HR managers should 'work with the organization to find out where they could best apply these skills and how to evaluate them,' says expert
As more and more employers are adapting artificial intelligence (AI) in their business, AI skills are becoming table stakes, according to one expert.
“It's going to be just as important to have AI skills as it is to know [Microsoft] Word or Excel or any other technical skill in the work environment,” says Stacie Haller, chief career advisor, ResumeBuilder.com, in talking with Human Resources Director (HRD) Asia.
“At some point, everybody's going to need to have that skill, regardless of your position in a company.”
Currently, hiring managers believe that AI abilities is the most important hard skill in resumes in 2025, according to a previous report.
Currently, learning institutions and organizations – such as Stanford University, IBM and Coursera – are offering AI certifications and courses, says technology journalist Andy Patrizio in a TechTarget article.
And while some organizations are going to have very specific AI roles that they need to fill, others are looking to hire workers with AI skills to increase their own productivity and stay ahead, says Haller.
“Some organisations will have very specific AI roles that work across different departments. But beyond that, AI skills are also becoming necessary for individual job functions, allowing employees to boost productivity and stay competitive.”
However, there is no standardised approach to assessing AI skills in the hiring process, says Haller, who noted that hiring managers should come up with specific assessment strategies to test applicants’ AI skills.
"At some point, HR managers will likely implement AI skill tests during the interview process, similar to Excel assessments... But right now, we are still in the early stages, and there are no standard benchmarks for evaluation," she says.
For now, the interview is HR managers’ strongest assessment tool, she says. HR managers can ask about the specific AI skills of applicants and their experience with the tools.
“Candidates are going to have to show concrete examples about how they used it on the job, how effective it was, and what the result was,” Haller says.
Employers want to see proof that applicants not only understand AI but can use it effectively to improve productivity and meet business objectives, she says.
However, looking for someone with extensive experience with AI technology, specifically generative AI (GenAI), will be a challenge.
“If you're hiring somebody as chief AI officer or a data engineer or an AI engineer or a prompt engineer, you probably want to see where they've done that before, or if not show [that they have] proven skills to do it, because it's so very young. You can't ask for 10 years’ experience, because it doesn't exist. That is a struggle, and I think every organization is going to look at that differently.
“You can also teach AI skills depending on the job, if that's not their main job. Organizations want to hire folks who already have that because they’d be up and running quicker and they don't have to train them in it.”
"Companies need to determine how AI skills can best be applied within their organisation, how to evaluate these skills, and how to train existing staff,” Haller emphasizes.
“This will be critical as AI proficiency becomes an industry standard.”
Four in 10 employers across the world are planning to reduce their headcount because of AI, according to a previous report from the World Economic Forum.
