The Job Title Is Becoming Obsolete
The next breakthrough in recruiting may come from recognizing skills we've been overlooking.
When a difficult position stays open for months, we question compensation, candidate availability, and recruiting strategies. But there is another possibility worth considering.
What if qualified people already exist, but we're overlooking them because their job titles don't match our searches?
On October 6, 2026, SAP announced plans to acquire TechWolf, an AI company that identifies workforce capabilities by examining the tasks employees perform and the skills they use.
What interests me isn't simply the acquisition. It's the thinking behind it.
Job titles describe positions. They don't always reflect what people can actually do.
Consider a manufacturer searching for an automation technician. An electromechanical technician might possess nearly identical troubleshooting and programming experience, yet never appear in a conventional search.
A 2026 NIST study identified 132 advanced manufacturing occupations connected to 235 knowledge, skills, and abilities. That's a reminder of how much capability exists beyond traditional titles.
Healthcare presents similar opportunities, although credentials and licensing requirements must remain nonnegotiable. An experienced nurse working in quality improvement, for example, might possess transferable skills relevant to clinical informatics.
The challenge is changing how we hire.
A Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute study found that removing degree requirements often failed to produce meaningful changes in hiring behavior.
Changing job descriptions isn't enough. We need to change how we recognize talent.
AI can help reveal connections between skills, tasks, and experience that recruiters might otherwise miss. But people must still determine whether those connections represent genuine qualifications.
I don't believe job titles will disappear tomorrow. They're still useful.
But they shouldn't limit our imagination.
Sometimes the talent shortage isn't about finding more people. It's about recognizing the people we've been overlooking.
About the Author
Ravi Tandra, CEO
ProvenBase