A Quick Note from Dice CEO Art Zeile: Building AI Hiring Strategies to Staff the Future
Dear Reader,
Since the release of ChatGPT to the public in November 2022, we have witnessed the beginnings of one of the most transformative technological revolutions in history. In my lifetime, I have seen only three tech innovations that compare in scope, impact and opportunity: desktop computing, the Internet and smartphones. So to say generative AI is big is an understatement; it’s life-altering, and especially when it comes to the world of tech careers and hiring.
AI itself is far from new. Many businesses, including Dice, have been incorporating AI and machine learning-related elements into their software and products for years. In our case, the very foundation of the Dice platform is built upon AI. For many others, however, the dawn of Generative AI (or GenAI for short) is the first direct contact with artificial intelligence or true machine learning. As with any new technology, the reaction has been markedly mixed.
The early adopters are elated, and moving forward as quickly as they can to implement the technology in every application possible. The laggards on the other end of the spectrum are hoping that AI is a fad that dies out before it affects their business and day-to-day. Most people, and so many of the recruiters we have spoken with, live in the messy middle. Some have dipped their toes in the water, and have found GenAI disappointing (whether because of the hype, the application, or both). Others understand the potential power of the technology, but not the technology itself. Still more are wondering about what the rise of GenAI means for the security of their jobs.
All of these reactions are valid. My perspective on GenAI at the highest level is that it’s not here to replace recruiters or developers or managers. It is, however, a technology that, when used effectively, will provide businesses an advantage over their competitors, and for individuals, a way to separate themselves from their peers who are not skilled in GenAI applications.
For recruiters, this means having a good sense on what AI means for the world now and in the future, what it means for your business, and perhaps most importantly, how it complements and changes the day-to-day strategies and tactics you employ to find, hire and staff high-performing tech teams. Through the lens of opportunity, because we are on the frontier of this technology, there are few who truly understand it, giving you an advantage from your place in the business to provide a tremendous source of value in the capital most important to any organization: its people.
We’ve put together this guide to help you understand AI, and the tech professionals who make it possible, a bit better so that you can start to answer those questions for yourself, including:
- How is AI impacting the business landscape?
- What are the new opportunities and challenges AI brings to tech hiring?
- What kind of AI roles are out there and how will this reshape your team's structure?
- What are the core skills AI tech professionals need to be successful?
- How can you help your existing talent succeed and build the right skills to be competitive in this environment?
However you feel about AI, your role as a tech recruiter has never been more important. CTOs, CIOs and tech leaders need you to help them build out their teams in the right way; hiring managers need your understanding of the landscape, roles and skills to help filter through the candidates coming in; tech professionals need you as their advocate throughout the hiring process. If you believe AI can help you help them, I believe it’s well worth your time to read through this guide. Thank you for all you do for candidates, businesses and for Dice, and remember, we’re here to help when you need us.
Art Zeile
CEO, Dice
Methodology
To present the insights in this report, Dice used job posting data provided by Dice’s partner, Lightcast, which has a database of more than 1 billion current and historical job postings worldwide. Dice pulled data on March 20, 2024 and analyzed tech job postings in the U.S. using Lightcast’s skills category taxonomy specific to “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)” and “Natural Language Processing (NLP)”. The information in this report is a snapshot of tech job posting data as of March 20, 2024, and backward revisions to prior month’s data may occur from the sources used in this report.