I absolutely agree with everything you wrote! I studied Human Resources in Canada and have been working in the profession for 8 years now. Prior to living here, I used to live and work in Japan, where the hiring & selection are done very differently.

In North America, I find that the recruitment process is tremendously restrictive and narrow minded. Tons of well-qualified candidates are rejected because they don’t meet 100% requirements (they only meet 95%!) Then, companies complain because “there is a shortage of talent” — gosh! There is too much disconnect, and it’s hard to be a change agent.