Embracing vs relying on AI
Hender Consulting executive consultant Justin Hinora shares the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence for executive search.
Increasingly at Hender Consulting, we are seeing professionals, both clients and candidates, embracing AI like never before. We too are embracing it more and more and are enjoying experimenting with its many benefits, from drafting position descriptions from scratch, to quickly sourcing difficult to find contact details, to assisting with complex candidate and client due diligence.
We don’t yet see a time when we will be relying on AI to assess applications because the human understanding and assessment of an executive’s capabilities, professional offering and cultural fit still far outweighs what can be gleaned by technology.
Just as the Google search engine invited new and creative ways to explore efficiencies and improvements to the way we work and source information, AI is like the Google search engine on steroids, and its advantages to “Executive and NED Search/Recruitment” deserves a separate article.
Increasingly, we are seeing professionals relying a little too heavily on AI to prepare a cover letter or CV.
Beyond an often cheesy-American tone full of spin and lacking authenticity, it can project as being lazy or lacking attention to detail, particularly when prompts such as [Zip code] or [insert company name here] have not been updated in the submitted document.
We are seeing an unprecedented increase of To Whom it May Concern and Dear Hiring Manager. A missed opportunity perhaps when the position description or advert clearly states who the job reports to – the name of a CEO is easy to find. Attention to detail appears to be lacking when such a reliance on AI is at play.
Other ways that professionals can really get the most out of embracing AI, can be (and not limited to):
Stay informed, daily
- Extensively researching a company, its Governance structure, competitors, customers – far beyond what’s available on a company website
- Prompting for possible interview questions, based on the advertisement or position description, that might focus on particular subject matter expertise or behavioural competencies that align with a company’s values or mission
- Crystallising information to better understand industry/market challenges and opportunities, market dynamics, economic drivers or financial headwinds
All of these things should be considered as prompts rather than relied upon as fact. Sometimes even AI gets things wrong.
Embracing AI and relying on AI is an important distinction.
Justin Hinora is an executive consultant at Hender Consulting, where he has been for the past 21 years.
