--- title: "The Raw Materials: Early-Career Hiring in the AI Era | CoderPad" description: "Kyle & Co and CoderPad surveyed 271 HR and TA leaders on early-career hiring in the AI era. Get the free report: six findings and six practical steps." canonical: "https://coderpad.io/raw-materials-report/" last_modified: "2026-11-02" --- New research Early-career hiring in the AI era # Hiring for potential: how the best teams find tomorrow’s talent AI can write a strong resume, cover letter or take-home in seconds, so it’s harder than ever to tell who can actually do the job. Kyle & Co and CoderPad surveyed 271 HR and TA leaders to find out what still works. You’ll learn - Which hiring methods still show real potential - The one practice that sets top employers apart - Why telling candidates your AI rules makes resumes useful again - Six steps to improve early-career hiring, easiest first ![Report cover: Early-Career Hiring in the AI Era, by Kyle & Co, sponsored by CoderPad](https://coderpad.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/raw-materials-report-cover.jpg) ## Get your free copy Instant access. Free PDF download HR & TA leaders surveyed 271 Seniority range Manager to CHRO Employees per company 50 to 50,000+ Talent leaders interviewed Lyft & Box By the numbers ## What 271 hiring leaders told us Employers know what makes a great early-career hire. Their hiring process hasn’t caught up. - ### Employers value judgment, but don’t screen for it. 87% value skill and judgment over AI fluency Rank in what they screen for 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 9 #1 Problem-solving #9 Judgment Of nine qualities employers screen early-career candidates for, judgment comes last. - ### Clear AI rules double the resume’s signal. 25% No guidance 54% Clear rules Share of employers who say the resume gives them “a lot” of signal. - ### Employers hire for potential, but screen with the past. 7 in 10 Screen with the resume 2 in 5 Get real signal More than half of what employers screen for is potential, yet the resume is the first tool they reach for. [Get the full data](#get-report) Every chart and breakdown is in the free report. > How do we hire for potential and slope? People who can adapt in a new environment and grow with it, and have agency to move and change quickly. Lyft Vivian Chen · Principal Recruiter > Almost everyone’s going to have a pretty high score on the take-home portion. The live interview is definitely the biggest indicator of how well they really do. Box Megan Yip · University Recruiting [See how Lyft and Box hire for potential](#get-report) What’s inside ## Six findings on early-career hiring What’s working, what isn’t, and what the employers getting the best early-career hires do differently. 1. 01 The fear ### The top AI worry hasn’t changed how teams hire Employers fear a workforce that can’t adapt to AI. They still screen the way they always have. 2. 02 Potential ### Hiring for the future with tools about the past Employers say they want potential, but most of their tools measure history. 3. 03 Early career ### Early-career is where process matters most With little work history to go on, quality of hire depends on how well your process tests what candidates can do. 4. 04 New skills ### Almost no one tests what’s new The two skills AI made newly important are the two employers assess least. 5. 05 AI rules ### Unclear AI rules, not AI, weakened the resume The cheapest fix in the report: tell candidates what AI use is allowed. 6. 06 Observation ### Employers who watch candidates work are ahead The more observed methods an employer uses, the more likely it is to rate itself ahead on quality of hire. Plus: the playbook Six practical steps to close the gap, easiest first. [Get the report + playbook](#get-report) About the research ## A research partnership between Kyle & Co and CoderPad ![Kyle & Co](https://coderpad.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kyle-and-co-logo-color.png) ×![CoderPad](https://coderpad.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/coderpad-logo-color.png) About Kyle & Co: A modern research and advisory firm helping HR and talent technology leaders make smarter decisions, faster. Method Survey + practitioner interviews Interviews conducted by Kyle & Co Seniority 3 in 5+ director level or above All involved in early-career hiring Data quality Screened responses Attention checks, fraud traps and plausibility checks Analysis Independent, by Kyle & Co Conclusions are Kyle & Co’s alone ## Hire for potential, with proof Six findings and a six-step playbook from 271 HR and TA leaders. [Get the free report](#get-report) Free · instant access