How will AI know from a resume that a person is personable?

On Oct. 29, 2024, I received an email from our very own Supply Chain Management Review with a [Must Read] tag.  So, I read it, and I’m glad that I did.  The email title was “The 2025 Skills Report for Supply Chain and Procurement” and it offered a download by Skills Dynamics of their Skills Report 2025. 

The report breaks down the survey respondent companies (I won’t repeat the statistics here) and responder’s backgrounds such as education and certification. What worries these responding professionals the most is also highlighted. Based on the content, this is not the first year that Skills Dynamics has produced this report.

While there are very insightful statistics throughout the report, the ones that stood out to me the most were in the Key Trends section. 

• For the question “What, if any, skills do you look for in new/prospective procurement professionals,” the top requirement named by 62% of the respondents was interpersonal skills.
• For the question “What, if any, skills do you look for in a supply chain team member,” the top requirement named by 75% of the respondents was interpersonal skills.
• For the question “What, if any, skills do you feel are important to your role,” the top answer was interpersonal skills.

Why this top-answer trend resonated with me is because as AI becomes so ingrained and integrated into the resume scanning and qualification process, I have to wonder how AI will ascertain from a resume whether a person has interpersonal skills, allowing that resume to move on to the next step in the hiring process.

On my own resume, I call out under a “soft skills” section title that I have an extrovert personality and a spontaneous sense of humor. I note that I am a U.S. and international speaker and writer, plus an author of supply chain books. Will an objective AI put all this together and judge that I’m probably a personable person? Do these accomplishments translate to an AI that I’ll be a good fit for a procurement or supply chain role?  

With interpersonal skills such a critical skill for procurement and supply chain roles, it is incumbent upon hiring companies to ensure that their staffing process does not sacrifice quality for efficiency.  This includes the outsourcing of the staffing to third-party companies that lacks the full understanding of the role they are sourcing for.  Interpersonal skills cannot be merely a Ctrl‑F find on a resume; they have to be discovered via a thoughtful review and, oftentimes, discussion. 

If companies apply the same due diligence and process quality to the sourcing of their procurement and supply chain professionals as they do to their suppliers and vendors, they will be assured of acquiring the best talent with the right interpersonal skills to integrate to their organization and engage with their supply chain partners. People matter the most. Don’t shortcut this most critical supply chain process.

To download your own copy of the Skills Dynamics Skills Report 2025, go to: https://skilldynamics.com/skills-report-2025-supply-chain-and-procurement-trends/

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