As artificial intelligence begins to “devour the world,” job seekers must adapt their strategy to stand out in the hiring process.
Hiring managers have begun to populate their interviews with questions about how prospective employees use AI in their work. According to industry experts, these types of questions will become more common as time goes on and AI continues to advance. In fact, 88% of C-suite leaders say speeding up AI adoption is important over the next year, according to LinkedIn’s 2025 Work Change Report.
This can be daunting for people who don’t work in technology. You certainly don’t want to tell a hiring manager that you use ChatGPT to write and ideate everything for you, but you also don’t want to seem behind.
We asked three hiring experts in different industries how non-techies can best navigate questions about AI in a job interview.
Tip 1: Show curiosity
Good news! Not being skilled in AI isn’t a deal-breaker. Even if you are far from an AI expert, you should highlight your curiosity about the technology in your interviewing process, notes Gillian Davis, chief people officer at strategic communications firm Mission North. She recommends that job applicants speak about a willingness to learn and adapt quickly.
“It’s most important that you’re interested in AI, that you have a curiosity about it, and that you’re willing to look at it as a powerful complement to talent,” Davis says.
AI is most powerful in the PR and communications space when it’s used as a way to tackle the mundane tasks, she says.
Davis suggests showing off your understanding of what AI’s capabilities are, how you can apply it to real-world scenarios, and your willingness to continue learning about and adapting to the new technology. For example, you could talk about ways you’ve used AI to be more productive and to free yourself up to perform the highest-value parts of your work.
Davis says when she speaks with potential hires who are wary of integrating AI into their work, she sees it as a “red flag” for Mission North. “That’s just not the world we live in anymore,” she says.
Tip 2: Know who you’re dealing with
Most of the largest organizations in the world are adopting AI and looking for creative ways to use the technology, according to Siobhan Savage, CEO of workplace intelligence platform Reejig.
To best understand any company’s outlook on AI, Savage recommends combing through its most recent earnings report, noting that CEOs are often “very vocal” about their companies’ AI attitudes.
Savage suggests providing specific examples about how you use AI to optimize your work if you’re interviewing for a company that’s embracing the technology.
If instead the company hasn’t spoken much about AI adoption, she suggests highlighting the fact that you’re keeping up to date with all the latest developments. For example, you could share that you’ve used AI to automate the more mundane parts of your job, or discuss how you’ve heard other people use it in your industry.
“Whether you’re in tech or PR, it doesn’t matter,” Savage says. “Everyone in a company cares about productivity.”
Tip 3: Even if there’s no right opinion, have one
When interviewing potential hires for his PR firm, Shore Fire president Mark Satlof likes to use questions about AI as small talk. But he treats applicants’ answers like a Rorschach test where he learns a lot about their work ethic and values, he says.
“You can answer it a million different ways and I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer,” Satlof says. He notes, however, that he would not be interested in hiring someone who says they will never use AI.
He wants prospective employees to “have a stance” and “show engagement” with technological developments. It’s okay if someone is skeptical of AI or, alternatively, completely gung ho about the technology. Satlof just wants your opinion to be grounded in research and knowledge.
He recommends that job applicants do their research before any interview about the various areas and capabilities of AI. For example, he says applicants should understand the difference between the broad catchall of AI versus the specifics of what a large language model is.
(If you’re wondering: AI refers to everything a computer does that simulates complex tasks, and LLMs are a type of AI that interprets and generates human language.)
Applying for jobs can be a stressful experience, and it can be hard to know the right thing to say at all times. But by researching the company, brushing up on the basics of AI, and expressing a willingness to learn, you can present yourself as a good fit for any job.
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