ACM CareerNews for Wednesday, November 6, 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 21, November 6, 2024
How Do Job Candidates Choose Between Organizations?
HR Dive, October 28
Among employees hired in the past year, 2 out of 3 had an exceptional or very good candidate experience with their current employer, according to a new Gallup report. The most important part of the hiring process may be interviews. Nearly one-half (44%) of workers surveyed said the interviews they had with the people who hired them had the most influence on their decision to accept the job offer. As a result, companies in search of the best candidates should look for ways to improve their job interviewing process.
Candidates are constantly evaluating the culture of a company throughout the hiring process, and interviews are a key way for potential employees to do that. But interviews can be difficult to get right, and HR may need to invest time in training hiring managers on how to interview well. Hiring managers may stumble into problematic questions, and so it is better to ask candidates about their skills. They also like to be asked what they think would make them a good candidate for a job and what they liked most about their last job. Questions with negative framing (such as about dislikes from a previous job) are not viewed as favorably.
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Using Generative AI For Interview Prep
Dice Insights, October 31
Whether you are a job candidate, a hiring manager, or a recruiter, generative AI is fundamentally changing how people are hired. Many companies already use AI-powered tools to screen resumes and cover letters, identifying candidates who best match specific job requirements. Now candidates are starting to use AI-powered tools to develop interview questions and then refine their answers. As a result, generative AI can help to simplify and streamline the process of preparing for job interviews.
AI-powered chatbots can conduct initial interviews, asking pre-programmed questions to assess basic qualifications and communication skills. In addition, AI can analyze video interviews to assess nonverbal cues, such as body language and tone of voice. If you have submitted a resume anywhere in the past several years, chances are very good it was initially screened by automated software designed to sort candidates based on their education and skills. When applying for any job, it is critical to incorporate all the skills mentioned in the job posting that you have mastered into your resume. Those skills are often used as keywords for automated resume scanners. As a job candidate, you can use generative AI to help prepare the written parts of your application, such as the resume and cover letter.
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Expert Tips For Using LinkedIn to Land Your First Job
Fast Company, November 2
For recent graduates entering a tough job market, LinkedIn is more essential than ever. Beyond being just a job board, LinkedIn allows you to grow your network, establish a personal brand, and strengthen your applications. With 87% of recruiters using LinkedIn to source and vet candidates, having an optimized profile as you enter the workforce is critical. By making changes to your online profile and taking advantage of potential networking opportunities, you can make your LinkedIn presence and experience work for you.
Your LinkedIn profile is the first impression you will make with potential employers. Thus, having a strong profile is essential. Start with a powerful headline. This field, located right below your name, should include the job title you are seeking and key skills that recruiters will be searching for. By including specific skills and roles, you are more likely to appear in recruiter searches for those terms. If you are unsure how to word your profile, look around for inspiration. Go to the LinkedIn profiles of others, see how they have it worded, and see what their career progression is. In your headline and summary, focus on skills you want to apply in your first job. Even if you are not 100% clear on the job or industry, people often know what they are good at or what they want to do more of. Next, as you fill the About and Experience sections with your previous roles and interests, keep the social aspect of LinkedIn in mind. When hiring, employers are asking themselves whether they would want to work with certain people.
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Landing a Tech Job Is Tough: Here Is How to Beat the Challenges
Computerworld, November 1
Even with the U,S. economy doing well by most measures, technology job seekers often find it difficult to get hired. The unemployment rate remains at near historic lows, but corporate layoffs have continued in earnest and some traditional IT skills are often no longer in demand. Online hiring platform Indeed recently found that tech jobs including software development remain 30% below 2020 levels, and that 79% tech workers feel pressure to boost their skill sets because of the rise of generative AI. This year, nearly 1 in every 3 tech workers say they are actively looking for work, up 11% from 2023.
Job data over the past two years has been mixed. For example, 260,000 tech workers were laid off in 2023, with another 142,000 in 2024. At the same time, U.S. unemployment data is now showing unexpected growth overall for tech job listings and hiring activity, along with a marked shift in the kind of workers organizations need. While the labor market overall is performing well and unemployment is low, some sectors are doing much better than others. IT and tech-related sectors expanded during the post-pandemic boom, with job postings in software development reaching well above pre-pandemic levels. Some of the decline in hiring now could be a correction to that rapid expansion. These sectors are also pretty costly to hire in, both in terms of time and money, so employers could be more cautious in expanding their employee base, favoring a wait-and-see approach while the labor market settles.
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Despite Improved Workplace Culture Tech Workers Still Eye the Door
CIO Dive, October 18
Technology hardware and software workers are the most likely group to recommend their employers across sectors. Yet, many still plan to quit their jobs in the next year. Company culture has improved year over year, according to 73% of tech workers. Just 7% believe workplace culture has degraded in the same timeframe. Despite the positive signs, technology workers had some of the highest quitting intent across sectors.
Technology leaders have long grappled with improving workplace culture, a powerful tool to retain employees and support their professional development. To better understand the state of workplace health for different sectors, EY produced an index based on three key categories: culture, development and rewards. Workers in the technology hardware and software sector topped the ranking among the other sectors, scoring 68 out of 100, well above the average of 55. The disconnect between the positive perception of the sector and the higher likelihood of quitting can be attributed, in part, to a shift in mindset among younger generations that are more open to switching jobs. But another component is the dearth of high-demand talent in some technology categories.
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How One-Click Job Listings Overtook the Process and Slowed Down Tech Hiring
Technical.ly, October 7
The experience of looking for a tech job right now is objectively different than it was just a few years ago. While there are various potential explanations, two key factors stand out: the rise of remote work and the ease and simplicity of sending off job applications with just a single click. As a result, companies are overwhelmed with submitted applications. As a way of sorting through all these applications, they are emphasizing their demand for narrow and deeply technical skills, especially those related to AI, which is slowing down the rate of tech hiring.
The popularity of remote work continues to flood the market with applicants, leading some to think that we may have reached an inflection point with IT employment. Quite simply, there has been a fundamental change in the way people look for work and apply to potential job openings. An example of this is the seemingly changing utility of LinkedIn as a discovery service and matching marketplace for labor and employers. To continuously improve the quality of its offering, LinkedIn has worked to reduce friction for those who wish to offer jobs in their marketplace, and those who wish to apply for them. To a very great extent, it has succeeded, thanks to one-click job listings.
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What Are Ghost Jobs and How Can You Avoid Them?
Tech.co, October 31
According to a recent survey, 40% of companies posted fake job listings in 2024, with a further 30% currently advertising roles that do not exist. As a result, you could be wasting time trying to create the perfect resume for a role that is not real. With that in mind, it is important to understand what ghost jobs are, why companies post them, and how to avoid wasting precious hours on applying to them.
Like the name suggests, a ghost job is a job that a company advertises that does not actually exist. And these ghost jobs are on the rise, with a Resume Builder survey revealing that as many as 40% of companies have posted a ghost listing this year. This is backed up by research, which finds that 32% of surveyed respondents are frustrated with ghost jobs. Generation X, in particular, regard this trend as their top job search frustration. Just keep in mind that ghost jobs are actually not scams. They are from real companies, but they are openings that do not actually exist. The tech industry, which has experienced its fair share of shocks and scares in recent years, is a full-on ghost town, with dozens of fake job listings plaguing the likes of Indeed and LinkedIn. To make matters worse, recruiters are in on the act too, with 81% of them confessing to posting positions for fake or filled roles this year.
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Navigating Career Shifts in a Cloud-First World
Hackernoon, September 10
Network engineers, who once had their pick of potential job opportunities in the tech sector, are now looking to apply their networking expertise to cloud computing roles. Given the recent trend of layoffs in the tech sector, this phenomenon is becoming increasingly more frequent. As a result, network engineers must be aware of how the job hunt is fundamentally changing and adapting for a cloud-first world. This often requires making fixes to the resume, preparing a new set of responses for interview questions, and altering online profiles.
Networking expertise is no longer as in demand as it once was. Instead, employees are looking for cloud computing expertise. This is leading to a hiring conundrum for companies. Often, they need network engineers on their team, but they are not hiring them. At the same time, highly-qualified network engineers are having a harder time finding employment, despite their qualifications. In fact, some job postings no longer refer to network engineers. Often, this experience gets lumped into other job roles. That being said, companies still realize the importance of network engineering. And tech workers with a background in traditional networking can still have an advantage when applying for cloud-centric roles. There are many skills and experiences they can take to a cloud-native company, who will value what you are bringing to the table if you talk about it a little bit differently.
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AI in Education: A Call for Researchers to Engage with Policy
Blog@CACM, October 29
In October 2023, a new presidential executive order (EO) called for safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). This order marks a milestone for education, because for the first time, it called upon the U.S. Department of Education to develop policy around AI for the education system. It is unusual for the U.S. Government to call for policy about technology specifically in education. Going forward, look for more researchers to become involved in understanding the impact of AI on education.
AI in education has a 50-year history in research, but the research has often been overlooked by policymakers, educators, and the public. That changed with the release of ChatGPT, and everyone soon became aware that AI would impact education. Right now, there is significant talk of disrupting education without good insight into what education should become. When talking with researchers, practitioners, and experts, it is clear that neither fear nor excitement dominates the discussion. In fact, people have rich perspectives on the risks and opportunities that could arise. The next step for researchers is to synthesize the extensive prior research about AI in education, and then determine all the ways it could help a wide variety of constituents to make good decisions.
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Understanding the Role Models That Inspire Women to Study Computing Science
ACM-W Connections, September 2024
As the tech industry continues to grapple with a gender imbalance, understanding how to inspire and support the next generation of female computer scientists is crucial. A new study of 135 female computer science students may help to shed light on the matter. It asked survey respondents what they find most inspiring about role models in the industry. The results reveal that while competence and success are important, the personal qualities of role models play an equally significant role in their effectiveness.
Many interviewees emphasized the importance of having role models with whom they could interact directly. Whether it was a teacher, a colleague, or a family member, the ability to ask questions and receive personalized guidance was highly valued. Competence is key, but it is not everything. While students admired role models who were skilled in their field, they also stressed that being approachable and willing to help were just as important. Shared experiences also help to create stronger bonds. Many interviewees found it easier to relate to role models who shared similar backgrounds or experiences. This did not always mean gender, as some found common ground in being from the same area or having similar learning experiences. Effective role models showed students that success was within reach. By sharing their own journeys and challenges, they made the path to a career in computer science feel more achievable.
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