AI has fundamentally changed how candidates prepare for senior-level recruitment processes. A candidate can now use generative AI to build or substantially rewrite their CV, tailor their experience to a job description, prepare ‘perfect’ competency-based answers, anticipate likely interview questions and rehearse responses until they sound convincing.

There is nothing inherently wrong with candidates using AI to prepare – it is becoming a normal part of professional life. The challenge is that traditional recruitment processes were not designed for an environment where candidates can use AI to prepare almost every aspect of their application and interview performance.

A beautifully written CV no longer necessarily tells you whether the achievements described genuinely reflect a candidate’s capabilities. Similarly, a strong answer to a competency-based question does not necessarily demonstrate how someone thinks when faced with an unfamiliar problem. The answer isn’t to prevent candidates from using AI. Instead, companies need to consider how their assessment processes can test things that are much harder to prepare for or outsource to AI.

One solution is the use of live test scenarios. Rather than simply asking a candidate to describe how they handled a situation in the past, the interviewer presents them with a realistic, role-specific scenario and asks them to respond in real time. The situation can then evolve through follow-up questions, challenges, additional information or changing circumstances.

At Executives in Africa, we have addressed the AI challenge by making one of the key stages in our selection process our AI-Resilient Interview & Assessment. It is designed to look beyond polished or rehearsed answers, helping to validate the authenticity of a candidate’s experience, achievements and capability. Our approach has three elements, designed to provide a deeper and more robust assessment against the specific requirements of the role.

The objective isn’t to catch candidates out. It is to give clients greater confidence that the person they are appointing can demonstrate the capability required to deliver in the role. If you would like to find out more about our AI-Resilient Interview & Assessment, or discuss how we can incorporate it into your next executive search, please get in touch.

CVs have always been embellished; AI makes them far more convincing.