What Gen Z Really Wants Now — and What It Means for Talent Acquisition:

Leveraging AI to Showcase Skills and Leadership Potential

Generation Z is rapidly entering the workforce, bringing with them a unique set of skills, aspirations, and attitudes that are reshaping the Talent Acquisition (TA) landscape. Far from being indifferent or disengaged—common stereotypes about this generation—new research from Udemy reveals that Gen Z is highly motivated by professional development, with a strong focus on acquiring the skills they need to succeed in an evolving, tech-driven world. This is particularly important for TA leaders, who are tasked with helping these candidates effectively showcase their capabilities, especially in relation to AI.

In this article, we’ll explore how Talent Acquisition teams can help Gen Z candidates leverage AI tools to present their skills accurately and strategically. We’ll also discuss how TA professionals can guide candidates in demonstrating their leadership potential, positioning themselves as valuable hires who can thrive in today’s fast-paced, AI-integrated work environments.

Strategic Insights for Talent Acquisition: Empowering Gen Z Through AI

1. AI-Powered Skill Presentation: Helping Candidates Shine

In today’s competitive job market, Gen Z candidates understand the importance of showcasing the right mix of technical skills and soft skills. According to the Udemy survey, 65% of Gen Z respondents value upskilling as a key driver for career success, focusing heavily on learning new technologies, particularly AI. However, many candidates may struggle with how to effectively present these skills in their resumes, cover letters, and interviews.

For Talent Acquisition teams, the challenge is twofold: to help Gen Z candidates articulate their AI-related skills clearly and to ensure that recruitment processes allow these competencies to be accurately assessed and valued. This includes offering AI-driven tools that assist candidates in optimising their applications to align with job-specific requirements.

Why this matters: By guiding candidates on how to tailor their applications using AI tools, TA professionals ensure that hard skills like AI and soft skills such as communication and problem-solving are highlighted effectively. This not only improves the candidate experience but also enhances the overall quality of hire by making sure that candidates’ true capabilities are fully recognized.

2. Personalising the Candidate Journey: Tailored Applications with AI

Personalization is becoming a crucial part of the recruitment process, and Gen Z candidates are keen to leverage AI tools to ensure their applications stand out. By providing candidates with guidelines on how to use AI platforms to personalise resumes, cover letters, and portfolios, Talent Acquisition teams can help them align their skills with the specific needs of the job and the company.

For instance, AI platforms can analyse a job description, highlighting the keywords and skills that are most important to the role. Candidates can then adjust their resumes to emphasise these areas, ensuring a stronger match between their qualifications and the employer’s requirements.

As I cannot emphasise more, the critical role leaders play in helping Gen Z candidates embrace AI confidently: “By prioritising transparency, offering targeted training, fostering open communication, and providing strong support systems, Talent Acquisition professionals can transform AI into a tool for empowerment—ensuring it is seen as a valuable asset rather than a source of intimidation or misuse.”

Why this matters: By guiding candidates on how to personalise their applications using AI, TA teams improve not only the recruitment process but also the candidate experience. AI tools that help candidates optimise their job applications make it easier for them to showcase their unique value propositions and differentiate themselves from other applicants.

“HR plays a pivotal role in ensuring that Gen Zers gain the training and comfort needed to make generative AI work for themselves and their organizations."

3. Showcasing Leadership Potential: Beyond Technical Skills

While technical proficiency is important, Gen Z also values soft skills like communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. According to Udemy, more than 80% of Gen Z workers believe that soft skills are essential to career success. For Talent Acquisition, this means helping candidates demonstrate not only their technical skills, but also how these skills enable them to lead, solve problems, and work collaboratively.

By integrating AI-driven assessments that measure both technical and soft skills, Talent Acquisition can provide a more holistic view of candidates. Encouraging Gen Z applicants to reflect on how they’ve used AI to enhance collaboration or improve workflows allows them to present themselves as well-rounded hires who can lead with both technology and empathy.

Why this matters: Gen Z’s ability to combine AI expertise with strong soft skills makes them valuable candidates in today’s collaborative work environments. TA teams should focus on creating recruitment processes that assess both these dimensions, helping candidates communicate their leadership potential clearly and effectively.

“Organisations should understand the user problem they are solving and work closely with users to ensure the tools and solutions they implement actually solve relevant problems."

Guidelines and Prompts for Gen Z Candidates

To ensure that Gen Z candidates maximise their AI skills and leadership potential, Talent Acquisition professionals can offer clear guidelines and prompts that help them through each stage of the application process.

• Offering AI-Powered Tools and Templates

Provide candidates with AI-driven resume builders, cover letter templates, and portfolio suggestions to help them tailor their applications to specific roles. Tools like Jobscan and Resumatch allow candidates to analyse job descriptions and match their skills more effectively.

• Personalising Applications for Specific Roles

Encourage candidates to use AI-powered personalisation tools like LinkedIn Resume Builder to tailor their applications. This ensures their technical and soft skills are aligned with the employer’s needs, increasing their chances of standing out.

• Showcasing Leadership Through AI

Guide candidates to emphasise their leadership potential by showcasing how they’ve used AI to solve real-world problems or improve team performance. Offering prompts for them to describe projects where they’ve led initiatives using AI will help them stand out as forward-thinking, innovative hires.

AI as a Game-Changer in Talent Acquisition

For Gen Z, AI is not just a tool—it’s a critical element of their professional development. Talent Acquisition professionals can bridge the gap between technical expertise and soft skills by providing candidates with the right tools, prompts, and guidance to present their best selves during the hiring process. By empowering candidates to leverage AI in personalised and strategic ways, TA teams can not only enhance the candidate experience but also ensure that Gen Z talent is accurately assessed and fully utilised.

Key takeaway: By guiding candidates to use AI effectively, Talent Acquisition teams can help Gen Z demonstrate both their technical and leadership potential. This ensures a stronger match between candidates and roles, leading to better hiring outcomes and long-term success for both the candidates and the organisation.

What’s Next for Talent Acquisition?

As Gen Z continues to enter the workforce, Talent Acquisition teams are in a prime position to shape the future of hiring. By offering AI tools, personalised prompts, and strategic guidance, TA professionals can empower candidates to showcase their skills and leadership potential more effectively. This not only improves hiring processes but also helps organisations attract and retain the next generation of AI-savvy talent.

Call to Action:Talent Acquisition leaders, how are you helping Gen Z candidates leverage AI to enhance their applications? Share your thoughts and strategies in the comments below!