Even (especially) in the age of AI, here’s why I hire for character over skill

Imagine you’re watching a basketball game. You’re not focused on the stat sheet—you’re watching how the players read the court, pivot when a play breaks down, and celebrate their teammates. Those moments tell you a lot more about how someone performs under pressure than any metric ever could.

I think about hiring the same way. Like a stat sheet, a résumé might list someone’s achievements, but it won’t show how they adapt under pressure or support a team.

Yet in the age of AI, companies often overlook that, prioritizing technical skills instead. According to a 2024 report from Microsoft and LinkedIn, 71% of employers said they would choose an AI-fluent candidate with less experience over someone more experienced but with limited AI knowledge.

Technical ability matters, of course. But in a world where technology is evolving by the week, so are the skills needed to keep up. That’s why I don’t screen for skill—I scout for character. 

Because when everything else is changing, character is the one thing that can’t be automated or learned from a prompt. It’s the foundation for building a culture that wins together, not just works together.

While tech keeps shifting, culture endures

We’re in what Goldman Sachs economists are calling a period of “jobless growth”—an era where the economy is expanding but hiring lags behind. There are fewer openings, more applicants, and slower movement on both sides.

At the same time, AI is reshaping the definition of work and what companies think they need. Everyone’s racing to hire the candidate who knows the latest model or has experience with the newest tools. But no one really knows what “AI skills” will mean six months from now. PwC found that requirements for AI-exposed roles are shifting 66% faster than in other jobs—more than twice the rate of change just a year ago. What’s cutting-edge today could be obsolete by next quarter.

Even with a deeper pool of applicants, many companies are still hiring against moving targets, chasing technical standards that continue to evolve. And in a job-hugging economy where employees are staying put longer and hiring cycles have slowed, every decision carries more weight. The people you hire today will shape your company for years to come. 

That’s why culture matters more than ever. Too often it’s treated like an elusive “vibe”—something that magically appears when the right mix of people land in the same room. Or worse, it’s reduced to sameness: hiring people who share the same background, and likely talk and think the same way. That’s not culture, that’s comfort.

Real culture is chemistry. It’s intentionally built on how people think, collaborate, and recover together when things go wrong. As technology keeps rewriting job descriptions, that chemistry is what helps teams move faster, grow stronger, and stay resilient through cycles of disruption and reinvention.

Build a resilient culture one character interview at a time

After years of conducting culture interviews, I know that one great hire can lift a team, and the wrong one can just as easily unravel it. I’m looking for people who stay calm under pressure, think critically, and are driven by purpose, not titles—traits that endure long after roles, tools, and technologies change.

Culture interviews are where you see that come to life; they strip away polish and show why someone’s really sitting across from you. These are a few ways I approach interviews to get a truer sense of the person behind the résumé.

1. Be in the room

As an HR executive, I make it a point to lead every culture interview I can, because who you hire shapes the culture, and culture shapes the business. That’s a responsibility no senior leader should be removed from.

When senior leaders make time for interviews, it signals to candidates that culture isn’t just talk—it’s taken seriously and owned at every level. As an executive, being in the room gives you a better read on the energy, mindset, and values someone will bring to the team.

It’s also an opportunity to establish a mutual sense of respect and investment right out of the gate. If leaders expect candidates to show up with honesty and humility, we have to do the same. That starts with being fully present, making clear that their time matters as much as yours.

2. Use consistency to reveal character

In every culture interview, I ask the same core questions—not because I’m looking for perfect answers, but to see the level of energy behind them. When candidates are given the same starting point, you start to notice characteristics that can’t be rehearsed, like thoughtfulness, curiosity, and excitement.

Confidence can easily be mistaken for competence, especially when people have polished their “right” answers. But consistency helps surface patterns: Who takes a beat to reflect? Who connects ideas instead of reciting them? Who lights up when they talk about their career goals?

In a time when ChatGPT and Copilot can write a résumé and coach candidates through mock interviews, a consistent framework helps cut through the performance and surface honesty and self-awareness.

3. Remember that questions are a two-way street

Some of the most revealing moments in a culture interview are when the questions go both ways. I pay close attention to what candidates ask, because their questions can say just as much as their answers.

Are they trying to understand how decisions get made, how teams collaborate, what growth looks like? That tells me they care about more than a title or a paycheck. They are thinking about the environment they might step into.

Curiosity signals investment. When a candidate asks me a tough question—the kind that makes me pause—I respect it. It shows they’ll bring that same honesty and initiative once they’re on the team, and that’s what strengthens culture.

4. Look for the same values, not the same story

Great talent exists everywhere; the key is knowing what to look for. Whether I’m interviewing in Milwaukee or Medellín, I’m scouting the same core traits: curiosity, drive, honesty, and self-awareness.

What changes is how people express those values—what ambition looks like to them, what stability means in their world, how they define success. Recognizing those nuances is how you build a culture that scales across borders, departments, and generations.

The framework stays the same, but the conversation flexes. By knowing what to hold constant and what to adapt, you build and maintain a culture that lasts through technologies.

Skills will change, but character is constant 

Technology will keep evolving faster than any job description—that’s a given. But character doesn’t run on an update cycle. It’s what keeps companies steady when everything around them is in motion.

Great hiring isn’t about predicting the next trending skill. Great hiring means building teams that can adapt and problem-solve together, regardless of the new tools that come along.

Whether or not your company has the shiniest or newest tech stack, organizations need people who can show up for each other and grow with the work. Skills will shift. Platforms will change. But your culture? That’s what gives you staying power.

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