you want, based on past preferences. This is why we use AI to summarize job descriptions. We don’t use it to select candidates,” says Ryan Buxbaum, president of Next One Staffing in Santa Rosa. Next One Staffing helps recruit and screen candidates for over 100 North Bay employers, primarily in finance, accounting, architecture and Internet services. “Our own internally developed applicant tracking system (ATS) utilizes AI. But we don’t use an outside system. There are two new bills that California legislators are considering, Assembly Bill 1018 and Senate Bill 7. These would require more oversight and disclosure by employers about the use of AI systems in hiring,” says Buxbaum. If those bills and others pass, an externally developed ATS could suddenly be outdated. Then it would act in ways that violate state laws. “This is also why every applicant we are considering for a position gets interviewed by one of our staff members,” says Buxbaum. Aside from bills in the legislature, new regulations regarding the use of AI in hiring took effect on Oct. 1. These rules were promulgated by the California Civil Rights Council, a body that enforces employment-related state laws. The rules clarify that automated-decision systems (ADS) may violate California law if they harm applicants or employees based on protected characteristics like gender, race or disability. These regulations also state that automated-decision system assessments like tests or puzzle games that ask questions about a candidate’s disability can constitute an unlawful medical inquiry. Robert Half, a talent solutions and business consulting firm based in Menlo Park and San Ramon, places greater emphasis on behavioral interviews to uncover real world experience and soft skills. “In-person or live interviews are becoming more important to assess communication and critical thinking. We're also coaching hiring teams to look beyond polished resumes and dig deeper into a candidate’s actual qualifications,” says Megan Slabinski, district president for technology for the Bay Area, the Central Valley of California and the Pacific Northwest. Robert Half has seen an increase in candidates using AI tools to generate resumes and cover letters that closely mirror job descriptions. “While this can help with keyword optimization, it risks making applications feel generic or inflated. AI-generated materials can get candidates past initial screenings. They often fall short in interviews when the candidate can't speak to the content authentically,” says Slabinski. Slabinski says job seekers should use AI to polish materials rather than copy and paste content. Robert Half has seen issues with AI play out in real-time during virtual interviews. Candidates may type questions into ChatGPT to get “perfect” answers. “This can be spotted. It often leads to the interview being cut short,” says Slabinski. As an example of how a local employer uses AI, Kaiser Permanente of Northern California shared with NorthBay biz that it does not use AI to screen candidates or their
Ryan Buxbaum, president of Next One Staffing in Santa Rosa.
submissions. It also does not use AI to connect directly with candidates. The company uses AI for tasks like generating outreach messages. It also applies machine learning to recruitment advertising. Kaiser Permanente added it does not use AI to make decisions about job candidates. It has no current plans to use AI for this purpose. Examining how SSU sees AI SSU’s Career Center has three career advisors to assist approximately 5,000 current students and alumni within their first year, post-graduation. “This is why we teach job seekers to be their own career advisors. Once they understand how to use the AI-powered tools we have, like Jobscan’s AI resume scanner, they are better prepared to work on their own and with us,” says Torres. Dr. Sarah Ellison is associate vice president for Student Affairs at Sonoma State University. Her office oversees the Career Center. Ellison says advisors explain to students how they can adapt their application materials to applicant tracking systems. “Job seekers want to avoid terms that will get them ignored or kicked out of AI-powered systems. Some employers also use AI-assisted video interviews,” says Ellison. This means employers use an AI tool to generate questions and grade responses. “We help job seekers with this by having them practice
November 2025
NorthBaybiz 33
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