Criteria Corp, the leader in talent solutions, today announced the release of its eighth annual Candidate Experience Report, which provides a comprehensive look at the current state of the employment market from the perspective of job seekers. In a hiring landscape defined by rapid technological transformation and rising competition, the new report found a majority (68%) of the 2,500 candidates surveyed are open to forgoing a traditional resume altogether in favor of a process that focuses on other more predictive talent signals like assessments and structured interviews.
The in-depth report offers hiring professionals and business leaders data-driven insights into what candidates want from current and prospective employers, how they perceive current hiring practices, how AI and other emerging technology is reshaping expectations, and their outlook for the future.
“The resume was built for a different era of work,” Criteria Corp co-founder and CEO Josh Millet said. “Today, candidates can generate perfect resumes in seconds using AI, which means hiring teams need better ways to evaluate talent. The future of hiring will rely less on what looks good on paper and more on objective signals that show how someone will actually perform.”
The 2026 report compiles responses from over 2,500 global job seekers applying for roles across multiple industries like technology, finance, nonprofit, transportation and logistics, manufacturing and more.
Key findings from the report include:
- 68% of job seekers are willing to ditch the resume in favor of a process focused on science-based assessments and structured interviews
- 49% of job seekers say competition is too high
- Only 20% of job seekers feel optimistic about this year’s job market, down 12 percentage points from last year
As the job market continues to be impacted by politics, technological developments and other societal advancements, understanding candidates’ perspective is critical.
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