Is AI blinding us to hiring great talent?

In my three decades leading customer experience teams across three continents, I have witnessed numerous technological disruptions. None compared to what we are experiencing with AI. While headlines focus on layoffs and dire predictions about job displacement, the reality on the ground is more nuanced and more concerning.

There are more applicants than ever flooding this market, but finding the right talent is increasingly difficult. AI can help by accelerating screening, reducing bias, and matching candidates to roles with greater precision. Yet, this very efficiency introduces old and new headaches such as the rise of AI-generated resumes, deepfake interviews, and a growing skills gap among employees.

AI-generated resumes, the new normal?

It is getting easier to spot when a resume is AI-generated—suspiciously polished language and identical formatting are dead giveaways. For those familiar with AI tools, these resumes often lack the personal nuances that reflect a candidate’s true voice and experience.

80% of hiring managers now instinctively skip these resumes, creating a scenario where technological advancement is actually hindering candidates’ chances. For better or for worse, AI-generated resumes might now be the new normal as jobseekers learn how to use them as an asset. However, here’s the irony: while resumes are becoming easier to generate, finding the right talent is becoming harder.

The hidden crisis in hiring

Finding the right talent has never been harder for hiring managers, and here’s why:

1. Traditional credentials and experience markers have become poor predictors of success. Industries such as in tech and customer experience evolve quickly. What mattered five years ago may be outdated today. What matters more today is how someone contributed, not just where or for how long. Success now depends on more adaptability, learning agility, and tech-savviness than years of experience in a static role.
2. The skills needed to evolve faster than training programmes can keep up. In fact, 82% of employees say workforce demands are evolving faster than their skills. If talent cannot keep up, and training programmes cannot either, how do you hire for roles that are constantly being redefined?
3. Assessment tools have not caught up to measuring this new blend of capabilities. The skills most in demand are often difficult to quantify. For instance, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies creative thinking, analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, agility, leadership, and social influence as critical emerging skills. These are inherently harder to measure through standardised tests.

Resumes, robots, and the real talent gap

When I recently read about a tech professional who had been laid off three times in 18 months, I was not surprised. This is not simply cost-cutting at work. Organisations, such as big techs and fast-growing start-ups, are increasingly attempting to realign their workforce for an AI-integrated future.

Big techs’ US$62 billion investment in AI is not just about developing new revenue streams—they are placing bets to restructure fundamentally how work gets done. As legacy technologies fade and new innovations emerge, hiring managers are sometimes left scrambling to define what skills actually matter in this consistently shifting landscape.

The real skills gap in the age of AI

The real skills gap is not simply about technical AI knowledge but about finding people who can work effectively at the boundaries of human and machine capabilities.

READ MORE: Harnessing AI for a people-first approach to customer experience

We do not need people who can do what AI does. We need people who can do what AI cannot, and more importantly, who can recognise when AI is failing and step in seamlessly. Now this is easier said than hiring and it requires a rare combination of technical literacy, domain expertise, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.

So, what’s next?

HR teams should continue to double down on AI tools to screen resumes, especially those that can weed out deepfakes or fabricated profiles. But when it comes to making final decisions, the human touch is irreplaceable.

Culture fit and interpersonal dynamics are still beyond the full grasp of machines. In fact, research conducted by Harvard University has concluded that 85% of job success stems from having well-developed soft and people skills, with only 15% attributed to technical expertise. Just like in compliance where human oversight is essential, hiring needs the same check. That could look like partnering with specialised talent solutions that excel in quickly scaling the right human capital to complement AI capabilities.

At TDCX, we have doubled down on this balance by combining AI-driven tools with high-touch talent strategies to ensure our hires not only meet the brief on paper, but also align with our clients’ needs. From robust training frameworks to behaviour-based assessments, we ensure that soft skills are not overlooked in the rush to go digital.

As for me? Well, AI may speed up hiring, but it is also making it harder to truly know who you are bringing in. That is why I still rely on in-depth interviews, even after the AI shortlist. Because no matter how advanced the tech gets, it cannot replace the nuance of human judgment: reading emotional cues, asking the right follow-ups, or sensing that spark no algorithm can detect. HR leaders need to rethink what “efficiency” really means when it comes to hiring—because faster is not always smarter.

About the Author:

Angie Tay is Group Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President at TDCX.