Interview with Mandi Simeone: Staying Human in the Age of AI Hiring

Mandi Simeone is a strategic HR executive with over 20 years of experience leading workforce transformations across technology, healthcare, and multi-state organizations. She has served as Vice President of Human Resources and R&D Director, overseeing talent acquisition strategy, compliance governance, and organizational design.

Following a widely attended webinar on AI and hiring, HRinsidr sat down with Mandi to dig deeper into the questions HR professionals are asking most.

On Authenticity: How Can Interviewers Tell If a Candidate Is Using AI?

HRinsidr: We seem to be in a game of authenticity right now –– trying to figure out whether someone is using AI in their resume or during the interview itself. How can interviewers really discern between a thoughtful answer and one that was AI-crafted?

Mandi Simeone: I actually encourage people to use AI. We do resume and career coaching, and AI is simply a tool. It helps people present themselves better. The key issue is authenticity. You want to make sure that the experience someone is claiming is truly their experience, not a version manufactured to match a job posting. On the resume side, the thing that stands out most is metrics. If someone can quantify their work, even estimating things like a 100% project completion rate, that specificity signals real ownership of the work.

In interviews, the best technique is to ask human questions. Behavioral questions like ‘Tell me about a time when you did X – and how did that make you feel?’ are harder for AI to answer convincingly. AI can generate technically polished responses, but it doesn’t know your personal history. If a candidate struggles on an emotional follow-up question but sailed through the technical one, that’s your signal.

On Appropriate Use: Where Does AI Belong in the Hiring Process?

HRinsidr: HR professionals are burned out, and AI feels like a lifesaver for administrative efficiency. But where is it actually appropriate to use it and where does it cross a line?

Mandi Simeone: Here’s something most HR leaders don’t realize: whether you think you’re using AI or not, you probably are. It’s already embedded in LinkedIn, Indeed, and virtually every ATS system on the market. AI is filtering resumes and rejecting candidates right now, often without explicit awareness from the HR team. That’s not inherently bad –– automated screening has real value. But it must come with checks and balances. I recommend going into your ATS regularly and auditing the candidates who are being auto-rejected. Ask yourself: are these people truly unqualified, or is the system being overly restrictive? Is it ruling people out based on job-relevant criteria, or on factors like location and background that could expose your organization to discrimination claims? As the employer, even if you’ve outsourced your systems to a vendor, you retain legal responsibility for how those tools operate.

On Candidate Fraud: What to Do When Candidates Misrepresent Themselves

HRinsidr: We’ve heard from HR professionals who discovered mid-interview that a candidate’s LinkedIn profile didn’t match the person on screen, or that their submitted resume had nothing in common with their actual LinkedIn history. How do you handle that?

Mandi Simeone: I’ve experienced this firsthand. I was interviewing a candidate who gave technically flawless answers, but when I asked a simple human follow-up, like ‘How did that make you feel?’ he couldn’t respond. I got a red flag and went to LinkedIn. The picture matched, but the resume he had submitted was completely different from his LinkedIn profile. Not one piece of experience aligned. When I researched why this happens, the reasons ranged from people working multiple jobs simultaneously, to individuals who can’t legally work in the U.S. using someone else’s identity to obtain a paycheck via pay card. My advice: don’t get confrontational. Instead, normalize the conversation. Say something like, ‘It’s completely fine if you used AI to prepare – I just really want to connect with you and understand your thinking and your actual experience.’ That de-escalates, and the real human usually emerges. Or doesn’t. Which tells you everything you need to know.

On Interview Strategy: Reintroducing the Human Question

HRinsidr: Competency-based interviewing has long been the gold standard, but AI can now answer those structured questions convincingly. Does the whole approach need rethinking?

Mandi Simeone: Yes and no. AI is excellent at answering technical, knowledge-based, and competency questions – it can pass SHRM and HRCI exam questions without breaking a sweat. So, if your interview is built entirely around structured, predictable prompts, you’re not really interviewing the human anymore. What AI can’t do well is answer open-ended, emotionally grounded questions with personal specificity. ‘What was the hardest part of that project for you, emotionally or mentally?’ AI might throw something out, but it won’t ring true. Those old-school questions we used to dread: ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ or ‘Tell me about your best accomplishment’ are actually more valuable now than ever. They require personal reflection that AI simply can’t replicate.

On Legal Liability: Who’s Responsible When a Vendor’s AI Gets It Wrong?

HRinsidr: If a company uses an outside headhunter or a third-party ATS, and that system discriminates, does liability still fall on the employer?

Mandi Simeone: I want to be clear that I’m not an attorney, so this isn’t legal advice, but based on what I’ve seen reading case law and watching EEOC developments: yes, accountability ultimately falls on the employer. You’re the one making the hiring decision. You’re the one who signed the contract with the vendor. It doesn’t matter whether a headhunter or an algorithm did the filtering – if discriminatory outcomes result, it’s your organization’s name on the claim. That’s why it’s so critical to ask vendors pointed questions: How does your AI filter candidates? What criteria trigger auto-rejection? How often are those criteria updated? And don’t just ask once during onboarding – ask every few months. AI systems evolve constantly, and what you agreed to a year ago may not reflect what’s running today.

Three Takeaways for HR Leaders Right Now

HRinsidr: If you could leave HR professionals with three things to act on today, what would they be?

Mandi Simeone: First, research your vendors and maintain those relationships and not just once. Check in every three to six months, because AI capabilities in these platforms are changing constantly. You need to understand what you’ve purchased and how it’s actually operating. Second, accept that AI is already here. It’s not coming – it has arrived. The HR professionals who are thriving are the ones staying in the driver’s seat: using AI as a tool, auditing its outputs, and ensuring it’s doing the right thing rather than just assuming it is. Third, and this might be the most important, be human. Make genuine connections with candidates. AI can screen and sort, but it cannot replace the relational dimension of hiring. That human connection is your competitive advantage now, and it always will be.

Mandi Simeone is the CEO and Founder of HR2 People, LLC. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

—

The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.