How Hiring Volume Forced John Lentini to Rethink Resume Requirements

This was the reality John J. Lentini faced in 2013 as a senior banking executive establishing a new operation in Poland. There were no comparable firms to recruit from, no pool of local investment banking professionals, and no convenient opportunities for lateral hires.

In John’s case, “rethinking resume requirements” meant moving away from filtering candidates based solely on their educational background. Instead, he evaluated them based on their performance potential.

In a recent exchange, John shared several insights from his experience leading global banking operations. Here are just a few.

When Traditional Resume Screens Fail

At most companies, resume screening relies on pattern recognition, focusing on familiar companies, recognizable titles, direct industry experience, and credentials that indicate low risk.

But for John, those patterns were irrelevant.

“The traditional resume screen, where you look for direct industry experience, specific credentials, and a familiar career trajectory, was useless to me.”

The talent pool simply did not fit the mold John had in mind. If he had insisted on only hiring candidates with prior investment banking experience, his operation would never have launched on time.

The pressure of increased hiring volume revealed a deeper truth to John: resume requirements are often based on habit more than necessity.

When the demand for hires increases and timelines shorten, overly relying on narrow criteria can become a liability.

From Experience to Core Competencies

Instead of focusing on industry experience, John restructured his hiring process around core competencies: problem-solving ability, adaptability, communication skills, and cultural fit.

While resumes still mattered, his evaluation criteria changed.

“I stopped looking for job titles and industry keywords and started looking for evidence of learning agility, resilience, and transferable skills.”

A candidate with no banking experience who could quickly navigate complex environments was more attractive than someone with a polished, industry-specific resume.

Notably, he still hired experienced managers and financial controllers, but no one with direct investment banking or trading experience. The organization built its workforce from adjacent talent pools, rather than poaching competitors.

At Yotru, we see similar patterns across institutions scaling hiring under pressure: when hiring volumes increase, competencies become more predictive of success than credentials.

Widening the Funnel Without Lowering the Bar

High-volume hiring creates tension for employers, as it is assumed that widening the funnel will sacrifice quality.

While John simplified the application requirements to avoid filtering out capable candidates due to formatting issues or credential gaps, he also adopted a more structured approach.

In practice, that meant using ATS‑friendly structure to make screening more consistent, while shifting the real decision‑making weight toward demonstrated competencies rather than pedigree.

He replaced technical knowledge checks with behavioral and situational interviews. Instead of asking what candidates already knew, his interviewers focused on how the candidates approached ambiguity and solved unfamiliar problems.

Hiring for potential required disciplined onboarding, so training protocols became organized and were strictly enforced. This shift applied even up to VP-level positions. The goal was to achieve consistency in evaluations rather than relying on improvisation.

Of course, there were mistakes along the way. John was candid about that. Rapid hiring always brings some level of remediation. But the overall outcome was success. Within two years, the Poland operation was performing comparably to established global hubs in New York, London, and Singapore.

Why He Never Went Back

What surprised John the most was what happened afterward.

Even after returning to established talent markets, he did not revert to traditional resume filters.

“The experience proved to me that hiring for attitude and training for skill produces stronger, more adaptable teams.”

He also noted the cost dynamic: paying a premium for experienced competitors does not always guarantee better performance, especially if those candidates bring rigid assumptions or are disengaged because of previous roles.

The team in Poland built its culture from scratch. Without inherited habits, they could intentionally design processes rather than replicate legacy norms.

“Volume forced me to rethink resume requirements out of necessity. What I discovered is that the necessity revealed a better way to hire.”

John’s hiring volume did not lower the team’s standards; it clarified them.

For workforce leaders and employers, the lesson is not to ignore experience but to define what truly predicts performance before writing the job description. When resume requirements are too closely tied to past roles, organizations limit their access to capable people.

About John J. Lentini

John J. Lentini is the President of BOLD Training Corp and an authorized licensee of Crestcom International. He has over 20 years of executive experience, having previously led global banking operations across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Lentini is also the author of the upcoming book, Engineering Character: Six Dials to Build Better Leaders, set to be published by Forefront Books / Simon & Schuster in August 2026.