Tech Hiring Trends 2025: AI Roles, Job Tips & Market Shifts

Key Highlights

  • Phone screens are down: Only 2% of applications lead to phone interviews—a 58% drop from the previous year.
  • Application volume is up: 500% more job applications in 2024; many experienced engineers are applying to junior roles.
  • Remote competition rises: LATAM countries like Brazil and Mexico are producing high volumes of remote-ready engineers.
  • AI reshapes roles: Companies increasingly seek early-career engineers with AI/ML skills.
  • Ghost roles & ATS barriers: Fake job posts and keyword-based ATS filters make job hunting harder.
  • Technical strength wins: Codesmith grads have a higher conversion rate from tech assessments to final interviews and offers.
  • Easy Apply = low ROI: Huge competition for Easy Apply roles—referrals and personalized follow-ups work better.
  • Referrals matter: 26.9% of job offers came from alumni and personal network referrals.

Hiring Insights

Hiring in the tech industry, especially for tech roles across all industries, is picking up after widespread layoffs in 2022-23. Data from Codesmith 2024 graduates highlights significant changes in the job market, affecting how candidates should approach job hunting.

Phone Screen Drop

  • Only 2% of applications lead to a phone screen—a significant fall from 3.8% the previous year.
  • The market poses new challenges that obstruct aspiring candidates’ visibility to employers.

Job Market Surge

  • From October 2023 to November 2024 in the USA, software engineering jobs for those with 0–3 years of experience increased by 47%, translating to over 71,000 job posts.
  • There was a 500% increase in applications compared to 2023, partly due to three years of layoffs.

LATAM as a New Talent Hub

  • Latin America has emerged as a hub producing software engineers, competing for remote roles in the USA and Europe.
  • Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia lead in producing senior engineers, with Mexico and Brazil contributing around 600,000 software engineers annually.
  • Demand from USA companies for LATAM professionals has increased by 156% in 2024.

Changing Role Expectations

  • Demand for traditional software engineers has shifted towards those skilled in AI infrastructure and machine learning.
  • AI-related roles are expanding 3.6x faster than the average job, according to PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer.

Ghost Roles

  • Ghost roles are postings unlikely to lead to phone screens, often used to signal growth to investors or gather résumés for future positions.
  • Indicators of ghost roles include long posting durations with no updates, vague descriptions, and lack of company activity.

Application Tracking Systems (ATS)

  • ATS can streamline hiring but also hinder suitable candidates through keyword filtering.
  • The overreliance on keywords can disadvantage genuinely qualified candidates.

Converting Applications

  • Despite the decline in phone screens, the conversion rate from phone screens to technical interviews has increased from 32.11% in 2023 to 39.14% in 2024, reflecting a preparation advantage for Codesmith grads.
  • Various assessment types are popular, including live coding challenges (73.72%), take-home assignments (64.10%), and verbal technical questions (54.49%).

Easy Apply Applications

  • Easy Apply accounted for 698.16 of Codesmith graduates' applications, marking an 83.71% increase from 2023.
  • With higher competition, many applications through Easy Apply may receive little attention, but personalization can improve chances.

Impact of Networking

  • Referrals are crucial, with 26.9% of job offers coming from alumni and personal networks.
  • Engaging with alumni can provide insights and preparation for interviews.

Changing Industries

  • In 2024, the most common roles offered to grads included Software Engineer (37.59%), Full Stack Engineer (11.28%), and Senior Software Engineer (9.40%).
  • The primary industries hiring grads remain Software/Tech, with Fintech and Healthcare gaining ground.

Conclusion

  • As industries increasingly adopt software engineering and expand AI/ML roles, Codesmith continues to adapt its programs to meet the evolving demands of the job market.