ACM CareerNews for Tuesday, February 4, 2025

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 21, Issue 3, February 4, 2025

The surge in adoption of artificial intelligence tools and services has created a strong job market for those with AI skills. In just a few years, AI has transitioned from a niche area of research to a critical driver of economic growth and technological advancement. The global AI market is projected to experience exponential growth in the coming years, driven by factors such as increased adoption of cloud computing, the rise of big data, and advancements in machine learning algorithms. In addition, AI will continue to permeate virtually every sector of the economy.

In some of the most important sectors of the economy, AI is already having a significant impact. Within the healthcare sector, for example, AI is revolutionizing diagnostics, drug discovery, and personalized medicine through technologies like image recognition for disease detection and the development of AI-powered prosthetics. In the finance sector, AI is transforming financial services through applications such as fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and personalized financial advice. Within the manufacturing sector, AI-powered robotics and automation are streamlining production processes, improving efficiency, and enhancing product quality.

Click Here to View Full Article

Employers Face Skills Mismatch Between Job Seekers and Company Needs
CIO Dive, January 17

In 2025, more people may be looking for a job, but their qualifications may not be matching the needs of companies looking to hire them. According to a new LinkedIn report, nearly 40% of job seekers are applying to more jobs than ever but hearing back less often. Meanwhile, almost three-quarters (73%) of HR professionals report that less than half of the applications they receive meet all their listed criteria. The result is a skills mismatch between professionals and organizations that exists because skills and jobs are changing so quickly.

Going forward, HR leaders will be in a position to lead the charge on upskilling and reskilling. And this could be the key to finding more applicants with the right qualifications. Right now, many applicants may not meet every single job requirement. However, they can still be an excellent fit for a role, especially if given the opportunity to build their skills once they are in the role. Aside from external hiring, HR leaders can also help their companies build skills from within. This may help to address another HR problem. Although hiring managers are receiving a flood of applications, they are struggling to keep top performers. Employees want to grow in their roles, and that is a key factor motivating them to stay. Internal mobility presents a win-win situation, as it boosts employee satisfaction and helps companies retain valuable skills and knowledge.

Click Here to View Full Article

Watch Your Step and Other Tips For a STEM Career Pivot
Silicon Republic, January 29

Choosing to pivot into a STEM career when that is not your background can be daunting. However, by empowering yourself with information and a positive outlook, you can make your dream career a reality. Once you have researched the STEM career you would like to pivot towards, it is important that you make note of the mandatory and compulsory skills that the role requires. There are thousands of available cost-effective online courses that can give people the basics in a range of STEM subjects, without the need for a costly or time-consuming qualification.

Right now, the most popular STEM career pivots are in fields such as AI and machine learning. The good news is that many online courses in these areas are free or charge a nominal amount, can be accomplished in your own time, come with a certificate to acknowledge your achievement and can open you up to a supportive and engaging network of like-minded professionals. Ideally, before you leave your current position, you can upskill in your available time, so when you do leave, you will have the necessary qualifications to immediately apply for roles in your chosen field.

Click Here to View Full Article

The Job Search Is Taking Longer Than It Used To
Fast Company, January 7

For people who have been laid off or are otherwise unemployed, navigating the current job market is becoming increasingly more challenging. According to the latest data, a significant number of people in the U.S. who are unemployed have been looking for a new job for at least six months. Over the past two years, the share of people job hunting for six months or longer has increased by more than 50%.

It now takes job seekers an average of six months to find a new position, which is approximately one month longer than was typical when hiring was at its peak in early 2023. As of December 2024, 1.8 million people were continuing to file for recurring unemployment benefits. This shift has been particularly noticeable in office jobs, especially across sectors like tech and media, where workers have been subjected to layoffs in recent years. While fewer tech workers were laid off in 2024 than the year prior, more than 150,000 people were still affected by job cuts. The slower rate of hiring of unemployed workers is not necessarily reflected in the overall unemployment rate, which has remained relatively low at 4.2% despite inching up slightly in 2024. Hiring is still robust in sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation.

Click Here to View Full Article

Should Workers Worry About AI Replacing Jobs?
USA Today, January 28

As companies begin using artificial intelligence for some of their work, workers are naturally concerned that AI will eventually replace their jobs. In fact, recent research shows that about one-quarter of U.S. workers are apprehensive about automation potentially supplanting their jobs in the near future. However, while AI will undoubtedly transform certain roles, it is also poised to create new opportunities and enhance our work. As a result, workers should think of AI not as a replacement for human intelligence but as a tool to amplify it.

AI excels at processing vast amounts of data, automating repetitive tasks, and improving efficiency. However, it cannot replicate the creativity, empathy, or nuanced decision-making humans bring to the workplace. The human element will always be essential because any work ultimately serves people. In response to this evolving situation, you should be willing to embrace AI as a partner. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, consider how it can augment your abilities. For example, AI can take over mundane tasks, freeing you to focus on strategic, creative, or interpersonal aspects.

Click Here to View Full Article

I Landed a Big Tech Job After Countless Rejections. Here Is the Exact Resume That Finally Got Me In
Entrepreneur.com, January 24

Even if you have numerous rejections from Big Tech companies, it is still possible to secure a role at a high-profile Silicon Valley company. The secret is a strong resume that fully conveys all of your qualifications, strengths, and competitive advantages. The best resumes are able to highlight metrics and technical skills, and demonstrate how university or post-graduate degrees have helped to shape a career. Even better, of course, if you can provide evidence of working with cutting-edge technologies, or helping organizations achieve specific business goals.

There are several ways that you can create a strong resume for a potential tech employer. First and foremost, you need to create a gateway to your brand. The professional profile summary at the top of your resume is the first thing a recruiter will see, and it should be a carefully crafted gateway to your brand. With just five seconds to capture the attention of a recruiter, this section should be your unique value proposition. It is a chance to showcase your skills, experiences, and what sets you apart from other candidates. You should also validate your capabilities. The work experience section of the resume is the most important element for tech employers, so will need to incorporate results and metrics to make it more compelling.

Click Here to View Full Article

What Hiring Managers Should Know About the 2025 Labor Market
HR Dive, January 30

While multiple economic factors can affect IT hiring in 2025, three key factors are at the top of the list. The first of these is a cooling labor market, as employers around the nation scale back their hiring ambitions. The second is an aging labor force increasingly ready to retire. And the third is an expected reduction in U.S. immigration. Combined, these three key factors could present hiring managers with a number of challenges in the year ahead.

The search for talent is not over, but it is not as difficult as it was in 2022. As of November 2024, the Indeed Job Posting Index was down 10% over the year, though still 10% above pre-pandemic levels. If you are hiring, this is probably good news because it means you have more candidates to choose from than you did in 2022. If you are looking for a job, though, it may take longer. But that may not be the case across all business sectors. According to the Federal Reserve, nearly 75% of all jobs added in 2024 were in healthcare and social assistance, government and leisure and hospitality. This could become a problem for job seeker and hirer balance if growth is hampered in these areas. There is also a potential mismatch between workers who want to be remote and companies willing to allow it. The number of remote position postings has declined, and is unlikely to go back to where it was in 2020.

Click Here to View Full Article

Give Engineers Problems and Not Solutions
ACM Queue, January 25

If you are looking for a career opportunity in engineering, it is important to know how to showcase your skills and demonstrate your problem-solving skills to employers. Often, you will need to demonstrate soft skills such as creativity and collaboration. You will need to showcase not just which technical tools or skills you have used, but also your thought processes for solving difficult problems and challenges. You will need to show that, once you have been presented a problem and desired outcome by a manager, you can figure out how to solve it.

Engineers tend to be puzzle-solvers. They get a sense of satisfaction from finding solutions, even if it takes multiple tries. They feel useful when they see their solution put into action. Giving engineers a problem to solve allows them to be creative and encourages collaboration. Engineers crave the opportunity to invent, inspire, and work alongside others. It lets them demonstrate their expertise. Unlike being assigned a task to handle, it gives them a sense of ownership and purpose. When you do the opposite, telling them what solution you want instead of what problem you have, you rob them of the satisfaction of being useful, creative, and collaborative. You rob them of the social aspect of problem-solving side by side with others. If your team seems to have morale issues, this may be why. The problem-solving approach does not just boost morale, it also leads to better solutions.

Click Here to View Full Article

Building Safer and Interoperable AI Systems
Communications of the ACM, January 20

Given the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace, new AI agents are now being created that can interact with each other and with information sources found on the internet. For this to work efficiently, a new type of syntax and semantics will need to be developed and perhaps standardized. This will help to facilitate inter-agent interaction, agreements, and commitments for work to be performed, as well as a means for conveying results in reliable and unambiguous ways. All of this is key to building safer and more effective AI systems.

Large language models (LLMs) can already be tested and graded on responses to a wide range of prompts. Going forward, some kind of overall safety metric might be established to compare one LLM to another. It is also possible to imagine query collections oriented toward exposing particular contextual weaknesses in LLMs. If these ideas prove useful, one could even imagine using them in testing services. LLMs can interact via text and speech with humans, so why not with each other? One obvious cautionary note is that people find natural language to be ambiguous, and this can lead to misunderstandings, sometimes serious and sometimes just funny. So, there is reason to worry about precision and accuracy in inter-agent exchanges. That motivates the possibility of a controlled vocabulary and associated semantics intended to promote clarity and a means for confirming intent in an inter-agent exchange.

Click Here to View Full Article

Copyright 2025, ACM, Inc.