Human qualities to hire for in AI jobs landscape: Indeed CEO Chris Hyams

AI is changing the employment game, there’s no doubt about that. 

But the extent to which it is actually transforms the labor market and displaces current workers is very much up for debate. The pessimists believe that robots will perform the job of several humans without pesky management problems, putting millions out of work. But optimists believe that AI is here to augment our work for the better, cutting out busywork and drudgery so that people can spend time on ideas. 

Chris Hyams, the CEO of jobs platform Indeed, recently sat down with Fortune’s Diane Brady on the Leadership Next podcast, and shared his view of how AI will impact the jobs landscape. Likening the AI revolution to the birth of the world wide web, Hyams says that this is certainly a disruptive moment. But rather than betting on a radical change in the entire labor market over the next two years, he says it’s more likely that existing jobs will “change pretty radically.” 

But what does that mean for hiring managers, though, and what qualities should they be looking for in job applicants? “I think it’s actually having a curiosity and an openness,” said Hyams, adding the capacity to “learn new things” will be key. He went on to say that skills like “empathy” were at the top of the list when hiring people—something that ChatGPT doesn’t have. 

Hyams isn’t the only one thinking about human-centered skills in the workplace. My colleague Emma Burleigh recently spoke with LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer Aneesh Raman, who said that emotional intelligence is becoming more critical than ever when it comes to judging executive leaders. He zeroed in on five pillars of EQ that companies should look for in their leaders, including curiosity, compassion, courage, communication, and creativity. 

“These people skills are going to become more and more core to not just how someone becomes an executive, but the work of executives: Mobilizing teams, and building a company that is human-centric,” says Raman.

Azure Gilman
azure.gilman@fortune.com

Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.

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