Effective Work Samples for Evaluating AI-Assisted Job Description Optimization Skills

AI-assisted job description optimization has become a critical skill in modern recruiting and HR operations. As organizations strive to attract top talent in competitive markets, the quality of job descriptions directly impacts candidate quality and application rates. Professionals skilled in leveraging AI tools to enhance job descriptions can dramatically improve hiring outcomes by creating more inclusive, accurate, and compelling job postings.

The ability to effectively use AI for job description optimization requires a unique blend of HR knowledge, writing skills, and technical understanding of AI capabilities and limitations. Candidates must demonstrate they can identify problematic language, understand role requirements, and use AI tools strategically rather than relying on them blindly. They should show judgment in accepting, modifying, or rejecting AI suggestions while maintaining the organization's voice and values.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true proficiency with AI-assisted job description optimization. Candidates may speak convincingly about their experience but struggle when faced with actual implementation. Work samples provide a window into how candidates approach real-world scenarios, revealing their thought processes, technical skills, and attention to detail.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate candidates' abilities to leverage AI tools for job description optimization across different contexts and challenges. These exercises assess not only technical proficiency but also critical thinking, bias awareness, and strategic implementation skills. By observing candidates complete these tasks, hiring managers can make more informed decisions about which individuals will truly excel at using AI to create job descriptions that attract the right talent.

Activity #1: Job Description Bias Identification and Correction

This activity evaluates a candidate's ability to identify problematic language in job descriptions and use AI tools to create more inclusive alternatives. Successful candidates will demonstrate awareness of how language can discourage diverse applicants and show skill in using AI to generate more inclusive alternatives while maintaining the essential requirements of the role.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a job description with several instances of biased or exclusionary language (e.g., gendered terms, unnecessary requirements, corporate jargon, age-biased phrases).
• Provide access to an AI tool the candidate can use (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, or your company's preferred AI platform).
• Allow 30-45 minutes for this exercise.
• Observe how the candidate identifies issues, crafts prompts, and evaluates AI suggestions.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided job description and identify language that might discourage diverse candidates or contain unnecessary barriers.
• Use the provided AI tool to help generate more inclusive alternatives.
• Create a revised version of the job description that maintains the essential requirements while being more inclusive and appealing.
• Prepare a brief explanation of the changes you made and why, including which AI suggestions you accepted, modified, or rejected.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After reviewing the candidate's work, provide feedback on one aspect they handled well (e.g., "You effectively identified and replaced the gendered language in the leadership section") and one area for improvement (e.g., "The technical requirements section still contains jargon that might discourage some qualified candidates").
• Ask the candidate to revise the section mentioned in the improvement feedback, explaining their approach as they work.

Activity #2: Prompt Engineering for Job Description Enhancement

This activity assesses the candidate's ability to craft effective prompts that guide AI tools to produce high-quality job description content. Strong candidates will demonstrate an understanding of prompt engineering principles and how to elicit the most useful AI-generated content for job descriptions.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a basic job description outline with minimal details for a common role in your organization.
• Provide access to an AI tool the candidate can use.
• Allow 30 minutes for this exercise.
• Have a list of specific elements you want to see in the enhanced job description (e.g., clear responsibilities, inclusive language, company culture elements).

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the basic job description outline provided.
• Create at least three different prompts designed to enhance different aspects of the job description using the AI tool.
• Document each prompt you use and explain your reasoning behind its construction.
• Compile the best AI-generated content into a cohesive, enhanced job description.
• Be prepared to discuss which prompts were most effective and why.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the effectiveness of one of the candidate's prompts, highlighting what worked well.
• Suggest an improvement for one prompt that could have yielded better results.
• Ask the candidate to revise that prompt and demonstrate how the improved prompt generates better content.

Activity #3: Strategic Implementation Planning for AI-Assisted Job Description Optimization

This activity evaluates a candidate's ability to plan the strategic implementation of AI-assisted job description optimization across an organization. It tests their understanding of change management, process design, and the practical challenges of integrating AI tools into existing workflows.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide a brief overview of your organization's current job description creation process.
• Include information about key stakeholders (e.g., hiring managers, HR team, legal) and any existing challenges.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for this exercise.
• Prepare questions about specific aspects of implementation that are important to your organization.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Create a strategic implementation plan for introducing AI-assisted job description optimization across the organization.
• Your plan should include:
• Phases of implementation with timeline estimates
• Required resources and tools
• Training and support strategies
• Process for quality control and human oversight
• Methods for measuring success and ROI
• Potential challenges and mitigation strategies
• Prepare a brief presentation (5-7 minutes) outlining your implementation plan.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one strength of the implementation plan (e.g., "Your phased approach with pilot testing shows good change management understanding").
• Suggest one area that needs more consideration (e.g., "The plan doesn't address how legal compliance will be maintained").
• Ask the candidate to expand on how they would address the area needing improvement.

Activity #4: Comparative Analysis of AI-Generated vs. Manual Job Descriptions

This activity tests a candidate's critical evaluation skills and their ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of AI-generated content compared to manually created job descriptions. It reveals their understanding of when and how to leverage AI most effectively in the job description creation process.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare three job descriptions for the same role:

1. A fully AI-generated description with minimal human editing
2. A manually created description by an experienced recruiter
3. A hybrid description that combines AI-generated content with significant human refinement

• Do not label which is which.
• Allow 45 minutes for this exercise.
• Prepare information about the role and company that would help evaluate the accuracy of the descriptions.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the three job descriptions provided.
• Analyze each description, identifying strengths and weaknesses in terms of:
• Accuracy in representing the role
• Clarity and organization
• Inclusivity and accessibility
• Compelling nature and candidate appeal
• Brand voice consistency
• Determine which description you believe is fully AI-generated, manually created, and a hybrid approach.
• Prepare a recommendation for which elements from each description should be incorporated into an ideal job description for this role.
• Explain how you would use AI to improve the weakest description.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Share feedback on the accuracy of the candidate's analysis and the quality of their recommendations.
• Highlight one insightful observation they made about the differences between AI and human-created content.
• Ask them to elaborate on how they would establish a process that leverages the strengths of both AI and human input for optimal job descriptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each activity requires 30-60 minutes to complete properly. We recommend selecting 1-2 activities most relevant to your needs rather than attempting all four in a single interview. The strategic implementation planning activity works well as a take-home assignment followed by a presentation, while the others can be conducted during an in-person or virtual interview.

What if we don't have access to specific AI tools for the candidate to use?

If your organization doesn't have enterprise AI tools, you can use publicly available options like ChatGPT or Claude for these exercises. Alternatively, you can modify the activities to focus on how candidates would use AI tools hypothetically, having them describe their approach and what prompts they would use rather than actually implementing them during the interview.

How should we evaluate candidates who have limited experience with AI but strong HR or recruiting backgrounds?

Focus on their learning agility and critical thinking. Candidates with strong HR backgrounds but limited AI experience may still perform well if they can demonstrate good judgment about the AI outputs and show curiosity and adaptability. Consider giving them a brief tutorial on the AI tool before beginning the exercise to level the playing field.

Should we share these work samples with candidates in advance?

For activities like the strategic implementation planning, providing advance notice allows candidates to prepare more thoughtful responses. For the bias identification and prompt engineering activities, it's better not to share details in advance, as you want to assess their real-time skills. You can, however, inform candidates that they'll be completing exercises related to AI-assisted job description optimization so they can mentally prepare.

How can we ensure these work samples don't disadvantage candidates from underrepresented groups?

Review your example job descriptions to ensure they don't contain industry-specific jargon that might advantage certain candidates. Provide clear instructions and equal access to resources. Consider having diverse team members review the activities and scoring criteria to identify potential biases. Remember that the goal is to assess skills, not prior exposure to specific tools or terminology.

What if a candidate suggests approaches we haven't considered?

This should be viewed positively! One benefit of these work samples is discovering innovative approaches. Evaluate whether their suggestions align with best practices and would achieve the desired outcomes, even if they differ from your current methods. Candidates who bring fresh perspectives may help advance your AI-assisted job description optimization efforts.

AI-assisted job description optimization is rapidly evolving, and finding candidates who can effectively leverage these tools will give your organization a competitive advantage in talent acquisition. These work samples provide a practical way to evaluate candidates' abilities beyond what traditional interviews can reveal. By implementing these exercises, you'll identify professionals who can not only use AI tools but also apply critical judgment to create job descriptions that attract diverse, qualified candidates.

For more resources on optimizing your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Descriptions tool, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator.

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