Texas employers are under pressure to fill roles faster, but traditional hiring methods – resumes, job boards, and lengthy interview processes – don’t always deliver. Increasingly, companies are turning to skills-based hiring as a way to identify the best talent more quickly and reduce turnover.
By shifting focus from degrees and past titles to real-world skills, employers can uncover candidates who are both qualified and motivated. The key is building assessments that streamline the process without sacrificing quality.
Why Skills-Based Hiring Works in Texas
The Texas labor market is competitive, especially in fields like accounting, IT, legal, logistics, and engineering. Employers that rely only on resumes risk overlooking strong candidates who may not have traditional career paths. Skills-based hiring allows you to:
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Identify candidates with proven capabilities, not just credentials
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Reduce time wasted on unqualified applicants
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Increase the talent pool by removing barriers tied to education or background
Step 1: Define Core Role Competencies
Start by identifying the skills essential for success in each role. For example:
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IT: coding languages, troubleshooting, security knowledge
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Accounting: financial modeling, regulatory compliance
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Administrative: organizational efficiency, software proficiency
Clear competencies ensure your assessments align with the job, not vague requirements.
Step 2: Choose the Right Assessment Format
Not all skills can be tested the same way. Consider:
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Work samples (e.g., reviewing contracts for legal roles)
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Simulations (e.g., customer service scenarios)
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Technical tests (e.g., Excel or software challenges)
Practical assessments create a faster, more reliable picture of candidate capabilities.
Step 3: Balance Efficiency with Candidate Experience
Keep assessments focused and respectful of candidates’ time. Overly long tests can drive applicants away in Texas’ competitive hiring market. Best practice: one to two hours maximum.
Step 4: Use Assessments to Reduce Interview Rounds
When done well, skills-based hiring assessments can replace multiple interview stages. Instead of three rounds of meetings, a strong assessment may identify top candidates immediately, cutting your time-to-fill by weeks.
Step 5: Measure ROI and Improve Over Time
Track metrics like reduced time-to-hire, improved retention, and lower turnover costs. Refining assessments based on outcomes helps you continuously improve results.
Partnering with Staffing Experts for Skills-Based Hiring
Designing the right assessments can be complex, but staffing partners bring expertise in tailoring them to industry-specific roles. Burnett Specialists works with employers across Texas to build hiring strategies that reduce time-to-fill while improving candidate quality.
As an employee-owned firm, we’re invested in helping Texas companies design smarter hiring practices that go beyond resumes and speed up the process.
Ready to adopt skills-based hiring that shortens your time-to-fill? Request information today and learn how Burnett Specialists can support your hiring strategy.
