ACM CareerNews for Tuesday, June 24, 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 12, June 24, 2025

AI Skills Shortage Surpasses Big Data and Cybersecurity
CIO Dive, June 10

The gap in AI skills is accelerating as enterprises rush to deploy the technology, according to a survey of more than 2,000 technology leaders. More than half of these IT leaders say their companies suffered from an undersupply of AI talent, up from 28% in 2023. AI know-how went from being the sixth-most scarce technology skill to the most scarce IT skill in just 16 months, marking the fastest increase in more than 15 years. Nine in 10 respondents said their companies were piloting or investing in AI use, up from 59% in 2023.

The unprecedented increase in demand for AI skills can be attributed to several key factors. A dearth of AI talent was reported by the majority of leaders across several sectors, including education, logistics, manufacturing, business services, and pharmaceuticals. Enterprise AI ambitions have steadily driven up AI workforce demand, widening talent gaps. Not surprisingly, job sites such as Indeed tracked a significant spike in generative AI job postings earlier this year.

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The Key to a Great IT Resume? Show Your Impact
Spiceworks, June 9

As frustrating as it can be for job seekers, technical recruiting and online job searching today have become largely about keyword searches and matches. That may help filter out unqualified candidates, but it certainly does not capture your full value as a prospective employee. This reality makes it critically important that an IT job seeker craft the very best resume possible. This resume should not only highlight your skills, job roles, and education, but also what you have done to advance each organization you have worked for. It is important to show not only where you have worked, but also the positive impacts of your efforts to boost revenues, reduce costs, or promote innovation.

Job seekers are increasingly using AI to create resumes, while recruiters are increasingly using AI to search for desired candidates. For job seekers, AI-powered resume tools are most useful to create a first draft of a resume. AI tools are good at creating formatting that is applicant tracking system (ATS)-friendly, and they provide prompts and suggestions to help shape resume content. They have some weaknesses in conveying skills, traits, and values because they focus primarily on what a candidate has done with little attention to how and why. That means they will capture the hard technical skills, but do not do a good job of explaining soft skills or interpersonal skills. This means that recruiters may not be able to see signs of leadership, innovation, and creativity. To get a really good resume, it works best to use these tools to generate a first draft, then tailor that draft with a focus on key differentiators.

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Employers Are Using AI to Interview You
Computerworld.com, June 12

One in five employers now use generative AI tools to interview candidates. These kinds of hiring tools are no longer experimental, they are embedded in everyday HR and hiring operations. Twenty-one percent of organizations in the United States and 20% of those in the UK use generative AI to conduct at least initial interviews with prospective hires. Organizations are now refocusing on the quality of their hiring, and view the use of generative AI as an aid in those efforts.

Right now, AI is primarily a screening tool, not a decision-making tool. It is used most commonly for writing job descriptions, screening resumes, and sourcing candidates. However, there has been a sharp rise in AI-led interviews, with 21% of U.S. employers now using them. That is a clear sign these tools are moving quickly from the fringes to the mainstream. Currently, 70% of employers use generative AI in hiring, but only 38% seek AI-specific skills. That is down from 52% last year, as employers increasingly place value on human talents such as critical thinking and communication. Additionally, 60% of employers surveyed say soft skills are more important in 2025 than they were five years ago. And 66% say evaluating candidates holistically improves hiring outcomes.

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Over the past few years, cross-border hiring has continued to flourish due to persistent talent shortages, particularly in the tech sector. This is especially true for fields like AI, quantum technologies, and cloud computing. To fill jobs in these areas, companies are increasingly open to hiring remote talent. In fact, cross-border hiring for tech roles doubled from 2020 to 2023. Oyster’s 2025 Global Hiring Trends and Impact Report provides the latest on top hiring destinations, in-demand jobs and roles, shifting employment models, and compensation trends.

Europe is the top region for global remote hiring. Oyster found that 43% of new hires made through its platform in 2024 were located in Europe, with Asia (inclusive of the Middle East) and North America following at 24% and 20%, respectively. Drilling down to the country level, the most popular talent markets were the Philippines (9%), the United States (8%), India (7%), Canada (6%), and the United Kingdom (6%). Taken together, these five countries accounted for over one-third of new hires on the platform in 2024. Technology, sales, and marketing roles are most in demand. That is because certain types of roles are more suitable for remote work than others, so they are easier to fill through cross-border hiring. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of global digital jobs will increase by 25% to over 90 million by 2030. And 57% of HR professionals indicated that their organization intends to hire talent in another country within the next year, with access to a larger talent pool being their top reason for looking beyond borders.

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How to Use AI to Write Your Resume
Fast Company, June 15

According to recent research from Career Group Companies, job seekers are widely embracing AI as part of their overall job search. The report found that 62% of candidates are using AI to write a resume, cover letter, or writing sample for a job application. This is up from 32% just six months ago. Given this widespread adoption of AI, it is time to understand how to use AI to write resumes that stand out in a sea of applications. Resume writing experts say it is important to avoid common pitfalls and know when a human touch is irreplaceable.

The most common resume mistakes job seekers make is overlooking the fact that they need to make a good impression on hiring managers. Resumes need to be clearly formatted and free from errors to help these professionals focus their attention on getting to know a candidate, what they have already done, and what they could do in a new role. AI can help with the common errors that end up hurting candidates in the job search. Some of these errors can be fixed by simply asking AI to reformat or proofread a resume. AI programs can also help change the tone or word choices in a resume to match what a certain company is looking for. For people looking to switch jobs or enter a new field, AI can also make a good career coach.

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Why Job Seekers Can’t Get Jobs
Inc.com, May 20

The good news is that it has never been easier to find a job. You can hop on the internet and search dozens of job boards that can match your highly coveted skills to a high-paying, highly satisfying role. You can even use AI to do it for you, if you want. Yet, while it has never been easier to find a job, it has never been harder to get the job. Job boards may not be as effective as many people think, and low unemployment numbers may not yet be reflecting the impact of new AI technology on the workplace.

Tech jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate, and it is arguably harder than ever to find the right tech job. According to recruiters, the talent pipeline is now jammed. There are several reasons for this, including misuse of AI in candidate screening and overwhelmed recruiters. However, a bigger issue is that vibe hiring has taken precedence over talent hiring, across the board. In other words, when the humans in the hiring process are relegated to doing nothing more than double-checking the work of technology, those humans start to act differently. As a result, hiring is looking less like a talent pipeline and more like a game of musical chairs. Recruiters and HR talent acquirers say that, when presented with a prescreened stack of candidates, the safest thing to do is flag the ones who are coming from companies that everyone knows. In short, they are hiring to maintain the status quo.

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Connections Beat Credentials According to 70% of Workers
HR Dive, June 17

Workers believe connections often surpass credentials during the hiring process, but many professionals feel uncomfortable about networking and reaching out when it matters. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers, 70% said who someone knows matters more than what is on their resume. However, many hesitate to network because they are worried about bothering someone, being judged, or feeling unsure what to say. One way to overcome this hesitation is by seeking out inclusive networking spaces and embracing new mentorship opportunities.

In the survey, 42% of workers said they have never sent a cold message for professional opportunities, and 22% said they have considered it but have not taken the leap. About one-third of those who have tried cold outreach said fewer than a quarter of their attempts received a reply. The top barrier is the fear of being a nuisance, with 42% of respondents saying they do not want to bother someone. Respondents also said they fear rejection, do not know who to contact, do not know what to say, do not think outreach will help, feel unworthy of the time of others, and lack the time or energy. Workers expressed mixed feelings about using artificial intelligence tools for networking. Although 56% said they support using AI to help, 49% said they would be less impressed if they found out a message was written with AI tools.

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Do Not Switch Careers Before Asking Yourself 10 Questions
CNBC, May 5

If you are feeling overworked or underpaid, it is normal to wonder if a career change is the answer. Before you make a huge leap, though, take a hard look at what is actually going on. It may be that rather than a big change, a smaller pivot or mindset shift, is the solution. This is even the case if you feel that your current work lacks meaning.

To figure out which career path direction is right for you, you first need to consider your current priorities. After all, your career does not exist in a vacuum. It is integrated with every aspect of your life. At this stage, are you prioritizing career advancement, financial stability, work-life balance or creative fulfillment? Perhaps you are prioritizing something else? Clarifying your current priorities is the key to ensuring that the next steps you take in your career are the right ones for you.

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Computer Science and the Law
Communications of the ACM, May 21

Given the rapid rate of technological advancement, it is becoming increasingly important for computer science practitioners to understand how their work fits into the legal framework of society. Questions being created today by artificial intelligence, for example, are too complex for lawyers alone to answer them. For the most part, they do not understand the technology. Moreover, technologists alone cannot answer them, because for the most part they do not know the law. To highlight this point, the article considers a number of technical developments that occurred over the past 30 years, and the legal impact that they had on society.

There were three U.S. technical and legal developments occurring in the early 1990s that had a profound effect on the technology industry and on many technologists. All three of these developments could be and were debated on purely legal or policy grounds. But there were also technical issues to consider. Interestingly, the three developments were unrelated. For example, one was a bill before the U.S. Congress for a standardized wiretap interface in phone switches, a concept that spread around the world under the generic name of lawful intercept. The second was an update to the copyright statute to adapt to the digital age. The third was an encryption device that provided a potential backdoor for the U.S. government.

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Should Universities Raise or Lower Admission Requirements for CS Programs in the Age of Generative AI?
Blog@CACM, June 10

The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence has sparked intense discussions about its impact on computer science education and the computing job market. While some argue that higher education in computer science is becoming obsolete due to the capabilities of AI, others believe academic education in computer science is more crucial now than ever. This debate raises a key dilemma. Should universities raise admission standards for computer science programs to ensure that only highly skilled problem-solvers enter the field, lower them to fill the gaps left by those who now see computer science as obsolete due to generative AI, or restructure them to attract excellent candidates with diverse skill sets who may not have considered computer science prior to the rise of generative AI?

Though computer science requires high cognitive skills in general, a significant portion of computer science education is based on applying these skills in the concrete context of programming. With the advent of generative AI, however, programming is becoming increasingly automated, and all higher education institutions, even the prestigious ones, and specifically those that have historically focused on educating programmers rather than computer scientists, should reconsider the essence and content of the programs they offer. This shift underscores the need to redefine computer science education by emphasizing that generative AI is a tool, not a replacement. While programmers are being displaced, demand for AI specialists and data scientists is on the rise. This means generative AI does not eliminate the need for computer science professionals.

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