Hiring has rapidly changed since AI agents and interviewers came into the picture. Managers are using the tech to sift through thousands of applicants, and job candidates are leveraging the tools to crank out their cover letters as the job hunt turned into a numbers game.
But while many hiring professionals are concerned about applicants using AI in the process, one leader actually hunts for talent using the tech in application rounds.
“As AI reshapes how we communicate, market, and create, those who pair creative skills with AI fluency will have a competitive edge, and we’re looking for that combination,” Stacy Martinet, chief communications officer for Adobe, tells Fortune.
Martinet keeps her eyes peeled for candidates who go beyond listing their AI skills on their resume—she actually loves it when talent uses it in the hiring process. During interview rounds when applicants showcase their skills through mini projects or tests, the executive values prospective hires who enhance their assignments with the tools. Its such a sought-after capability that Adobe even created its own Digital Academy: a training program helping learners gain digital, AI, and creative skills essential in today’s ever-evolving job market. Leveraging AI in tandem with their human capabilities feeds back into the killer combination the software giant, which has a market cap of $141 billion, is looking for.
“[If] someone comes to me and they’re like, ‘Hey, I made you this content for your social media channels, and I used AI as part of this.’ I would say, ‘That’s excellent,’” Martinet explains. “If it’s, ‘Hey, I’m interviewing for a communications job, and I did a first draft, and then I ran it through AI, and it suggested some tweaks,’ I think that would be excellent.”
For job-seekers aspiring to land a job at Adobe, not all hope is lost if they’re dragging their feet with AI adoption. While Martinet says a lack of experience with the advanced tech isn’t a non-starter, any job candidates hoping to score a role will have to change their tune and go all-in on AI once they’ve landed the gig. After all, she predicts that the future belongs to the people drumming up the most inventive ways to use the tools in their professional lives.
“If someone hasn’t used [AI], it’s not a hard ‘no,’ but they’re going to have to use it in their job, and so the sooner they can embrace it, the better. Because that’s what we’re doing—it’s here and it’s changing how we work,” Martinet continues.
The Adobe executive says adaptability is key, and that successful people will be those who take advantage of ever-changing technology.
“What are the new things that are unlocked from this technology that we haven’t even dreamed of yet?” Martinet adds. “The people who dream that up are creating the future around this.”
How companies are thinking about AI and hiring
Adobe isn’t the only massive tech company letting its job applicants use AI in the hiring process. AI giant Anthropic, which is valued at $61.5 billion, now allows candidates to leverage the advanced tech after a change of heart.
In February, Anthropic’s job postings stressed an “AI policy” for any candidates hoping to land a gig at the Claude innovator. The application process required applicants to answer a “why do you want to work here?” question, aside from submitting their cover letters—but added a stipulation.
“While we encourage people to use AI systems during their role to help them work faster and more effectively, please do not use AI assistants during the application process,” the policy read. The business stated it wanted to better assess talent’s “non-AI-assisted communication skills” without help from the tools. But by the time summer came around, Anthropic did a massive U-turn on its policy.
Anthropic updated the rule in July, allowing prospective hires to polish their resumes, cover letters, and applications with the advanced tech. However, applicants were still barred from using it during most assessments and when they’re partaking in interviews. Jimmy Gould, head of talent for Anthropic, wrote on LinkedIn that it was an “intentional” move to recognize that deploying AI in hiring requires consideration around fairness and bias.
In its updated candidate AI-use guidelines, the business explained: “At Anthropic, we use Claude every day, so we’re looking for candidates who excel at collaborating with AI. Where it makes sense, we invite you to use Claude to show us more of you: your unique perspective, skills, and experiences.”
Meanwhile, other companies still aren’t so open to the idea. Goldman Sachs’ campus recruitment team leading hiring for the bank’s private investing academy in EMEA sent out an email to students this June reminding them of its expectations for interviews. The Gen Z hopefuls were encouraged to prepare for job interviews by studying the $232 billion firm’s financial results, business principles, and core values. But they couldn’t rely on AI chatbots as a lifeline.
“As a reminder, Goldman Sachs prohibits the use of any external sources, including ChatGPT or Google search engine, during the interview process,” the email noted, according to someone who saw the message.
