Microsoft is laying off thousands of workers. Meta is writing $300 million checks to snag top AI engineers. And there’s plenty of concern about jobs being replaced by artificial intelligence.
It’s not easy to assess the current state of the tech hiring market. But some trends emerged in our conversations with company leaders at a GeekWire event Tuesday on our office deck overlooking the Ship Canal in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. The event spotlighted GeekWork, a recruiting service from GeekWire and Prime Team Partners.
Here are some of the key takeaways from our reporting:
Things are normal, all things considered
- Wendy Hellar, COO at Prime Team Partners, said tech hiring has normalized compared to post-pandemic fluctuations.
- “When we compare the number of jobs, salaries, everything — it’s more of a 2018 or 2019 feel,” Hellar said.
- Erik Benson, managing director at Voyager Capital, said the hiring mentality at startups is the same as it has been for the past 25 years — if a company is expanding, they’re hiring more people. “We haven’t seen anything drastically change in the labor market in startup land for the last couple of years,” he said.
Big Tech layoffs = opportunity for startups
- Layoffs at large tech companies are opening up access to “dream candidates,” said Thamu Dube, head of design at Seattle-based Yoodli, which recently raised $13.7 million. “The pool becomes a lot bigger for us,” Dube said.
- Benson echoed that sentiment, noting that it could lead to new startups being formed. “There are some great people being let out of these companies — which could mean more founders and first-time founders,” he said.
AI is reshaping job roles — but not replacing them
- With the rise of AI-powered coding tools like Cursor, the job expectations and responsibilities for software engineers are changing, said Xu Rui, CEO of construction tech startup Klutch.
- But AI isn’t replacing them altogether. “Fundamentally, the really great product engineers are still going to play a very pivotal part in helping to grow early stage companies,” said Rui, whose startup is looking to hire after raising $8 million.
- Robbie Hamblet, CEO of Seattle IoT startup Teal Communications, said his company isn’t looking to use AI to reduce headcount. But he’s certainly encouraging current employees to use AI tools. “You really have to use this technology or it’s going to replace you,” he said.
Up-skilling is a priority
- Bhaskar Gangipamula, CEO of Seattle-area IT services firm Quadrant Technologies, said he’s focused on providing on-the-job training to meet demand from clients that want to leverage the newest software tools.
- He’s also looking at hiring younger AI talent from local universities — budding engineers that might not demand huge salaries — and then “grow them in the role.”
Soft skills still matter
- Amid all the hoopla about AI, fundamental human qualities are still in demand.
- Hellar, of recruiting firm Prime Team Partners, said many clients are putting a premium on relational and collaboration skills, as well as the ability to articulate their past work and impact on a company. “They are really looking for real humans,” Hellar said.
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