Inside job interview questions, a new number one topic has emerged. Beyond the usual inquiries around your background and experience, the theme that’s top of mind is artificial intelligence (AI). The number one question every candidate should anticipate in 2025 is this one: How familiar are you with AI, and how are you using it? Here’s how to prepare, and respond, to the new number one job interview question.
As with any job interview question, the best answer usually involves a story. Because the minute you say, “I’m very familiar with AI,” the interviewer would like you to prove it. You can say you’re a genius, super empathetic, trustworthy, or the world’s fastest coder – the tricky part is providing credible evidence. Saying you are familiar with something is not the same as demonstrating it. That’s where soft skills like communication come into play.
When facing job interview questions, stories serve as a fast-pass to your thought processes and experience. So, when you are asked, “How are you using AI?” in the job interview, the best response begins where you might not expect. It starts with a problem you are trying to solve.
That Interview Question Reminds Me of a Story
Getting familiar with anything (including AI) is accelerated when we are trying to overcome a particular challenge. Being faster or more efficient is always an objective – and one where AI can almost always help. Instead of jumping into a stream of adjectives to describe how familiar you are with AI, talk about how you use artificial intelligence to solve problems. What, exactly, is the problem you are trying to solve?
Start there, because every employer is looking for problem-solvers. No matter what industry, a solutions provider is what is the type of employee that’s always needed. How does AI help you to reach solutions faster, more efficiently, and more precisely than before? What discoveries have you made, as a result of working with AI?
Link your current experience working with AI to the challenges that the business might be facing. Connect your familiarity to possibility, by demonstrating your knowledge of what the current position requires. And if you’re not sure about how your experience connects to the job at hand, your interviewer can help. “I think those skills would translate pretty well, but I’m curious: how does that experience fit for the role?” Asking for input is a great way to confirm that you are on the right track, and turn the interview into a conversation.
Is Conflict a Good Idea When Responding to Job Interview Questions?
Inside every good story, there’s a conflict. For AI, the conflicts are many, including hallucinations (where AI makes up information) and a lack of explanations (where it’s not always clear how results are created and delivered). Another word for conflict is “challenge” or “obstacle”. Inside a good story, there are always obstacles to overcome – and those obstacles exist to demonstrate your expertise.
How did AI help you to achieve a result, expand your possibilities, create new discoveries? What role does AI play in your current role, or your previous one? One area of challenge could be your level of trust with the outputs you receive. Or the integration of AI into your current (or previous) company. Remember, the hero’s journey is always filled with discoveries. What did you discover, as you worked with AI?
The job interview question that’s already showing up, and it is only going to increase in 2025, focuses on what you have discovered in working with AI. If you’re looking for a new role, consider how AI might help you to find it. That’s not just another aspect of your story, it’s an opportunity to build experience around finding your next gig. The key to developing competence in any field (including your job search) starts with familiarity. When it comes to answering job interview questions about AI, get familiar with how to tell stories around the problems you can solve.