those who

The case for mindfulness at work: Benefits and best practices

Today, more and more applicants are using AI assistance to write resumes. Is this a good or bad thing, and how should employers feel about it?  There are advantages and disadvantages. For instance, while AI can save candidates tons of time, employers might be frustrated by resumes that all look the same – which makes it harder to spot the best talent.  But AI isn’t going anywhere, and neither are AI-generated resumes. So, in this guide, we explore the pros and cons of AI-generated resumes for jo

AI-generated resumes – the good, the bad, and the ugly

Human sustainability isn’t a corporate buzzword featured image

The modern workplace is facing serious and unprecedented challenges. Employees are burning out, struggling with economic uncertainty, and worried about losing their jobs to AI. This pressure can quickly spiral into high turnover, underperformance, and a web of other problems that impact your company's long-term success.  Many employers try to tackle these hurdles one at a time – offering a wellness program here, a training course there – but this piecemeal approach falls short and doesn’t solve 

Human sustainability isn’t a corporate buzzword. Here’s why you should care.

If you’ve noticed tension, a drop in morale, or excessive conflict in your workplace, you’re not alone. A 2023 survey from the American Psychological Association revealed that 1 in 5 employees reported their workplace environment was somewhat to very toxic.  Perceptions of workplace hostility are common, but where do you draw the line between everyday work tension and a hostile work environment? And if your workplace does fit the criteria, what can you do about it? If you’ve been pondering these

What is a hostile work environment? Signs and solutions

No matter where you look, modern recruitment has its fair share of problems. But, for every problem, there are experts and practitioners working to equip hiring managers and talent acquisition with the information and tools to help them hire better. Katrina Collier is an author, speaker, and facilitator based in the UK. She’s aiming to resolve the human issues that make talent acquisition clunky and harm candidate experience. We spoke to her about her new book – Reboot Hiring – her tips for usin

“You harm your bottom line if you don’t look after the people who bring in the people”: A conversation with Katrina Collier

In 2019, cognitive neuroscientist Frida Polli wrote in the Harvard Business Review: “AI holds the greatest promise for eliminating bias in hiring for two primary reasons… 1. AI can eliminate unconscious human bias [and] 2. AI can assess the entire pipeline of candidates rather than forcing time-constrained humans to implement biased processes to shrink the pipeline from the start.” [1] Five years later, we want to know: Has AI lived up to this promise? Looking at the data, we believe that while 

Is AI making hiring bias worse?

AI is not ready to interview job applicants featured image

AI is making their way into hiring funnels everywhere. Our research shows 65% are using it in their hiring process, and 1 in 5 are even using AI to interview candidates. But what are the implications of this? Are these tools really ready to interview candidates without any human involvement? Is it too far to use AI to interview your candidates? The consensus between job seekers is that it is. if they've made it to the interview, they want to speak to a person, not a bot.  At TestGorilla, we know

Is AI ready to interview job applicants? Your guide to using AI for interviews

Why did the world-s largest HR association drop the E from DE&I featured image

This month, a 250-word LinkedIn statement announced that the world’s largest human resources organization is removing “equity” from its “diversity, equity, and inclusion” framework.[1] The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) President and CEO explained the organization would instead prioritize an inclusion-first (I&D) approach: “We're going to lead with inclusion because we need a world where inclusion is front and center. And that means inclusion for all, not some people.” The backla

Why did the world's largest HR association drop the E from DE&I?

How to build mutual respect at work featured image



Mutual respect in the workplace is crucial for building a high-performing team. Employees who feel respected are more engaged, productive, and satisfied in their roles.  In fact, the American Psychological Association found that 95% of workers say it’s fundamental for them to feel respected at work.  Unfortunately, it’s easy to lose focus on mutual respect when building your workplace hierarchy. Regularly testing candidates’ skills to ensure they can work in a team effectively tends to take a ba

Mutual respect: How to build a better company culture

Skills-based and merit-based hiring are not the same featured image

Merit-based hiring is a recruitment approach that selects candidates based on their education, experience, and past achievements. Skills-based hiring, by contrast, evaluates what candidates can actually do through validated assessments. Both aim to reward ability, but merit-based criteria often reflect credentials shaped by privilege, while skills-based hiring measures job-relevant skills directly. Recruitment is on the brink of a complete revolution. With growing intolerance for unfair hiring a

Skills-based and merit-based hiring are not the same: Here’s why

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The skills-based hiring handbook

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How to elevate employee onboarding

A comprehensive guide with in-depth comparisons, key features, and pricing details to help you choose the best talent assessment platform.

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Top talent assessment platforms: A detailed guide

This in-depth guide includes tools, metrics, and a step-by-step plan for tracking and boosting your recruitment ROI.

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The blueprint for boosting your recruitment ROI

A step-by-step blueprint that will help you maximize the benefits of skills-based hiring from faster time-to-hire to improved employee retention.

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The skills-based hiring checklist

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 Get all the essentials of HR in one place! This cheat sheet covers KPIs, roles, talent acquisition, compliance, performance management, and more to boost your HR expertise.

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Onboarding employees can be a challenge. This checklist provides detailed best practices broken down by days, weeks, and months after joining.

Employee onboarding checklist

Track all the critical calculations that contribute to your recruitment process and find out how to optimize them with this cheat sheet.

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Key hiring metrics cheat sheet

In a hiring world where bots screen bots, this one-pager shows how to refocus AI on surfacing real, job-ready people. Learn how to blend skills data, human insight, and smart automation to build a fairer, faster hiring process.

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Ending the AI arms race in hiring

Understand why hiring can sometimes feel like a matchmaking dilemma and learn how skills-based hiring can help you find "the one" for lasting hires.

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It's not you, it's your hiring process

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The dream job equation

Join us for an in-depth walkthrough of the 2024 Skills-Based Hiring Report. Our experts unpacked key trends, surprising insights, and why skills-based hiring is here and here to stay

 The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2024

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