Hiring for potential and trusting intuition

Spotlight is our series on the people shaping the future of hiring and talent. We ask them how they work, what they believe, and where AI actually helps.

This time we spoke with Ruby Carrillo, who has spent more than twenty years in staffing and recruiting.

Her expertise runs deep in government contracting, compliance, and building remote operations. She ran the branch at POGO: Personnel On The Go for nearly fourteen years, recruiting nationwide for military and government clients under strict federal requirements. At Partners Personnel she now leads a national task force that launches client accounts, builds candidate pipelines, and scales hiring operations across the country.

What is a hiring belief you hold that most people would challenge?

I believe in hiring for potential and trusting intuition, even when others might focus only on red flags or traditional qualifications.

Industries evolve. Generations evolve. Technology evolves. I think it's important to bridge traditional experience with new ways of learning and thinking. Some of the best candidates don't check every box on paper, but they have the capacity to grow, adapt, and rise to the opportunity.

I also believe challenges are opportunities. Not everything will work perfectly, but trying, learning, and holding ourselves accountable is how we grow. Playing it safe rarely creates impact.

What's the best candidate experience you've ever seen or created?

One experience that has always stayed with me was early in my career. I met a gentleman who was struggling to get hired and was close to losing everything. Many people saw red flags. I saw potential.

I trusted my intuition and gave him a chance. He became a star employee, was hired permanently, and over the years continued to grow. When he needed work again, he came back to us. Eventually his family trusted us with their employment as well. That reminded me how powerful it is to truly see someone beyond their résumé. But the best candidate experience is not just one story. It's how you consistently show up. For me, it means treating people with dignity, being honest and respectful, and making sure they feel heard, whether they get the job or not.

When staffing is truly made personal, it doesn't just fill positions. It changes lives.

What concerns you most about using AI in hiring?

My biggest concern is that AI could start to replace the human connection instead of supporting it. AI should be a tool that helps us work smarter and more efficiently, not something that takes over the heart of what we do. Hiring is about people. It's about conversation, intuition, discernment, and understanding context that a system cannot always fully capture. If we rely too heavily on automation, we risk losing authenticity and the emotional intelligence that makes this work meaningful.

AI should enhance our ability to serve people, not replace the human element. At the end of the day, staffing is about trust, and trust is built person to person.