Indeed Survey: 42% of HR Leaders Plan to Replace Job Interviews with Skill Tests

In a significant shift toward skills-based hiring, a new survey by Indeed reveals that 42% of HR leaders are considering replacing traditional job interviews with skill tests.

This trend reflects a growing belief among talent acquisition leaders that real-world skills offer a more accurate, fair, and efficient method of assessing candidates than subjective interviews or resume reviews.

📊 Key Survey Findings

According to Indeed’s 2025 Talent Insights Report:

• 42% of HR decision-makers are exploring the elimination of traditional interviews in favor of job-relevant skill assessments.
• 72% of employers say skills are more predictive of success than education or experience.
• 68% report that skill-based hiring reduces bias and improves diversity in hiring pipelines.

💡 Why Skill Tests Over Interviews?

Traditional interviews are being reevaluated for their limitations:

• Bias: Interviews often favor confident speakers over qualified doers.
• Inconsistency: Interviewer subjectivity leads to varied candidate experiences.
• Mismatch: Soft skills don’t always indicate technical or task-specific ability.

“We’re entering an era where skills speak louder than resumes,” said Emily Tran, Director of Talent Strategy at TalentLogic. “Skill tests help ensure candidates can actually do the work—not just talk about it.”

⚙️ The Rise of Skills-Based Hiring Platforms

HR leaders are increasingly adopting digital skills assessment tools like:

• Vervoe – AI-powered performance-based hiring.
• TestGorilla – Pre-employment tests for 300+ job roles.
• HackerRank and Codility – Coding tests for tech hiring.

These platforms allow employers to:

✅ Evaluate candidates on real-world tasks
✅ Benchmark skills against industry standards
✅ Shortlist faster with automated scoring

📉 The Irony: Indeed Retires Its Own Skills Tests

While promoting skills-first hiring, Indeed controversially retired its built-in Assessments tool in late 2024. Users cited usability issues and limited test variety. Still, the overall momentum behind skill testing has only accelerated across the industry.

🧭 What This Means for HR Teams

If 42% of HR leaders are ready to shift away from interviews, now is the time to rethink your recruitment strategy:

• ✅ Audit your hiring funnel – Where can you assess skills earlier?
• ✅ Train your hiring managers on data-driven evaluation
• ✅ Invest in flexible, validated assessment tools

✅ Conclusion

The hiring process is evolving—from interview-first to skills-first. With 42% of HR leaders planning to replace interviews with skill tests, the future of recruiting lies in performance, not polish.