Hiring excellent AI talent is difficult. There is significant demand for such talent, and the most talented people demand very high compensation. Our research has suggested that corporations need to be creative in finding the right AI specialists through methods such as collaboration with universities and research institutes and crowdsourcing. In addition to financial compensation, companies need to provide AI talent with a good work environment as well as creative freedom in their jobs. It is essential to be honest with applicants in the hiring process, including transparency about a corporation’s readiness for AI projects. If not, then once hired, these recruits would eventually find out the reality of AI projects in an organization and leave if work conditions are not favourable. 

An informant from one of the top five big tech companies involved in our research study described how his organization’s selection processes for recruiting new AI hires were rigorous. His corporation first vets potential recruits using an AI bot. Candidates who pass this level of scrutiny are invited to a series of interviews (generally six). Along with these interviews, live technical competence checks are also done. 

Although companies may wish to hire AI specialists who can help in both the development and deployment of AI solutions, more often than not, no one person generally possesses sufficient expertise in all required areas of AI. Individuals who have experience in AI development may not be fully savvy in deploying AI into operations. Ideally, along with technical skills, AI specialists should possess soft skills, structured thinking, business knowledge, good communication, and emotional intelligence. 

Organizations should hire AI specialists based on an organization’s AI needs and not just to keep up with competitors. New hires should be assigned specific AI responsibilities and preferably have their first six months already planned out for them at the time of hiring. 

In addition to hiring new AI talent, it is crucial for organizations to enhance the skills of their existing employees. For more information on this, please read our blog – “Upgrade Employees’ AI Skills”. 

Author: Dr. Jodie Lobana