What U2 Taught Me About AI and Entry Level Jobs
U2 songs taught me about a lot of things: Irish history, the glory of guitar delay pedals, and the fact that most of the world doesn’t enter a building on the first floor. As a kid from the middle of the U.S., I was confused when Bono put on an American accent to tell a story in the middle of the song “Bullet the Blue Sky.” You take the staircase to the first floor/ turn the key and slowly unlock the door. “Huh?” I thought. It’s true—the rest of the world thinks you have to go up a level to really start living (or working). The line changed my perspective and even planted a seed for how I think about today’s job market and the effect of artificial intelligence.
It’s time to realign what entry level means, and what work a junior employee does. As a leader, it’s up to YOU to decide how you accomplish today’s tasks while developing tomorrow’s talent.
Unlock the Door
We’re witnessing a combination of factors that make it tough to sort out what to do about junior and administrative roles:
- Younger people might not want the work as they understand it—only 10% of high school grads in 2023 selected what the Burning Glass Institute calls “launchpad jobs,” so millions of those positions have gone unfilled. Some of that hesitancy can be attributed to unclear expectations about where those launchpad jobs lead.
- Employers may be hesitant to hire given economic uncertainty and the prevailing wisdom that AI can automate the work of many roles—Burning Glass President Matt Sigelman told the Wall Street Journal that entry-level layoffs are increasing, while hiring of experienced professionals is on the rise. As for those unfilled launchpad jobs, many have simply been taken down.
So, how does a human worker get experience in the first place? Executives and hiring managers need to understand and calibrate processes to the work that maximizes how each person spends their time while keeping track of KPIs, company objectives, and individual career goals. Think through the way forward, together. Here’s an example of putting this into practice: research.
At Mind Over Machines, we are hearing from our clients that junior personnel don’t want to do the grunt work of research, because they want to focus on doing what is perceived as more impactful work. This means that the research which enables the impact isn’t happening.
Empower team members to be creators of their own work future while making sure everyone knows what must get done. Newer employees will see this way of working and gain confidence in the organization and their path within it. Be clear about the division of labor between AI and human intelligence and capability and let people know that you expect continuous rebalancing to get the job done, starting with their first day on the job.
This “taskification” approach (where people break down their work to a series of listed tasks) is a core element to successful AI implementations because it allows people to see what work is actually being done. After all, we often don’t think about the work, we just do it. Then, from the list of identified tasks, identify which ones should be done by AI vs. a human according to your company’s culture of professional development. This is not trivial: research shows that professional development opportunities result in a 15% increase in work engagement and a 34% higher retention rate.
What can you do today?
- Review job descriptions from the perspective of the job-seeker—will the post excite them about growing with the organization? Will their experience add value to their career, even if they leave?
- Remember the 4 Ps of Transition:
- Purpose: Why are we changing?
- Picture: What is the future state?
- Plan: How are we getting there?
- Part: What is the role of the individual in this change?
- Use what you learn from step 2 to help reframe your approach to junior and administrative positions, both in how you publicize them to new hires and how you follow through with people already on board.
A culturally aligned, human-first approach to AI integration ensures that AI technologies are designed to support and enhance human work rather than replace it. You need a strategy to elevate your team through technology, no matter where they came in the door.
Sam Hopkins is a Senior Advisor at Mind Over Machines. LinkedIn
