So far, the 2026 tech job market has been dominated by a cautious, uncertain pattern resulting in few hires and deep frustration for job seekers.
Finally, market conditions appear to be improving or becoming more hopeful.
New monthly job postings reached almost 300,000 in June, up from correction-era lows near 200,000. Plus, tech occupation employment across all industry sectors increased by 47,000 workers, dropping the unemployment rate to 2.9%, according to an analysis by CompTIA.
What’s more, after holding back on hiring due to AI, major companies ranging from railroad giant CSX to Google parent Alphabet have recently told investors that they plan to hire to meet growth goals or seize on emerging technologies.
Have we turned the corner? Not exactly.
“We are in the process of turning the first corner, but there are more corners to turn,” noted Miloš Topić, vice president for Information Technology and chief digital officer at Grand Valley State University.
Topić further explained that economic uncertainty, rapidly shifting business conditions and lessons learned from past over hiring are just some of the things that will keep tech execs from hiring aggressively.
To be clear, no one is predicting a hiring frenzy, but rather a modest headcount increase of up to 5% by the end of the year. That’s a good start.
To help you succeed in the remainder of 2026 and into next year, we asked several tech execs to share their take on the job market and some tips for maximizing your results.
Hiring Will Be Less of a Mess
Companies have been taking so long to vet applicants that business conditions and job descriptions change before they can hire, forcing them to restart the recruitment cycle, explained Tim Crawford, CIO strategic advisor and founder of AVOA.
“The hiring process has been messy,” Crawford said.
But now that companies are starting to see AI as a tool to boost human work, productivity and value— not replace people — the roles and job duties are becoming clearer, and we’re seeing a slight uptick in hiring budgets for 2027, he added.
To his point, Dice data confirms that AI skills have become a core baseline expectation for most technology roles rather than a specialized bonus, with 74% of job postings highlighting AI skills in June.
The process of rematching team structures with business needs for AI has also belabored the hiring process. But after reviewing and refining roles and workflows, execs and hiring managers are becoming increasingly confident in defining the skills employees will need as AI changes daily job duties, alleviating fear and streamlining the hiring process.
In Demand Roles and Skills
On another positive note, tech execs aren’t looking to fill newly created, highly specialized AI roles, but rather traditional tech roles that have been remastered for the era of AI and extreme business volatility.
For example, after facing huge job losses in 2022 and 2023, software engineers and developers led the number of tech job postings in May with 15,219 postings according to CompTIA. Software engineers also claimed the top job title in June according to data from Dice and our partner Lightcast.
Other top hiring categories also include cloud infrastructure, data processing and hosting as well as IT and custom software services and systems design.
However, possessing rudimentary business knowledge and experience with AI coding tools like Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or OpenCode or major cloud platforms and specialized infrastructure tools won’t be enough to qualify for roles that are shifting away from manual implementation toward system design, architecture and AI orchestration.
Tech execs will only consider candidates who have the ability to drive future business value by using Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot as a personal coach and digital coworker to boost daily productivity and accelerate problem-solving.
“To help companies navigate rapid market changes and boost loyalty, tech pros, even in junior roles, need to possess a deep understanding of the factors that influence the customer and employee experience and business operations,” Crawford said.
Upskilling helps current team members learn basic AI skills, but it can’t meet every need. Aligning technology with business needs in a fast-changing environment requires rare hybrid capabilities.
“You want somebody who can lead, inspire, motivate, manage effectively and actually understand the product or service you're offering,” Topić said. “The people who have technical knowledge and knowledge of the industries they lead are in high demand.”
Strategies and Tips for Landing a Job
While organizations are reversing some of their recent layoffs, tech execs are only bringing back a fraction of their former workforce, continuing hyper-competitive conditions for job hunters.
Tech execs say that succeeding in this type of market requires a targeted strategy, a strong network, tailoring your application package toward the needs of the company and upskilling.
First and foremost, become comfortable using AI tools and autonomous agent systems in the most advanced and beneficial ways. Whether your desired role involves engineering, data science, product or project management, or operations, complete online courses and participate in online forums and communities that explore practical AI implementation such as OpenAI Forum, DeepLearning.AI Community, and Google AI Developers Forum.
Don’t apply randomly. Discover your personal strengths and talents by asking five to 10 colleagues what you do best, then match those traits and talents with what an employer and tech environment needs most.
The best way to stand out is by showing a hiring manager or technology executive how you can help their company today and in the future by solving current and future problems.
“Don’t see yourself in direct competition with the technologies or tools themselves,”
Topić said. “Position yourself as someone who can use AI for the benefit of yourself and the organization.”
