One talent acquisition leader on what happens when candidates and employers both lean on AI to find each other
Candidates are using AI to mirror their résumés to job descriptions. Employers are using it to screen and assess those same applications. For recruiters, that leaves a tougher question than whether someone looks qualified on paper.
Sabrin Lila, director of talent acquisition at Hydro One in Ontario, is facing that question at a utility in a growth phase. She leads recruitment for roles from apprentices and new graduates to senior leaders, and she spoke with HRD Canada at HRFest Canada 2026 in Toronto.
"It's a unique challenge that we're in, in terms of trying to really understand who's the real candidate and really learn about that person and their experience," Lila said.
Looking past the AI answer
Lila said both sides of the hiring process now rely on the technology.
"I think there's a unique thing happening in the market where both sides are using AI, right?" she said. "So you've got the candidate experience where the candidate is trying to look at the job description and look at the role and try to mirror their resume to look perfect."
On the other side, employers are using it to help make informed choices about who that person is. That's pushing talent acquisition to think about going back to basics, she said.
Lila called it an interesting time to be in talent acquisition, and one that has her asking what the real conversation with a candidate should look like.
"Really asking them things about their resume and what they've done from an experience perspective, and trying to peel the layer back beyond the AI answer," she said. "Who's this real person in front of us?"
All of that raises the question of whether AI is making the job easier or harder.
"Probably a little bit of both," she said. "It's complicated."
Employers elsewhere describe a similar tension, with 61 per cent of HR leaders in a Robert Half survey saying reviewing AI-generated applications has slowed hiring. Explaining how AI scores candidates is a concern, too, with one Canadian talent leader telling HRD Canada why hiring teams must be able to explain how AI scores candidates.
Hiring at volume in a growth phase
Hydro One's hiring volume is tied to its growth. Lila said the utility shares a five-year build and growth plan with the public, and the resourcing plan that comes with it means a lot of new roles over the next few years. They range from powerline technicians and electricians to system operations, digital and technology, and corporate positions.
"We have quite a bit of volume that we're managing for the organization," she said. "A lot of people looking to recruit unique and specialized skills, and so we're trying to think through and help the organization think about what do we build versus what do we buy in terms of our talent strategy."
About half of Hydro One's recruitment is internal movement, Lila said, alongside many mid-career hires from outside the organization. She called the internal talent mobility amazing to see. Specialized skills are a moving target, with employers surveyed for the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 expecting 39 per cent of workers' core skills to change by 2030.
Lila described the utility space as growth-minded and focused on using technology to make smart choices. Employers' use of AI to filter surging applications appears to be a response to volume, HRD Canada has reported, with 73 per cent of employers using AI in hiring decisions in a MyPerfectResume report. Across Canadian business more broadly, Statistics Canada reported that 19.2 per cent of businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services in the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.2 per cent a year earlier.
Watching AI trends into 2027
Asked which HR trend she's watching heading into 2027, Lila pointed first to AI.
"I think everyone's watching AI trends for sure," she said.
At HRFest Canada, she's been hearing from vendors, attending sessions and catching up with old friends and colleagues from different parts of her career.
"Hearing from vendors has been really nice to see what they've got on offer and also some of the sessions," Lila said. "Kind of nice to hear similar challenges in different industries."
Her conversations at the festival have her looking ahead to next year's festival.
"It would be great to return and come back and hear what's changed in a year," she said.
If you are not in Toronto today
Full coverage of the day's key sessions will be published on the HRD Canada website. Follow @HRD_Canada on LinkedIn for live updates throughout the afternoon.
