What should I be making at my job?

As the father of a recent college graduate now living at home and looking for that, you know, job, try to get employment, I can attest to that, you know, it's a tricky thing for recent college grads. The job market right now in the Twin Cities, even though unemployment is relatively low, what does it mean for the entry level? What does it mean for people who are looking at jobs who are not entry level? Let's bring in Jessica Green, who's the Senior Director of Client Solutions for Robert Half to talk more about the job market for I guess maybe all ages. Welcome, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. Well, let's start with, if you don't mind, with the young people getting into the job market here. And there's a lot of talk about the effects of artificial intelligence. What it is doing, is it replacing jobs? Is it mean that fewer jobs are available? Some of the stuff that I've read about this with the effect of AIs, it's not necessarily shedding workers, but it may have an impact on those entry-level positions where some of that work for junior workers is being replaced by artificial intelligence. What are you telling people in that specific demographic? Yeah, well, the good news is that specific demographic is very tech-savvy already. So they're coming into it understanding companies are paying more right now for candidates that do have those technical skills, AI skills, even if they haven't used them in production. These are things that can help business critical priorities move forward. And we're seeing a lot of companies investing in people who can be long-term learners that have the aptitude to apply their tech skills with their critical thinking skills, their team collaboration skills, and help move companies forward into the future. So really, for those individuals, making sure your resume highlights your tech skills, of course, but also projects, initiatives, situations in your life that you may have succeeded in something that shows your ability to learn and be collaborative with the team. Does that, and I imagine that would apply to all ages. Are you seeing though a tighter job market in the entry level positions with an effect of that technology? I would say it's a mix. So with remote work being very prevalent across the country, Minnesota actually is kind of a hot market for recruiting. We do have a higher population here for Fortune 500 companies. We have excellent schools, excellent healthcare. So there are opportunities to apply to remote jobs, get recruited to companies outside of Minnesota as well. So it's an absolute mix, but companies are having to succession plan as well with our friends at the top retiring in record numbers. We are needing to replace those positions and move everybody up a level. So we need to reevaluate what do we want our companies to look like in the future, what skills are going to be important as we move forward. And so there's definitely going to be more room created for those types of workers. Yeah. And as we talk about, you know, the job market, it's also the job environment. You know, we've seen more of that push of return to office. But yet a lot of employees, especially for companies recruiting maybe at mid levels or higher, you know, where they like that flexibility. I mean, what are you seeing and what are you telling job seekers to expect in terms of the balance of that flexibility of in-person versus remote? Obviously, in-person is very valuable if you're a younger employee, but flexibility becomes more important as you age. Absolutely. You're spot on with that. I would say it really depends on the position type. Some positions have to be in the office. They just do. And when it comes to new grads or people that are learning, there is so much value in being in person for that training, that's very important. As you continue to grow, we're seeing companies having to do some push and pull, right? There are tenured individuals or highly skilled individuals that are in hot demand across the country, especially people with AI skills that they've utilized in production. That is part of an overall compensation package that people are looking for, not just the compensation part of it. Is there a flexible work arrangement, hybrid, remote? If not, then what other pushes and pulls can a company offer those individuals to try to compensate for that? Are there commuter benefits potentially, higher salaries or rates? So it really is becoming a more customizable job market where companies are having to customize offers to the individual, figure out what's important to them. And in turn to the job seeker, figuring out what's important to you as well. Is money the number one thing? Okay, great. Is remote more important and you're willing to flex a little bit on the comp? Is it 401k? Is it health or dental benefits? So that's another trend out of the salary guide that was released this fall is really overall compensation packages are becoming more highly valuable. Yeah, you can't forget to look at that overall package in terms of, especially with health insurance, what are you paying, what are you getting in return? I mean, that is an enormous part of it. As you talk about compensation, people are primarily motivated by the compensation rather than the other elements here, the flexibility, etc. Where are you seeing the highest salary potentials? What areas here? Obviously, salaries are not necessarily keeping up with inflation at this point. Right. Where are you directing people if they're really more money motivated? Well, that's a great question. Cash is always king and it probably always will be and it always has been. The compensation is usually the top for most people. But for folks looking to level up compensation-wise, definitely invest in your skills. AI skills are no doubt becoming the most highly sought after skill sets. And there are classes you can take. There are projects you can do. There are trainings you can do to leverage your best skill sets in that space, do any sort of mentorships with people in those areas. But outside of that, it's not just in technology. AI is being implemented in finance and accounting, in marketing and creative, in legal, in administrative and operations. And so individuals in those fields can continue to work on their tech skills in order to enhance their value in the marketplace as well. We gotta run here, but one last question on that. What's the best way for workers who maybe feel like they need to enhance their tech skills to meet that marketplace condition? What's the best thing you can do? Yeah, great question. It really depends on the person. I would say if you're currently employed, the number one thing you can try to coordinate for yourself is mentorship. Find someone within your organization that can side by side with you. But there are tons of courses you can take that you can sign up for that would be potentially your company would sponsor you potentially not. But learning tech skills and AI and then try to focus it into your specific business interests, whether you're a tech person, a finance person. Figure out how you can automate reports for finance, how you can automate marketing for marketing teams. Think about what's gonna drive a return on investment for potential businesses and then look up trainings in those spaces. Yeah, demonstrate how you can increase efficiency. Exactly. Yeah, makes sense. Jessica Green, Senior Director of Client Solutions with Robert Half. Thanks for the time today, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.