That's 1000% correct. As someone who came from industry (Google) back to academia 3 years ago, and who has been involved in faculty hiring for the past 2 years,

That's 1000% correct. As someone who came from industry (Google) back to academia 3 years ago, and who has been involved in faculty hiring for the past 2 years, the odds are totally against traditional industry applicants unless they've been in a publication-oriented lab such as MSR for computer science (or unless they've won some really notable international award). [Edit: also, the longer it's been since your Ph.D., the higher the bar implicitly is for you. so if you haven't published much since finishing your Ph.D., with each year you wait, there will be a new crop of fresh Ph.D. graduates who look more competitive on the market.]