AI Readiness Gap: The AI Competency You’re Hiring for Today Might Not Even Exist Tomorrow with Kristin Russum

Hebba Youssef
Hebba Youssef
May 27, 2026

37% of HR leaders are already saying that evaluating AI skills in candidates is going to be a real challenge.

Hiring has always required us to assess things that are hard to measure, but AI is moving so fast that what you’re looking for this week might be completely different next month! 

In this episode, I sat down with Kristin Russum, Director of Organizational Development at TriNet, to get into the real question: how do you actually hire for AI competency when the skill set is still being defined in real time? 

We talked behavioral interview strategies, the bias risks that not enough people are talking about, why curiosity might be the most important thing you can hire for right now, and what you can actually do immediately to update your process!

00:00:00 – Intro

00:02:03 – Why is Evaluating AI Skills and Candidates So Much Harder than Assessing Other Technical Skills?

00:07:25 – What Does Hiring an AI Competent Candidate Look Like Right Now?

00:19:47 – How to Deal With the Built-in Bias of AI Usage in Hiring

00:25:27 – Practical Changes You Can Make to Your Hiring Proess Immediately

00:33:06 – One Thing Every HR Leader Who Feels Behind on AI Should Know

Running a small business is hard, and HR should not get in the way. TriNet helps small businesses by outsourcing HR to professionals. This lets business owners get back to the real work: building a company, and leaving a legacy. ⁠⁠⁠Learn more about TriNet⁠⁠⁠.

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Follow Kristin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinrussum/

 

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Hebba Youssef
Hebba Youssef