UAE Recruiters Turn to Hands-On Assessments, Critical Thinking Questions and Human Judgement to Evaluate Candidates’ True Abilities.
Artificial intelligence is helping jobseekers create professional-looking CVs and prepare impressive responses for interviews. However, its growing use is presenting UAE employers with a major recruitment challenge: determining whether applicants genuinely possess the skills they claim.
A recent study conducted in the United States highlights the problem, revealing that 60 per cent of recruitment professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to evaluate candidates’ actual abilities as AI tools become more common in hiring.
According to the Workforce Decoded Report, the percentage of employers who said they were still working out how to effectively assess AI-related skills rose from 16 per cent in 2025 to 32 per cent in 2026.
The findings are particularly relevant to the UAE employment market, where hiring managers are increasingly required to distinguish between candidates’ genuine expertise and applications enhanced by artificial intelligence.
To address this challenge, companies are shifting their attention towards practical skills assessments, examples of previous work and candidates’ ability to explain their decision-making processes.
Rather than relying primarily on qualifications and achievements listed on a CV, recruiters are placing greater importance on what applicants can demonstrate during the selection process.
Aws Ismail, co-founder of Onyx AI Solutions, explained that the problem is partly linked to traditional recruitment methods that continue to depend heavily on written applications.
He noted that AI allows candidates to produce stronger applications, reducing the reliability of CVs as indicators of actual competence.
According to Ismail, employers who continue to evaluate applicants mainly through written submissions may struggle to identify genuine talent, while organisations that have modernised their assessment methods are better positioned to make informed hiring decisions.
Ismail also believes artificial intelligence can help companies discover skilled candidates who might otherwise be overlooked during traditional recruitment processes.
He explained that many qualified professionals struggle to communicate their abilities effectively through written applications, particularly when applying for jobs in a language other than their first.
In a multicultural employment market such as the UAE, this can prevent employers from identifying valuable talent.
According to Ismail, AI tools can help bridge that gap by enabling applicants to present their qualifications, experience and capabilities more clearly, regardless of their writing proficiency.
Why impressive CVs may not reflect genuine skills
Nickie Wilson, executive director of Genie Recruitment in the UAE, said artificial intelligence has created both opportunities and challenges for employers seeking to assess job applicants.
Although AI has the potential to improve skills evaluation, candidates are increasingly using the same technology to refine their CVs and make their applications more appealing.
This makes it difficult for hiring managers to distinguish genuine professional experience from carefully crafted AI-assisted descriptions.
Wilson explained that some organisations have responded by introducing practical tasks and skills-based assignments during recruitment.
However, she warned that candidates can also use AI tools to complete these exercises, making it essential for recruiters to examine the reasoning and processes behind their answers.
She also stressed the importance of maintaining human involvement in hiring decisions rather than depending entirely on automated candidate screening.
Without professional judgement, employers risk favouring applicants who are particularly skilled at using AI to market themselves instead of those with the strongest abilities for the position.
Wilson said this shift has renewed the importance of established recruitment practices, including personal interviews, targeted talent searches and thorough assessments of candidates’ employment histories.
She emphasised that while a strong CV may attract an employer’s attention, recruiters must still verify what the applicant has genuinely accomplished in previous roles.
UAE employers increasingly adopt skills-based recruitment
Nisha Nair, recruitment manager at Innovations Global, said companies are moving towards a more evidence-based approach to hiring, with greater emphasis on demonstrated competencies rather than qualifications, previous job titles or polished applications.
Employers are increasingly using practical exercises, hypothetical workplace scenarios, technical assessments and structured interviews to evaluate candidates’ abilities.
Recruiters are also placing greater importance on verifying applicants’ professional experience and the achievements they claim.
Nair explained that this approach is particularly valuable when recruiting for senior management and specialised positions.
For such roles, employers need to understand how candidates have responded to actual business challenges, exercised professional judgement and contributed to measurable results.
She added that effective recruitment should establish whether an applicant possesses the technical skills, decision-making abilities and adaptability required to perform successfully.
Nair acknowledged that AI can benefit qualified jobseekers by helping them communicate their experience more effectively, discover relevant vacancies and prepare for interviews.
However, the same technology can enable individuals with limited experience to produce highly convincing applications, creating a potential mismatch between how capable they appear and what they can actually deliver.
She stressed that the central concern is not whether applicants use artificial intelligence, but whether the information they provide accurately represents their own knowledge, professional background and contributions.
Meanwhile, Ismail said AI could also become part of the solution when employers use it to evaluate candidates rather than simply review AI-enhanced applications.
At Onyx AI Solutions, he explained, AI-powered interviews are used to engage applicants in conversations, ask follow-up questions and assess their responses against specific job requirements.
He argued that although artificial intelligence can help someone describe a skill convincingly, demonstrating that ability during a live, interactive assessment is considerably more difficult to imitate.
