The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is beginning to effect significant transformation across various business sectors, with a large number of tools applicable across numerous use cases. To name a few, generative AI can create text and visual content based on prompts, while machine learning enables businesses to rapidly process huge amounts of data, with the algorithm continuing to improve over time. While there are some fears about how AI could end up taking over industries, contributing to widespread loss of jobs, AI can also prove to be a huge boon to businesses, complementing their workforces rather than supplanting them and strengthening their capabilities.

The executive search industry is no exception to this, according to Steve McKinney, President and Founder of executive search and coaching firm McKinney Consulting. In today's rapidly changing business climate, executive search companies need to make timely and well-informed decisions in recruiting leaders who have a huge influence and responsibility over an organization's performance. More than ever, executive search firms need to find candidates who have the perfect mix of skills, experience, and cultural fit for their client organizations. With such high stakes, McKinney believes AI can be a useful tool for executive search companies to reach their goals.

According to McKinney, most executive search professionals are using AI in the workplace for communication tasks, such as drafting client correspondence, internal announcements, and marketing material. In addition, there are other uses for AI in the industry, such as identifying common characteristics among candidates, especially those that may not be apparent at first glance. This saves valuable time, as well as allows for more comprehensive and objective comparisons between clients. AI can also predict hiring trends, informing recruiting companies on which positions to look into ahead of time and creating candidate pools. It can automate various aspects of the research process, enabling more efficient use of time.

While AI has some seriously impressive capabilities, McKinney says that it cannot build relationships with candidates, assess their interpersonal skills, or see beyond their credentials. This means that the executive search industry will remain a human-centered one.

With more and more businesses working with AI, McKinney says that these companies are now starting to indicate experience with AI as a desired skill for candidates. There will also be new human roles dedicated to AI, such as AI trainers, machine learning specialists, and AI ethicists. He believes that executive search firms need to brush up on their AI knowledge to better identify these skills in candidates.

On the opposite side, job seekers can also benefit from AI. Executives working in multinational companies or with international clients often have to work in two or more languages. AI can empower these leaders to practice their communication skills and improve their chances of getting hired.

According to McKinney, communication skills are extremely important, especially in executive-level positions, in today's globalized world. For example, someone may be an extremely talented engineer, but if they are unable to communicate in English at a very high level, this can hurt their prospects of being hired for a senior or leadership position at a multinational company. Several AI-powered programs provide on-demand coaching, guiding people in practicing both their oral and written communication skills.

"While there has been much concern about how AI can affect virtually all industries, I believe that it will serve as a net positive for the recruiting and executive search industry," McKinney says. "Executive search companies must be able to keep up with how AI will change the hiring landscape, as well as harness it properly in their operations, creating more efficient and possibly more objective research and candidate assessment processes. On the other hand, I believe AI can also be of great benefit to candidates, allowing them to 'find their voice' and master their communication style, further enabling their career advancement."