It started with an almost perfect written questionnaire.
As part of our search process, candidates complete a written questionnaire designed to take us beyond the resume and prepare for a more meaningful interview. As I review their responses, I make notes—something I want to explore further, a question I want to come back to, occasionally even a simple “perfect” next to a particularly thoughtful answer.
This time, there was almost nothing to add.
Her responses were impeccable.
Then we talked.
Something was off.
Her cadence was unusual. After I asked a question, there was often a noticeable pause before she responded, as though there was a delay between my question and her answer. At first, I assumed there might be a perfectly reasonable explanation, so I tried to give her plenty of time and space to respond. On its own, I didn’t think much of it. But as the conversation continued, other things began to feel unusual.
She could answer the expected questions, but when I went off script and asked something more personal or probed further into an answer, she struggled. She also kept repeating information about the next steps in the process.
And then it got really strange.
Exactly 30 minutes into our scheduled 30-minute interview, she said:
“I have to go.”
And hung up.
I was stunned, and frankly, angry. I felt like I might have just been duped. My next thought was more unsettling: Have I been compromised?
So, Who, or What, Was I Talking To?
I started researching AI-generated candidate interviews. I contacted our IT resources and called our attorney. What could we do to prevent this from happening again? What could we legally ask candidates to provide? How do you verify that the person you’re interviewing is actually the person they claim to be?
I still don’t know for certain that this candidate was AI-generated. I strongly suspect it. She never called back or followed up. Neither did I.
And that uncertainty may be the most unsettling part.
Every response gets questioned a little differently now.
Where AI Fits
I use AI in my work, and there are things it does very well. It can be a valuable research tool and can help identify potential candidates much more efficiently.
But this experience also reinforced the importance of something technology has a difficult time replicating: hearing between the lines.
During an interview, I may hear something in a candidate’s response that makes me think, Wait. There’s something there.
So I go off script.
I ask another question. Then another.
Sometimes what comes next is much more revealing than the answer to the original question.
The same thing happens during site interviews with our clients. A Board can give me the facts. The job description can tell me what they’re looking for. Financials and organizational charts can tell me how the organization works.
But conversations give me the background story.
Why is this position really open?
What’s happening beneath the surface?
What kind of leader will actually succeed here?
Those answers aren’t always sitting neatly in a document waiting to be found.
Is AI Making the Human Part More Important?
I’ve changed the way I interview since that call.
I now intentionally ask impromptu questions, things a candidate couldn’t easily anticipate. Sometimes it’s something as simple as, “What are you looking forward to this weekend?” I’m not necessarily interested in the answer. I’m listening to how naturally the conversation unfolds when the candidate hasn’t had an opportunity to prepare. I’m more alert when a polished written response doesn’t seem to match the person I’m talking with. And I’m more willing to stop following my interview guide when something doesn’t quite add up.
Maybe that’s part of the new reality of recruiting.
AI will make some aspects of executive search faster and better. I’m all for that.
But the more technology can create the appearance of the perfect candidate, the more important I think it becomes to have a real person on the other side asking:
Does this make sense?
What am I missing?
What’s behind that answer?
A resume matters. A written questionnaire matters. Technology can help us find people we might never have found before.
But when you’re helping an organization select its next leader, sometimes the most important thing you can do is listen closely enough to hear what’s between the lines.
And yes, I’m still wondering…
Have I been compromised?
Tim Bernstein
President, Ardent Search Company
Finding Leaders. Advancing Legacies.