OVERVIEW OF HOW TO RE-BUILD YOUR HIRING PROCESS
We’re joined by Kevin Stone, Senior Vice President of Technology & Procurement at Motion Industries, to talk about how AI has changed the hiring process.
While it’s gotten way easier to create the perfect resume when applying for a job, it’s gotten equally more challenging for hiring managers to figure out whether what’s on a resume actually represents a candidate’s experience.
Kevin walks us through how he vets candidates and what he’s learned about hiring in this new era.
FAQ
General Questions About AI in Hiring
Q: Has AI made the hiring process better or worse for B2B companies?
A: According to a Master B2B community poll, 78% of respondents said AI has been a bad thing for the hiring process. Kevin Stone agrees, stating it has “muddied the waters” and “introduced more bad than it has good.” However, he believes this will change as technology improves and enterprises demand better solutions.
Q: How are companies using AI in recruitment?
A: According to LinkedIn, 90% of recruiters expect to increase their use of AI in hiring in 2026. Companies are using AI to screen resumes, rank candidates, and identify key attributes that match job descriptions.
The Challenges
Q: What’s the main problem AI has created in the hiring process?
A: AI has made it easy for job seekers to create perfectly polished resumes, making it difficult to distinguish between genuinely qualified candidates and those who have simply used AI to exaggerate their capabilities. As Kevin notes, “all the resumes are so well written, they’re so tightly curated” that the cognitive load on hiring managers has increased significantly.
Q: How many applicants are companies receiving now?
A: Kevin mentions that frontline managers are now looking at 270+ applicants for positions, which is overwhelming for recruiters to handle at scale.
Q: What has AI intensified in job seeking?
A: According to Resume.io, 66% of job seekers believe AI has significantly intensified job competition by enabling more people to find and apply for the same positions more quickly.
Kevin Stone’s Approach to Hiring
Q: What position is Motion Industries currently hiring for?
A: Motion Industries is searching for a Vice President of E-Commerce to help grow their digital presence at an outsized rate. They’re looking for someone who can manage strategy, dive into technical details, breathe the right culture into the team, and isn’t afraid of “big hairy audacious goals.”
Q: How does Kevin use AI as a hiring manager?
A: Kevin uses AI in several ways:
- Asking AI how much of a resume was written by AI to assess genuine creativity
- Setting a “context window” with the job description and cultural requirements, then analyzing resumes against those criteria
- Identifying gaps in knowledge, skills, and abilities that need further exploration
- Getting to “leading indicators much more quickly”
However, he emphasizes: “You don’t ever take any of that at face value.”
Evaluating Candidates
Q: How does Kevin capture intangibles like grit and leadership that AI can’t measure?
A: Kevin states there’s “no technology substitute” for these qualities. His approach is old-school: having direct conversations with candidates about:
- What shaped them
- Their previous mentors
- How they took learnings from failures and applied them to future successes
- The material details of their experiences
He can identify gaps in their stories by recognizing when candidates miss important steps in describing their experiences.
Q: Why is trust and verification more important than ever?
A: As Andy notes, “truth and trust matter more now probably than they ever did.” Kevin emphasizes the need to “trust but verify” – ensuring candidates actually have the business and technology acumen they’ve represented on their AI-polished resumes.
Q: How important are professional networks in the hiring process now?
A: Kevin says networks are “almost even more important than before” generative AI came forward. He relies on trusted partners in his network to verify that candidates’ experiences are real, noting “it sure does help to verify through trusted partners or trusted resources that those experiences are real.”
The Future of AI in Hiring
Q: Will AI’s role in hiring improve?
A: Kevin believes it will change for the better. He expects enterprises will demand that HRMS and recruiting tools improve to handle the “flooding” of applications and provide “distilled value.” As Andy summarizes, we’re going through a maturity curve, and something effective will emerge “in the middle.”
Q: What’s the balanced view on AI in recruitment?
A: Andy provides perspective: “There’s no way we won’t be using AI as a part of the recruitment process. But there’s also no way we’re going to have unfettered AI hiring people. So there’s going to be something in the middle that will emerge.”
Key Takeaways
Q: What’s the most important advice for hiring managers using AI?
A:
- Never take AI output at face value – always verify
- Use AI to get to leading indicators quickly, then apply professional judgment
- Have real conversations to capture intangibles
- Leverage your professional network for verification
- Remember that technology can’t substitute for human qualities like grit and perseverance
Q: What should job seekers know about AI in hiring?
A: While AI can help polish resumes, hiring managers are now specifically looking to see how much AI was used. The ability to tell authentic, detailed stories about your experiences with all the important steps included is more valuable than a perfectly written resume.
