Another interview skill that job seekers are developing is the ability to talk about artificial intelligence properly. Some candidates say they try to show their employer enough enthusiasm about AI, even if they themselves are much more reserved about the technology.
Another interview skill that job seekers are developing is the ability to talk about artificial intelligence properly. Some candidates say they try to show their employer enough enthusiasm about AI, even if they themselves are much more reserved about the technology.
This is reported by Business Insider, which spoke with several specialists who are currently looking for work.
One of them is former LinkedIn program manager Felisha Case, who was laid off in May. She says she is regularly asked in interviews how she used AI in her previous job. However, she doesn’t have much experience with AI, as LinkedIn had only just begun to actively implement such tools before she was fired. Because of this, she sometimes feels like candidates need to “go back to school” and quickly get a new education in AI.
Other job seekers told the publication that they are specifically experimenting with AI tools so that they have something to tell the recruiter. And during the interview itself, they try to understand how much the employer wants to hear about their enthusiasm for AI technology.
However, candidates’ attitudes toward AI can be much more reserved. For example, one Big Tech employee uses it for small coding tasks and document reviews, but is skeptical about the hype surrounding the technology. However, he still applies for AI-related jobs because he believes that this is where much of the tech industry is heading.
“If all this [AI] magically disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t shed a tear,” he said.
Former developer Cristina Estupiñán also said after her dismissal that she felt the need to show enthusiasm for AI, even though she herself has reservations about its environmental and social impact.
“I have to figure out what it is about artificial intelligence that fascinates me, because, to be honest, nothing really fascinates me about it,” she said.
The demand for people with AI skills is indeed growing rapidly. For example, PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer 2026 analyzed over a billion job openings across 27 countries. The number of jobs requiring specific AI skills grew by 69%, while the overall job market grew by 9%. Workers with AI skills also receive an average salary premium of 62%.
And it’s not just developers. For example, a Lightcast data analysis in the US showed that over the year, the number of vacancies with AI requirements increased by 69% in recruitment agencies, by 55% in accounting firms, and by 51% in banks.
However, recruiting experts interviewed by Business Insider say that they don't necessarily expect a candidate to be completely passionate about technology. Karim Osman, vice president of recruiting at Robert Half, explained that employers are primarily interested in concrete examples. For example, how a candidate used AI to solve a problem, speed up a process, or make work more efficient.
Additionally, companies may be more receptive to candidates who use AI but don’t fully rely on it. HR analyst Josh Bersin also advises candidates with reservations about AI not to dismiss the company outright, but to ask how it’s using the technology. However, telling a recruiter that a candidate “doesn’t believe in AI” is riskier. Bersin says that can easily cost you the job.
Previously, dev.ua wrote that Ukrainian IT employers are increasingly expecting AI knowledge from candidates. A senior hiring manager at EPAM Ukraine compared this to cloud technologies: if previously Cloud knowledge was added to almost all positions, now "it is highly desirable to understand AI."
