Not finding suitable applicants? Try recruiting for skills.

Why reconsider your requirements?

An EURES article from August 2026 describes how skills-based recruitment can help match a role with candidates’ actual abilities. It highlights distinguishing skills needed on day one from those that can be developed later. This does not mean dropping qualifications required for the role.

Describe the actual work

Start with daily tasks rather than the job title. For an illustrative quality-control role, relevant requirements may include reading technical drawings, using measuring tools, documenting deviations and working the required shifts. Confirm these with the employer: a generic list cannot replace the requirements of the specific role.

Separate three types of requirements

This keeps the basis for assessment clear in the advertisement and initial screening. Preferred criteria should not quietly become mandatory.

• Required at entry: what is needed to start safely and independently.
• Trainable: the company system, local process or a particular tool.
• Preferred: useful additional experience that is not essential to filling the role.

Ask for job-related evidence

Ask every candidate about the same task using consistent criteria. Explaining a previous work process or completing a brief technical exercise can reveal more than a job title alone. Define acceptable answers or performance in advance, and base the assessment on facts relevant to the role.

What if suitable applicants still do not appear?

Review reach, pay and working conditions, mandatory requirements and recruitment speed separately. These can form a precise search profile in a GLOBEFOX recruitment discussion. The aim is not merely more applications, but conversations with candidates suited to the actual role.