How You Should Be Hiring in the Age of AI

“AI won’t take your job. But someone using AI might.”

We’re entering a new hiring era not just because AI is changing what work looks like, but because it’s changing how people work. If you’re still hiring the way you did five years ago, you’re falling behind. In this post, I’ll break down how companies should approach hiring in the age of AI and avoid some of the common traps.

1️⃣ Hire for Adaptability, Not Just Experience

The days of hiring purely based on years of experience with specific tools are fading fast.

Yes domain knowledge still matters. But tools evolve rapidly. Kubernetes changes. Terraform forks. Cloud providers release new services monthly. AI tools are transforming the landscape even faster.

What you want are people who can adapt. Who can learn fast, connect dots, and navigate ambiguity.

Ask yourself:

Can this person upskill when the stack changes? Can they handle messy, undefined problems? Are they curious about how things work?

Learning velocity beats static experience.

2️⃣ Look for People Who Frame Problems

AI excels at solving well-defined problems. The harder skill is problem framing knowing what question to ask, what trade-offs to weigh, and what success looks like.

The best hires are not just technical executors. They’re thinkers who can:

Clarify vague goals. Break large problems into solvable pieces. Collaborate with stakeholders who may not speak “tech.”

AI amplifies the value of good problem-framers because the better you define a problem, the more useful AI becomes.

3️⃣ Expect AI-Augmented Workflows

We are already seeing AI tools integrated into everyday workflows:

Copilot for code. ChatGPT for documentation, research, and design drafts. Claude for summarizing technical documents. AI-powered monitoring, alerting, and observability tools.

Candidates should already be experimenting with AI in their work. This doesn’t mean you only hire AI experts but it does mean you hire people who:

Aren’t intimidated by AI. Know how to use it as a productivity multiplier. Are building AI literacy alongside their technical stack.

You’re not just hiring for technical skill you’re hiring for AI-native mindset.

4️⃣ Don’t Skip the Human Skills

Ironically, as AI gets better at writing code, building diagrams, and generating reports, human skills become even more valuable:

Communication Collaboration Critical thinking Ethical judgment Conflict resolution Empathy

AI doesn’t replace the need for these it exposes the gap when they’re missing.

Your best people will know how to balance automation with human judgment.

5️⃣ Change How You Interview

Traditional interviews (whiteboarding, trivia quizzes, gotcha questions) are increasingly out of sync with the reality of AI-augmented work.

Instead:

Use work sample tests that reflect actual job tasks. Let candidates use AI tools during take-home assignments. Focus on how they approach problems, not just whether they get a “right” answer. Review their reasoning, trade-offs, and decision-making process.

In the AI era, process matters as much as output.

Final Thought

AI is changing hiring but not in the ways some people think.

You still need smart people. You still need team players. But now, you also need people who can leverage AI effectively, stay adaptable, and focus on outcomes over rigid methods.

The companies that get this right will build stronger, faster, and more resilient teams.

If you found this helpful, feel free to connect. I’m always happy to talk about hiring, DevOps, cloud infrastructure, and how we adapt in the AI era.