ACM CareerNews for Tuesday, December 3, 2024
ACM CareerNews is intended as an objective career news digest for busy IT professionals. Views expressed are not necessarily those of ACM. To send comments, please write to [email protected]
Volume 20, Issue 23, December 3, 2024
AI Will Factor Heavily in Talent Trends For 2025
HR Dive, November 22
Many large companies have adopted or are piloting generative artificial intelligence in the workplace, signaling the continued importance of the AI trend headed into 2025. As a new ADP report points out, AI figures heavily into the top workplace trends for the year ahead. ADP cited data from a McKinsey report showing that 57 percent of employers aimed to close skills gaps by learning new skills related to generative AI. While most workers surveyed believed AI would affect their jobs over the next two to three years, employers are concerned about laws or regulations _targeting their own use of AI, particularly in hiring.
Over the past year, integration of AI into the workplace has become a major trend. For example, companies have launched AI-powered hiring assistants that can source candidates and ask screening questions. Large employers have been especially active in introducing automated recruiting practices of late. But there are some signs that the AI boom has slowed somewhat, particularly among workers. Heading into 2025, AI adoption rates among workers now appear to be growing at a significantly lower rate compared to 2023. That may be in part due to worker confusion about when and how to use AI during their day-to-day duties. Similarly, there is evidence of an age gap between workers over the value of AI.
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Which Tech Hubs Offer the Most Jobs?
Dice Insights, November 20
While many technology companies once clustered in Seattle, Silicon Valley, and New York, that situation is changing, with tech hubs springing up across the country. But not all tech hubs are created the same. Some leverage local industries such as government or healthcare, while others have taken advantage of migration from other tech hubs. Cities in Texas, for instance, have enjoyed an influx of tech professionals from California throughout the 2020s. Currently, Washington D.C., New York, Dallas, and Atlanta rank among the top metro areas for tech job postings.
Regardless of geographic location, there are three key strategies tech professionals can employ to make the most of current market trends. First and foremost, they should stay informed and adaptable. Job demand fluctuates, as shown in the month-over-month changes in tech job postings across cities. Workers should keep up with industry trends and regional demands to align their skills accordingly. They should also think about investing in certifications and specialized training. Certifications in cybersecurity, cloud computing, or data analytics are often valued by employers. Networking can be as important as your technical skills. Attend meetups, conferences, or industry events in your city to connect with potential employers and colleagues.
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How to Use LinkedIn to Search For a Job
Tech.co, November 20
Whether you are a recent grad or a seasoned professional, LinkedIn can help you find new jobs while also pointing recruiters in your direction. For that to happen, though, you will need a standout LinkedIn profile. A LinkedIn profile with outcome-centered experience descriptions, skill labels, and a high-resolution photo helps you appear in more search results and attract the attention of job posters. Once your profile is updated, you can use LinkedIn to search for a job. You can also use it to share messages, make connection requests, and create posts.
Before starting your job hunt on LinkedIn, refine your profile from top to bottom. At the top of your profile, opt for a high-resolution photo that shows your face and conveys your personality. In your headline, state what you do or would like to do. Here, experienced professionals can list their specialization, former employer, or current job title. Job seekers should also turn on the Open to Work label on the blue ribbon below their profile headline. You can make it visible to all LinkedIn members or invisible (seen only by recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter). In the About section, summarize your work experience, skills, and what you are aiming for next. In the Experience section, add relevant jobs and company names with bullet points for top achievements. Then add several relevant skills, such as leadership or software development, to each experience.
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How to Figure Out Your Next Career Move If You Want to Quit Your Job
Fast Company, November 20
Job seekers can boost their chances for success by taking a page out of the playbook of product designers, who build prototypes to test their early ideas. This approach will enable you to experiment with multiple career mock-ups that you can change easily, based on which role you are applying to, and which companies you are _targeting. As you mock up an array of potential futures, these should range from roles you hope exist somewhere out there to those you are actively considering to novel paths you do not know much about.
To get started, imagine scenarios in which you would have the same role, but at a different company. Then, consider a promotion within your company; a role in a new function; a role in companies of varying sizes; a role in a new industry; and a role you have always thought could be interesting but have never explored. To help build out each prototype, you can use a worksheet. To check how accurate your prototypes are, you can line up informational interviews with people in jobs like the ones you have mocked up. Start by tapping your existing connections. Reach out to mentors and others in your professional and social networks to see if they know people who hold roles like those you have prototyped. You can also search LinkedIn to find individuals who hold these roles. Having identified people you want to talk to, you will ideally ask a shared contact to introduce you, which increases the likelihood that the person you want to talk to will agree to a conversation.
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How AI Could Break the Career Ladder
Bloomberg, November 15
In sectors highly exposed to generative AI, the entry-level job may eventually disappear. Theoretically, generative AI will enable organizations to hire fewer junior employees, simply because the technology is now capable of many of the routine tasks that characterized these jobs. AI could therefore sever the career ladder of industries, forcing many junior employees to look elsewhere for work. At the same time, automating entry-level work could transform the economics and the cultures of those professions.
In 2023, researchers at OpenAI published an analysis of the ability of ChatGPT to perform thousands of tasks that comprise more than 1,000 occupations defined by the U.S. Department of Labor. This data is a good starting point for analyzing how generative AI could affect labor markets. One clear trend in the data is that the tasks involved in entry-level knowledge jobs are much easier to automate than the ones done by their supervisors. For instance, the percentage of tasks that are at high risk of automation is five times higher for a market research analyst (53%) than a marketing manager (9%), and three times higher for a sales representative (67%) compared with a sales manager (21%). This is important to keep in mind, since coding is a career that is rapidly adopting generative AI, with immediate implications for entry-level workers. Sixty-two percent of software developers already use AI in their development process, according to a survey by Stack Overflow.
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6 in 10 Employees Want a New Job in 2025
Inc.com, October 30
It may be more difficult finding a job right now, but that is not stopping workers from searching for new roles. According to a recent survey, 56 percent of full-time employees in the U.S. want a new job in 2025, and 27 percent have already started searching. One in three plan to quit their current job next year even if they do not have a new one lined up. When asked about quitting their jobs, the survey respondents cited reasons such as low pay, feeling undervalued, burnout, and limited growth opportunities in their current role.
With many employers offering only minimal cost-of-living increases or eliminating raises entirely, it is perhaps not surprising many people feel under-compensated. Moreover, there is often a disconnect between employees and managers. Too much focus on the bottom line can lead to less focus on the needs of employees. As a result, employees are increasingly feeling under-appreciated. Despite the current job market, employees are overwhelmingly positive about their future job prospects. About 8 in 10 feel confident they will find a better job. Notably, a majority of job seekers (52 percent) are considering switching industries. Those in retail, government, hospitality, and manufacturing are most likely to consider changing fields, with health care, finance, and tech often cited as preferred industries.
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No One Knows That You Are Great At What You Do
Hackernoon, November 22
Even if you work hard and put your best into every project, you may not get the career recognition that you deserve. At the same time, your peers may be getting recognition for their work, leaving you to struggle to understand why that is not you instead. Thus, it is more important than ever to ensure that your work and expertise are recognizable and visible. Even if you are not good at blowing your own horn and getting recognition for your work, there are 5 low-key ways to get recognition and visibility for your work as a tech professional.
In order to advance your career, you will need to find potential sponsors. A sponsor is ideally someone ahead of you in their career, someone who cares about your development, and someone willing to mention your name or vouch for you when it comes to potential promotions or role changes. When promotions are being discussed in your organization or when venture capitalists are trying to decide if they should invest in your start-up or not, they will ask about you. Having sponsors or supporters who can vouch for you in these situations is very important. Look around your organization or industry, identify people who fit this description, tell them about your career goals, and ask for their support. In most cases, they will agree to support you, and this can be a game-changer for your career.
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Hiring Platforms Are Making It Harder to Find a Job
CNBC, November 19
Current hiring tools, including those that leverage artificial intelligence, might not be all that effective in actually getting people hired. According to some industry professionals, the integration of AI into modern hiring practices is not working. In fact, by enabling practices such as mass-applying to jobs, AI might actually be making things worse. At the same time, businesses are using AI-based hiring tools to post more job openings, even if they are not actively hiring, or to automate the hiring process using AI screening tools.
Mass-applying to jobs has become the norm. AI tools like ChatGPT make it easier for candidates to write resumes and cover letters to apply to more jobs in less time. However, it can lead people to apply for jobs they are not actually suited for, and then it creates more competition for the roles out there. Candidates are feeling like they are in an arms race with each other around how many jobs they apply to, with many sending off hundreds of different resumes. All of this is just creating more and more anxiety and angst. Well-intentioned efforts to make the application process easier on candidates, such as one-click apply options and instant notifications about openings, may encourage and enable this behavior. In previous years, only highly competitive companies received significantly more applicants than openings. Now, that is happening nearly everywhere.
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Computational Thinking: The Idea That Lived
Blog@CACM, November 1
Computational thinking remains relevant in an age when large language models (LLMs) generate code and questions are being asked about how much coding students need to learn. Certainly, AI is changing coding and computer science education. Going forward, students will need to engage with generative AI tools and nearly all of these involve computational thinking. That means understanding how to think systematically and break a problem down into different component parts. While the way coding is taught may change, it will not change the need to be able to think systematically.
Programming requires being able to describe a problem to a computer so that it will be able to execute. In the process, it clarifies for us our own thinking, our own problem solving, and our own decomposition of problems. As a result, computational thinking (CT) skills like problem formulation, decomposition, debugging, understanding how inputs map to outputs, and integrating solutions will only become more valuable in the future. In short, computational thinking remains relevant and a key metacognitive skill in an age of programming with generative AI.
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The 5th Paradigm: AI-Driven Scientific Discovery
Communications of the ACM, November 15
Computing and AI are now at the forefront of scientific discovery. Nobel Prize winners in disciplines such as physics, chemistry, and biology are now using computing and AI to push the boundary of what is possible. At the same time, researchers and professionals are becoming more aware of the interdisciplinary nature of computing, which is making these breakthroughs possible. In fact, we may be entering a new era in which AI-driven science is the new paradigm.
Taking a big picture view, there have been several previous paradigms for scientific discovery. The first was the paradigm of empirical and experimental science, which lasted for millennia. Next was a theoretical model of science, which lasted for centuries. Then, computational science and data-driven science took over, lasting for several decades. Now, the 5th paradigm has emerged: AI-driven science. It is not just the speed at which AI generates and analyzes data. Even more valuable are the correlations (and sometimes the causations) that AI identifies that far exceed the reach of conventional research. Computing and AI are transforming our scientific discovery processes. Science represents an amazingly exciting frontier for AI, and AI represents the most exciting new instruments in the hands of scientists. The recent Nobel Prizes also highlight the importance of interdisciplinary thinking between computing and other fields.
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