A global study from candidate screening platform Willo has found the traditional CV is losing its grip on hiring decisions with just four-in-ten employers now rating them among the most reliable indicators of talent.
The Hiring Trends Report 2026, published by Glasgow-founded global recruitment technology firm Willo shows that while CVs remain the starting point for most hiring processes, their dominance is weakening fast.
The study found just 37 per cent of employers rate credentials and learning history – as typically outlined in CVs – among the most reliable indicators of talent. Four-in-ten (41 per cent) respondents are actively moving away from CV-first hiring, while 10 per cent of respondents said they have largely replaced CVs with skills-based and scenario-driven assessments. Around 15 per cent of respondents said they are exploring alternatives to CVs.
The annual report, now in its third edition, tracks how hiring attitudes have shifted each year. In 2024, the CV was still the unquestioned default, while by 2025, its credibility had begun to erode with employers as AI-assisted CV became more common. However, the 2026 report has shown a significant shift, with employers now increasingly favouring behavioural interviews, skills tests, and assessments over polished written submissions.
Willo’s CEO and Co-founder Euan Cameron believes the shift in attitudes towards the CVs reflects growing scepticism about what the documents now represent.
“The CV used to tell a story of effort, experience, and aptitude, now it often tells us how well someone can prompt a large language model,” he said. “Great candidates are getting lost in a wall of near identical applications, and the best hiring teams are catching on to that. AI is not the end of hiring, what it does mean is the end of hiring based on summaries of experience alone. Employers are looking for real signals of capability, which means moving beyond a single document into skills, scenarios and verified credentials.”
According to the report, AI is now firmly embedded in hiring, but principally in a supporting role. Almost eight-in-ten (77 per cent) of teams regularly encounter AI-generated or AI-assisted applications, with almost half of respondents (47 per cent) said they’d updated interview techniques to focus on deeper probing in response. Almost a third (31 per cent) have added practical steps to interview processes, while 14 per cent have implemented AI detection tools or software.
Kree Govender, SMB Canada Leader at Microsoft, who contributed to the report, said: “The 2026 hiring trends signal a new era where AI is a powerful enabler, but not a replacement for human judgment, and I agree. The mission before us is to harness AI for efficiency while doubling down on fairness, authenticity, and skills-based assessment. Moving beyond CVs to holistic, scenario-driven evaluation will help us identify adaptable, high-potential talent, especially from diverse backgrounds.”
“We’re seeing a much more confident attitude towards AI,” said Euan Cameron. “Employers are clearer about where automation adds value and where human judgment must remain central. The best hiring teams realise it’s not humans versus AI, it’s humans deciding how to use AI well, and when we know what ‘good’ looks like, AI becomes a support system rather than a judge. Faster, fairer and more insightful hiring is possible, but only when technology is used to bring human potential into clearer focus.”