BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Recruiting AI Talent: 4 Ways To Get Ahead Of The Next Hiring Wave

Following
This article is more than 5 years old.

Usually I talk about AI and how it’s already changing recruiting. Or I did about five minutes ago. But let’s talk about something else: AI jobs themselves are going to change recruiting as well — by putting increasing pressure on recruiters to fill the soaring number of AI-related positions.

The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2022 we’re going to create 133 million jobs in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Spending on AI is projected to surge — from $12 million in 2017 to $57.6 billion by 2021. And a recent survey found that 61% of organizations most frequently picked Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence as their company’s most significant data initiative for next year.

In terms of how quickly the world of work adapts to this kind of seismic shift, 2022 is right around the corner. In terms of how easily we will fill the AI-related jobs we don’t necessarily know we’re going to need to fill, best to get started yesterday if you haven’t already. According to Brad Fisher, Partner, Data & Analytics Lead, KPMG, we’re already experiencing a global AI talent shortage, and it’s going to get worse.

While businesses may not be facing this new reality, at least education is. As Fisher told me, “Fortunately, the U.S. education system is in step with the demand for AI talent, and the number of graduates with technical skill sets is starting to expand.” Good news, but on the other hand, consider the laws of supply and demand. If the talent shortage continues, salaries will be high. For smaller organizations, that could pose even more of a challenge to their budgets. That's yet another reason to anticipate this sea change and start rowing.

As with AI and machine learning's roles in recruiting, there are some misassumptions throwing a monkey wrench into setting clear objectives and seeing the big picture. Based on the concerns I’ve been hearing around the digital water cooler, here are four reality checks to help organizations set a course for the next transformation, and stay ahead of the AI jobs wave:

AI Is Here To Stay. You are going to need to hire AI talent no matter what your industry is. Once up a time in recent history, businesses made the switch to PCs, email, networks, the Web — and experts in information technology became vital for any company. The IT guy became a thing (and it’s still a thing). Now we’re racing headlong into another evolution as AI transforms business applications. We’re going to need people who are experts in AI. It’s that simple. Best to accept that AI will be a part of how your business functions if it’s not already, and start planning your investment in AI-skilled hires now. You don’t want to wind up with a substantial hole in your roster or your operations due to all the talent being snapped up.

You Probably Don’t Know Enough About AI.  It's likely you also don't know the titles or nature of the jobs you'll need to fill. The six hottest jobs right now in AI may not be the most in-demand jobs in a few years. But right now the list includes these positions, all highly skilled and requiring extensive technical training:

  • Data Scientist
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • Software Developer (for AI and Automation Systems)
  • Robotics Scientist
  • Business Intelligence Developer
  • AI Research Scientist

You’re Not Just Hiring Geeks In A Vacuum. There are other positions you’ll be hiring for as well, including an AI ethicist or AI project manager. As Fisher noted, these may not be as highly trained in technology, but they need to be well-versed in your corporate mission, values and standards, and certainly familiar with the technology strategy and plans of your business. On the whole, you should fill AI-related positions with talent that has a larger perspective —who understand business and are skilled problem-solvers. You want them to get the “why and not simply how,” according to Fisher. I’d agree: Particularly at the early phase of this business revolution — and yes, I’m calling it a revolution, albeit a quiet one — you can’t add more silos. You need to integrate this new talent into your larger organization.

Train Your Recruiting Teams for AI-Related Hiring. Or, consider AI-dedicated recruiting teams. We’re already grappling with recruiting, hiring, and retention. Most HR teams are still mired in day-to-day tasks that should not still be on their plates — not when there are countless new platforms and service providers who can take over. As we head towards filling AI roles, here’s an irony: Our concerns about machine learning and AI may hurt ourselves even more in the next few years. Tighten up your recruiting and hiring processes with automation, self-service, and other future-facing tools. Let the chatbots help. It will free your team to ramp up on how to find the best AI talent — how to screen for training, skill sets, and experience. If you can’t train up your team, bring in reinforcements. You need specialized experts on board who know the difference between Hadoop and PySpark — just a for instance. You also need to know where to find AI talent, how to attract them, how to get them to say yes, and then, how to keep them.

We need to be better and smarter about how we recruit, hire, and manage our hard-won talent. Many of us are looking at the solutions presented by machine learning and AI. It’s not that I want you to lift the needle off that record. But no one wants to be caught off guard, waltzing to the possibilities of sentiment analysis and virtual teams, while your competitors are searching for tech talent to fill their brand-new AI-related jobs. ML and AI will be a game changer that transforms every industry. Even if yours isn’t feeling the shift yet, even if you don’t know you’re going to be hiring AI architects, AI product managers, software engineers and AI ethicists, assume that you will. We all know that innovations don’t wait. They just happen, and it’s up to us to be there.