Beacon Hill’s Alyssa Cook Featured in Fortune on the Future of AI Skills in Hiring
July 8th, 2025
Alyssa Cook, Senior Managing Consultant here at Beacon Hill, was recently featured in the Fortune article, Companies are overhauling their hiring processes to screen candidates for AI skills—and attitudes by Sage Lazzaro.
The article explores how employers are evolving their hiring strategies to prioritize candidates with AI proficiency and the mindset to adapt alongside rapidly changing technologies. Companies recognize that technical aptitude with specific AI tools often outweighs general experience. As Alyssa insightfully shared:
“Companies would rather hire a candidate who has hands-on experience with a particular tool they are implementing if they have the ability and interest to train up on other skills.”
Her perspective reflects the real-time shifts seen across the hiring landscape, especially as AI becomes embedded in day-to-day operations.
Inside Beacon Hill: The State of AI Hiring
Alyssa’s insights align with national data. According to the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report by Microsoft and LinkedIn:
66% of business leaders said they would not hire someone without AI skills.
71% said they would hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one without them.
At Beacon Hill Technologies, we’re seeing this trend play out. While not all technical roles require AI capabilities, there's a clear shift in priorities. Roles in Software Development, DevOps, Cloud and Data Engineering are increasingly asking for ML/AI Ops experience. AI isn’t eliminating jobs—it’s reshaping them.
In fact, hiring managers often prefer candidates with hands-on experience using specific AI tools, even if their overall AI background is limited. The ability to learn and adapt now outweighs traditional tenure in many cases, especially as AI continues to evolve rapidly across industries. We've explored this trend and more in several recent articles on AI in the workplace, which you can browse here.
What Clients Are Telling Us
Our clients across industries are focused on:
Staying current with AI advancements
Integrating scalable and autonomous AI solutions
Building teams of curious, forward-thinking innovators
Candidates who pursue certifications, experiment with personal AI projects and demonstrate a growth mindset are often seen as stronger cultural fits than those with more static experience.
The Flip Side: AI and Candidate Fraud
As AI becomes more common in the job market, it has also introduced challenges. At Beacon Hill, we’ve seen:
Deepfake video interviews
AI-generated resumes
ChatGPT responses used in live interviews
Because of this, our screening process has become a critical safeguard. Clients count on us to detect fraud and deliver only the most qualified, authentic talent. It’s part of what sets our process—and our people—apart.
Congratulations to Alyssa on being recognized by Fortune. Your voice brings valuable insight to one of the most important conversations in hiring today.
About Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is a leading nationwide provider of staffing and consulting solutions delivered by our collective of 1,400+ of the industry’s foremost specialty practitioners. Job seekers and companies seeking to augment their staff receive white-glove service from our industry-focused divisions: Beacon Hill Associates, Beacon Hill Digital & Creative, Beacon Hill Financial, Beacon Hill Government Services, Beacon Hill HR, Beacon Hill Legal, Beacon Hill Life Sciences, Beacon Hill National Security, Beacon Hill Technologies and OneBeacon.
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Beacon Hill’s niche brands provide direct hire, executive search, contract staffing, contract consulting, contract-to-hire, and MSP/VMS and RPO solutions to emerging growth companies and the Fortune 500 across multiple market sectors and all industries. In 2024, Beacon Hill outpaced the market’s growth with revenues over $1 billion.