By Michael Stephenson, President and CEO of StrikeForce Staffing
AI proficiency is quickly becoming a hiring requirement. But employers and candidates may be using the phrase “AI skills” to mean very different things.
A new Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals found that 93 percent of U.S. job seekers say they have the AI skills employers want. Yet only 35 percent of job seekers believe employers are looking for advanced or expert AI capabilities, compared with 41 percent of hiring managers who say candidates need skills at that level.
The disconnect matters because simply asking a candidate, “Are you comfortable using AI?” increasingly tells an employer very little.
Nine in 10 hiring managers in the survey said they look for at least basic AI skills, while 54 percent considered AI proficiency very important or essential when evaluating candidates.
And demand continues to accelerate. An analysis of Lightcast job-posting data by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that postings mentioning AI skills were up 165 percent year over year by August.
Define What “AI Skills” Actually Means
A hiring manager recruiting an accountant, engineer, recruiter and operations manager probably shouldn't be looking for the same AI capabilities.
The better question is:
What should someone in this particular job be able to accomplish with AI?
That might mean analyzing information faster, automating repetitive workflows, interrogating data, creating a first draft, identifying patterns or knowing when an AI-generated answer cannot be trusted.
Then interview for those capabilities rather than for familiarity with a particular AI brand.
Why This Matters
Employers risk creating another vague résumé requirement.
“AI proficient” could become the new “excellent communication skills”: nearly everyone claims it, but the phrase itself provides little evidence of capability.
Organizations that define the actual AI tasks required for each position can make the requirement measurable—and give candidates a much clearer understanding of what is expected.
Hiring Signal
Stop hiring for “AI experience.” Start hiring for specific AI-enabled capabilities.
CTA
Choose one position you're hiring for and finish this sentence:
“Within the first 90 days, this employee should be able to use AI to ______.”
If you can't fill in the blank, your AI requirement probably isn't specific enough yet.
How StrikeForce Can Help
StrikeForce helps employers translate changing workforce requirements into clearer candidate profiles—identifying talent with the practical capabilities needed to succeed as jobs evolve.