The Impact of AI on Executive Search: Is It the Real Candidate or the AI Version?
AI – I wrote a Blog in July, 2023 – the title was AI – A Topic I Know So Little About (see https://www.abelnmagy.com/blog/ai-a-topic-i-know-so-little-about). I received multiple comments at the time. July 2023 seems like a lifetime ago, especially in terms of AI.
In AI Terms – July 2023 Is Indeed A Lifetime Ago
Daily, we hear stories about and are impacted by AI. The impact may be minor, but it is ever-present. I am bombarded by AI when I Google something – I get the AI answer at the top of my search results. And an AI ‘resource’, in a very minor and mundane manner, tries to finish my sentences within Word or Outlook. It does the same thing when I message people from my phone. I hate it and love it – all at the same time.
LinkedIn Keeps Suggesting Positions For Me
I am NOT looking for a job – BUT LinkedIn keeps suggesting positions. I clicked on one – and AI ‘offered’ to tailor my resume for the job. One small issue – I don’t have a resume. Would they create one based on my profile? Do they have a resume describing me that I don’t know about? OR – am I overthinking this?
It Does Make Me Wonder . . . . . . Are We Getting The True Candidate Or The AI Version?
We don’t post positions. We do send candidates information about positions – full position specifications which include an organizational overview and a complete position description. Are the follow-up cover e-mails and resumes we receive written by the candidate, created by AI, or are they some combination of the two? We likely don’t and won’t fully know.
Clients Want The TRUE Person
The situation – the cover e-mail and resume are incredible. The candidate is invited to interview LIVE and in-person. The communication skill of the candidate, while good, does not match the excellence of the previous communications. What happened? Is it interview nervousness or AI communication versus in-person communication?
Candidates, once on the job, can indeed use AI to help them in their work. It is a tool we need to learn about and harness. However, in a meeting with a person’s manager, team, customer or peers, AI won’t be there to help. It is the candidate who can communicate in each of those LIVE situations that is the target hire.
It’s About Balance
I have been told many times that AI won’t replace people (in their jobs). It will however replace people who don’t know how to appropriately utilize AI. What is appropriate usage? That is being determined and debated. There will likely never be a precise and universally agreed upon answer. The one thing we do know – AI is here to stay and will continue to evolve. That said, we can’t be AI reliant in all things. Doing so may shut off part of our thinking and creative ability.
It is happening already. In a very minor and ‘old fashioned’ way, we have forgotten phone numbers. I heard a speaker at a recent educational banquet remind us that we used to remember phone numbers because we had to. Now we use speed dial and really don’t know the current cell numbers of our best friends. We do remember the landline number we had when we were growing up . . . . . and you are thinking about that now. An issue? A prediction of things to come?
My AI Conclusion For Now (March 2025)
Let’s continue to learn and explore AI. We need to see where it can help us as well as hurt us. Appropriate usage of AI shouldn’t be an easy decision or a way to get out of the toughest work. It can help us be more efficient and reduce the time we spend on mundane and repetitive work.
Let’s commit to continuous and ongoing learning and exploring.