What Will Tomorrow’s Job Market Look Like? (And How Can Recruiters Adapt?)

In five, ten and twenty years’ time, the job market is going to look very different from how it looks today. Across the world of work, various forces are transforming the landscape of human employment.

The most significant of these transformative forces is the rise of AI and automation. Automation is already having a major impact on retail, factory and warehouse jobs, and the arrival of driverless vehicles will massively disrupt the transport sector. And it isn’t only blue-collar jobs. Various financial and legal sectors are beginning to leverage algorithms that can analyse and assess information faster than human workers. Even physicians, surgeons and radiologists aren’t immune from the effects of improving AI.

Across the board, things are changing. Fast. Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that, by the mid 2030s, 30% of all jobs will be at potential risk of automation.

Other forces impacting the world of work are an ageing population, an ever-more-globalised and mobile workforce, and a changing college landscape.

What will tomorrow’s job market look like?

In short, the jobs that survive the rise of automation will be those that are not repetitive, have lots of variables, and require flexible sorts of cognition and action. Roles that require mental elasticity, creatively, and interdisciplinary knowledge will make up a bigger and bigger portion of jobs. (This is a big reason why the humanities will continue to have a role in higher education.)

As more advanced sorts of automated technology proliferate, we will need people to design, manage and operate the machines. Coding and computer engineering will continue to boom as a sector of the job market. (At least until AI learns to code as well as humans.) Across the board, technological literacy and high-tech expertise will become the backbone of many secure careers.

Equally, finicky and physically elaborate trades that it will take years for machines to perform smoothly will also continue to thrive: think plumbers and electricians, and even something like bartending.

Taking up an increasing share of the job market will be those roles that depend upon human skills and emotional intelligence (EQ). As the population ages, there will be an explosion of jobs in all forms of high-touch healthcare.
And as both governments and private companies continue to combat the perils of climate change, there will be an increased need for scientists and engineers — particularly in alternative energy, and sustainable engineering.

How can recruiters start thinking about the hiring needs of tomorrow?

Short answer? By getting the repetitive, top-of-funnel drudgery of recruiting off their plates, so that they have more time to think.

This is where the very thing transforming the job market — automation — can be a major help. An AI recruiting assistant can free recruiters from the hours they spend trawling through databases, sending thousands of messages, and juggling lots of back-and-forths.

With these top-of-funnel tasks automated, recruiters can dedicate real time and deep thought to the future of modern labour. They can ask themselves: what will these companies be searching for in five or ten years? How can I prepare for that? How can I advise candidates in a way that takes into account where their industry will be a decade from now? Can I establish some long-view, strategic KPIs around the lifetime value of a certain role? Can I begin to consider how to better fold reskilling into the hiring landscape?

Across the board, AI recruiters like Wendy give human recruiters more time to focus on the creative, ambitious side of the job. This lets them look to the tumultuous future, and deeply consider the job market of tomorrow, and how to prepare for it.