I’m an HR strategist, and here's how I hire differently as AI reshapes the career ladder

Toshiba's HR leader, Jason Desentz, discusses how his job interview questions and recruitment processes are changing because of AI.

Courtesy of Toshiba Toshiba's HR leader, Jason Desentz, discusses AI's role in transforming recruitment processes.

Desentz emphasizes adaptability and problem-solving over specific skills in recruitment interviews.

Desentz said HR leaders should acknowledge AI anxiety and work on AI training.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jason Richard Desentz, Toshiba’s chief human resources officer for the Americas.

Desentz has been in the HR industry for nearly 30 years and joined Toshiba more than two years ago.

The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

When I first got into HR, not everyone had a computer.

People had notepads and paper in front of their desks, and they still worked.

Now people are asking: How can I become a recruiter if an AI automation goes through the résumés? How am I going to learn to screen a candidate and move up the career ladder? I don’t approach this as an AI story.

It’s an adaptability story, and AI is another chapter.

Having AI doesn’t mean I won’t still have junior-level employees.

The junior job will just be different, and I will be hiring differently, too.

Junior recruiters can become consultants sooner For a lower-level job at a company like Toshiba, a junior-level HR could face a thousand résumés.