It’s time to do or die on the vine. Just like with the technological revolution, it’s time for many workers to adapt, according to experts. This is the year of AI, and employees who lack AI skills are falling behind to AI. As Gen Z enter the workforce, new data shows that 71% of leaders prefer hiring Gen Z candidates with AI skills over Millennials with more related industry experience. The Wall Street Journal reports lower salaries and fewer positions for tech job seekers who don’t have AI skills.

Microsoft’s 2024 Annual Work Trend Index declares that 2024 is the year of AI expertise needed in the workforce. “Use of generative AI at work has nearly doubled in the past six months,” the report says. “LinkedIn is seeing a significant increase in professionals adding AI skills to their profiles, and most leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills. But with many leaders worried their company lacks an AI vision, and employees bringing their own AI tools to work, leaders have reached the hard part of any tech disruption: moving from experimentation to tangible business impact.”

Sara Gutierrez, SHL‘s chief science officer, anticipates this trend to continue as AI skills continue to spearhead innovation and drive efficiency. “This trend underscores the growing demand for professionals with expertise in AI, whose skills are proving resilient to market fluctuations,” Gutierrez observes.

She notes that as more companies embrace and invest in AI capabilities for their products and services, it’s anticipated that this investment will be mirrored in their hiring strategies, with a heightened emphasis on recruiting talent with AI skills to spearhead innovation and drive efficiency within their organizations. “This marks a notable shift in focus and resource allocation, within the tech sector, towards artificial intelligence.” She points out that AI-related roles command higher compensation compared to non-AI positions highlighting the high demand for skilled AI professionals and the competitive nature of the job market in this field. “This agility becomes extremely important in the face of expanding labor shortages and skill gaps within the global workforce,” she declares. “We’ve seen the private sector increasingly embrace skills-based hiring and there is a growing momentum that suggests more organizations will follow suit.“

AI Skills Are A Twofold Phenomenon

Although soft skills are the big trend right now, Gutierrez believes AI is a twofold phenomenon, and there will always be a need for engineers and programmers. She predicts that soft skills will play a big role in establishing who works with AI, but technical skills are also needed to be successful with AI.

Soft Skills, she explains, are going to propel employees to greater heights: “You have the heart of AI skills,” she states. “Many employers are looking for those regardless of role. We’re not currently to the point where every job seeker needs to have those very specific AI skills. Instead, we’re going to see employers looking for job seekers who have more human universal skills that can be transferred from job to job. Skills that are broader competencies around problem solving. AI often involves tackling complex real world problems and employers are likely to value those candidates who can demonstrate strong problem solving abilities, critical thinking skills and the ability to approach challenges creatively.”

Technical Skills, she acknowledges, can go side-by-side with the technical skills needed to further develop and integrate generative AI. “AI skills could be those more technical skills that employers may be looking for—skills that really reflect the technology of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis. These might include things like looking for somebody who has proficiency in specific tools. Other AI skills might be around data analysis or interpretation. So often, AI relies on large datasets you’ve got to use for training and inference, so employers may seek candidates who are proficient in data analysis. That could include very specific AI skills like feature engineering, various statistical modeling techniques, etc. More AI skills might be an understanding of algorithms and how you can apply those through machine learning. Whether that’s supervised or unsupervised learning models. Being able to select the appropriate algorithm is going to be important if you’re working in building AI, tools and technology.”

Five Reasons Leaders Advocate Adapting to AI Skills

Business leaders hope to see businesses use automation to streamline processes and free up employees to focus on more creative and strategic work

1. Sara Gutierrez is convinced that by hiring for skills, employers are better equipped to identify candidates with the specific competencies required for the job, fostering a more agile and responsive workforce.
2. Jared Pope, founder and CEO of Work Shield, believes businesses that strike an optimal equilibrium between human employees and AI technology can enhance decision-making, efficiency, personalization, predictive analytics and cost savings.
3. According to LevaData CEO Keith Hartley, integrating AI and automation technology streamlines processes, reduces workload and ultimately increases employee satisfaction. Nine out of 10 respondents from a Microsoft survey report that using AI and automation at work makes workers more fulfilled and free to spend more time on work that matters.
4. Will Rose, chief technology officer at Talent Select AI, explains that A-I powered hiring tools can provide employers with a consistent and reliable way to assess a large number of job candidates.
5. Rose added that it can also allow recruiters and hiring managers to spend more of their time on the important human aspects of recruiting and courting top talent instead of being bogged down by the more tedious aspects of the hiring process.

How Job Seekers Can Prepare For AI Interviews

I asked Rose what job seekers can do to prepare for interviews that utilize AI. He offered four strategies:

• Study job descriptions and be prepared to speak to specific skills and experiences employers are looking for the same as you would for a traditional job interview.
• Be prepared to speak in detail about previous work or academic experiences and provide robust answers to questions. The goal is to highlight why you shine as a candidate. For most AI interviewing technologies, the analysis is focused on the content of the interview answers. The AI may be looking for certain keywords or topics, analyzing words and phrases used by the candidate in the interview to measure several key traits and attributes about the candidate.
• Provide comprehensive responses to interview questions, including real-life examples or detailed anecdotes is another good strategy to take.
• Don’t be afraid to ask hiring managers if AI is being used in their selection process and how they are being assessed. Exercise your right to learn what data is being collected and analyzed.