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Navigating the Role of AI in Hiring: How to Assess Skills in a Tech-Driven World

If 2024 was the rise of AI, 2025 is the year of AI becoming normalized.

Hiring managers face a new challenge: how to assess candidates’ skills when tools like AI have become ubiquitous. A recent conversation with a client illustrated this perfectly. They were looking to fill an open role and were considering using essays or cover letters as part of the evaluation process. Their concern? Candidates might use AI tools like ChatGPT to complete these tasks, potentially masking their true abilities.

This raised an important question: How do we assess skills fairly and effectively in an era where AI is part of daily workflows?

Embracing AI as a Tool, Not a Threat

The concern about candidates using AI is valid, but it’s important to recognize that AI is no longer a fringe technology, it’s a mainstream tool. In fact, many of us already rely on AI for various tasks. Personally, I use AI tools to help draft emails, brainstorm ideas, and even fine-tune LinkedIn posts. AI has made me more efficient, but it hasn’t replaced my core skills like critical thinking, editing, and communication.

This distinction is crucial. Using AI effectively requires skill. It demands:

• Reading comprehension to understand AI-generated outputs.
• Editing proficiency to refine and personalize the content.
• Critical thinking to determine the appropriateness and accuracy of the AI’s suggestions.

In other words, AI doesn’t replace human capabilities, it enhances them. Recognizing these shifts the focus from “Did they use AI?” to “How effectively did they use AI?”

Bringing Humanity Back to the Hiring Process with Predictive Index

Both organizations and candidates are using AI to navigate the job market, but how do we ensure the human element isn’t lost? This is where tools like Predictive Index (PI) come into play, helping to bring balance and humanity back to the selection process.

Predictive Index allows organizations to understand candidates’ behavioral drives, cognitive abilities, and overall fit for the role and the team. It ensures we’re not just hiring for technical skills but also for cultural alignment, collaboration potential, and long-term success.

I posted about this on my LinkedIn page and I had my colleagues chime in with their thoughts. As my colleague Davis Smith points out, “2025 will transform how we blend AI and human judgment in hiring. AI can help tackle initial screenings, letting us focus on what actually makes teams successful—those crucial culture fit conversations and genuine human connections.”

Predictive Index emphasizes these human elements by offering insights into work styles, communication preferences, and team dynamics. By combining AI-driven efficiency with PI’s behavioral assessments, organizations can create a more holistic and effective hiring process.

Evaluating Candidates in an AI-Enhanced World

If AI is here to stay, the challenge becomes developing fair and accurate ways to assess candidates’ skills. Here are a few strategies:

1. Analyze Email Correspondence and Cover Letters

Even if candidates use AI, reviewing their email correspondence or cover letters can still provide valuable insights. Look for:

• Clarity and tone: Do they communicate effectively and professionally?
• Attention to detail: Are there typos, formatting errors, or inconsistencies?
• Personalization: Have they tailored their messages to your organization, or are they generic?

These elements can reveal much about a candidate’s communication style and ability to present themselves.

2. Focus on AI as a Skill

Instead of viewing AI use as a potential disadvantage, consider it a skill to be evaluated. Candidates proficient in tools like ChatGPT or Grammarly may bring added value to your team. You can assess this through:

• Practical tasks: Ask candidates to complete a writing or editing exercise using an AI tool. Evaluate how they refine the AI’s output.
• Interviews: Ask how they’ve used AI in their previous roles and how it improved their work.

3. Onsite Assessments

If you want to eliminate AI’s influence entirely, consider having candidates complete writing tasks or skills tests during an onsite interview. This provides a real-time look at their abilities without external aids.

4. Utilize Specialized Skills Assessments

There are many platforms offering skills assessments tailored to specific roles, from writing to data entry. Be mindful, however, that even these platforms aren’t immune to candidates using AI. To mitigate this, opt for supervised assessments or design tasks that require unique, contextual responses.

The Bigger Picture: Adaptability and Problem-Solving

In the broader context, the ability to adapt to new tools and technologies is becoming a core competency. AI isn’t just a passing trend; it’s reshaping industries and workflows. Candidates who can demonstrate adaptability, problem-solving, and a willingness to embrace innovation are invaluable assets.

My other colleague, Chris Picarde chimed in on my LinkedIn post as well noting, “AI is reshaping our work and our world, in my opinion, for the better. Yes, it may force talent acquisition teams and hiring managers to be more creative in their hiring methods… but I bet you AI could help with that!”

Incorporating AI into the workplace isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about evolving how we define and evaluate skills. By shifting our perspective from viewing AI as a threat to recognizing it as a tool, we open the door to more innovative and inclusive hiring practices.

Predictive Index complements this approach by bringing a much-needed human touch, helping hiring teams focus on meaningful conversations about work style, team dynamics, and career goals. Together, AI and PI create a powerful blend of technology and humanity that can revolutionize the hiring process.

For organizations and hiring managers, the goal should be to strike a balance: assess candidates’ core skills while also valuing their ability to leverage technology. This approach not only future-proofs your hiring process but also positions your team to thrive in a tech-driven world.

So, what’s your take? How do you see AI and tools like Predictive Index shaping the future of hiring?

-Becca VanDerveer, Client Success Partner