Stop screening for AI experience- It doesn’t exist!

Stop screening for AI experience. In 2026, almost nobody actually has it yet!

I keep seeing hands-on AI experience climb toward the top of job descriptions for senior NetSuite and Dynamics roles, and I understand the instinct. But I push back on it, and I think the reason matters for anyone hiring in our space this year.

Here is the problem. Genuine, professional AI deployment experience barely exists yet. The technology is too new for anyone to have years of real production depth behind them. If you try to screen hard for AI depth, you will soon find your talent pool shrinking to virtually nothing.

This week, the market started to wobble on AI spending; semiconductor stocks took a hit as investors questioned whether the returns are showing up. In the ERP world, the reality is that AI doesn’t deploy itself. Even with a strong platform and finance background, someone still needs to map it to your revenue recognition, security model, and chart of accounts. Without that person, it is simply a demo.

So here is the basic truth I keep coming back to. AI fluency is easily learnable. In reality, any sharp, curious professional can get genuinely conversant in months.
Conversely, the accumulated NetSuite and Dynamics judgment, the finance and accounting depth, and the scar tissue from a dozen implementations take a decade and cannot be shortcut.

My advice to clients is consistent: make your must-haves the depth that takes ten years to earn and treat genuine AI curiosity as the tiebreaker among otherwise strong finalists, not the gate they have to clear first.

You can teach this new tool, but not years of experience and the wisdom that comes from it.

How are you weighing this on your own roles right now?

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We track every new Microsoft Dynamics 365 and NetSuite job posting across North America, every single day, and October gave us the clearest read yet on where this market is actually heading. The short version is that ERP hiring cooled about 11% from September. That headline is true, and it is also misleading. Almost the entire drop sits in the Dynamics implementation tracks, while NetSuite held flat and demand for senior, in-house talent stayed strong. Whether this market feels soft or busy right now depends entirely on which role you are trying to fill. I pulled the full track by track breakdown into this month’s DynamicsFocus Recruiting Report, and it is attached below. If you have a role that has been sitting open since the summer, I would genuinely love to hear what you have tried so far and am more than happy to schedule a 30 minute Teams call to share potential strategies to rectify the situation, no strings attached. #MicrosoftDynamics #D365 #Dynamics365 #NetSuite #ERP #NetSuiteRecruiting #MicrosoftDynamicsRecruiting #TalentMarket #Hiring #AIAgents

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