The Product Leader’s Guide to Hiring Product Talent with AI in 2025

Without needing HR

👋 Hi, Jay here! Welcome to my newsletter on Substack, exclusively for Product Coalition members.

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Here’s what I’m covering this week:

1. 🤔 EVENTS: Product Strategy; Leveraging My Disability

2. 📝 COMMUNITY ARTICLE: Software Engineers Are Not Fungible

3. 🗒️ KNOWLEDGE: Product Hiring with AI in 2025 (without HR)

4. 🎧 PODCAST: Breaking Blockchain Barriers

5. 👉 OPEN TO WORK

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LIVE EVENTS

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What Is Product Strategy Exactly? And Why It Matters

Leveraging My (Dis)ability

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COMMUNITY ARTICLE

📝 Want to write for Product Coalition on Medium? Subscribe on Substack and receive the info!

Software Engineers Are Not Fungible

Different engineers. Different skills. Different value.

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🗒️ KNOWLEDGE: Product Hiring with AI in 2025 (without HR)

Hiring Mode: On

Last week, while sorting through applications for our new senior product role, I remembered how we used to hire back in 2015. Mountains of CVs, gut feelings, and hoping for the best. Fast forward to today, and there I was, using AI to spot patterns I'd have missed entirely.

McKinsey's latest research backs up what I've been seeing: organizations using AI in talent management are 83% more likely to have made successful hires. But here's what caught my attention - it's not just about finding people anymore. It's about understanding them.

Let me share what I've learned about using AI in talent management, including some specific prompts that have changed how I approach hiring.

Oh, and I’ve written this approach for those without HR teams (or those that want to keep HR team usage to a minimum), mainly because for most of my career in startups this has been how I’ve discovered the top 1% of talent.

Creating Job Posts That Are Talent Magnets

First up, let's talk about writing job descriptions. Textio's analysis shows that AI-optimized job posts get 25% more qualified applicants. I've been experimenting with AI to create posts that don't just list requirements but tell a story about the role. My hack; put the 90-day onboarding plan in the advert - the top talent LOVES this! It shows planning, foresight, transparency and organisation.

Here's the prompt I use:

"Act as a hiring manager for a product-led organisation. Write a concise, engaging, and inclusive job description for a Senior Product Manager role focused on AI and data analytics. Ensure it highlights collaboration, growth opportunities, and company culture."

Smarter Resume Assessment

LinkedIn data shows that hiring managers spend an average of 7.4 seconds per resume. In a pile of 300 applications, that's a recipe for missing great talent. Here's how I use AI to dig deeper:

Refined ChatGPT Prompt:
"You are a recruitment assistant. Compare these resumes (provide/paste details) against the following criteria (list your needs). Create a ranking of the candidates with a summary of their strengths and weaknesses."

Mining Your Talent Database

Remember that great candidate from six months ago who wasn't quite right for that role? They might be perfect for your current opening. Gartner reports that companies with strong internal talent mobility retain employees for twice as long.

Here's my prompt for revisiting past applications:

"Act as a talent scout. Given this database of past applications (paste details), identify candidates who meet the following job criteria (list specific qualifications). Highlight relevant experience and provide recommendations."

Culture Fit: The Make or Break Factor

According to Deloitte's research, poor cultural fit can cost an organization between 50-60% of the person's annual salary. I've found AI particularly helpful in crafting questions that reveal cultural alignment:

"You are an HR expert. Create five interview questions designed to evaluate a candidate's cultural fit for a fast-paced, collaborative product management team. Focus on teamwork, adaptability, and long-term alignment."

Testing That Actually Tests

Gone are the days of generic coding tests. Harvard Business Review found that companies using AI-designed assessments see a 40% better prediction rate for job performance. Here's my go-to prompt:

"You are a product management trainer. Create a 30-minute case study task for a Product Manager candidate to solve. The task should test prioritisation, problem-solving, and communication skills. Provide clear instructions and evaluation criteria."

Getting Salary Right