The AI boom in human resources

The AI revolution in HR.

Brandon, Adarsh and Surya may not have had a particularly large number of jobs at the age of 21. The number of their job interviews is also likely to be limited. The three high school friends have skipped a few career stages. They are the founders of a start-up valued at two billion dollars, which is preparing to disrupt the human resources industry through the use of artificial intelligence. The valuation of Mercor, as the startup is called, is no coincidence. The first investors include Peter Thiel (PayPal, Palantier), Jack Dorsey (Twitter) and Adam D'Angelo (Quora) — the who's who of Silicon Valley. Founded only in 2023, the startup recently received Series B funding of 100 million dollars. The company reports an annual turnover of 50 million dollars. According to its own statement, the company has 300,000 recruiters in its database. Primarily from the tech sector. Because this is one of Mercor's most important customers. OpenAI, for example, is mentioned as one of the largest clients.

Mercor also uses their AI technology in its multi-stage selection process. However, the company states that it is working with the five largest AI models on the market. They take over almost the entire selection of applicants. From automated reading of CVs to automated video interviews to the evaluation of test tasks. But Mercor goes one step further and not only lets its AI carry out fact-based analyses, but also pays particular attention to candidates' soft skills and motivation.

A mindshift has taken place in Silicon Valley.

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When searching for candidates, headhunters and recruiters such as Mercor focus primarily on the potential of applicants. How ambitious is the person and how good are the chances of expanding their hard and soft skills and developing them in the right direction? Candidates do not necessarily have to have the best qualifications, but they must have the potential to acquire the missing qualifications in the shortest possible time. The battle for talent in the Valley is brutal. An AI developer earns between 200,000 dollars and 400,000 dollars per year — depending on qualifications and experience. But in return, companies such as Meta, Google, OpenAI and Apple also expect full commitment and a high level of ambition. OpenAI developers working in Alignment, for example, must complete 100 hours of math and philosophy courses per year. On average, employees in Silicon Valley earn around 4 to 5 additional certifications per year. For managers, it is 6 to 8, all in addition to their working hours. Permanent continuing education and lifelong learning are a must if you want to survive the probationary period in companies. Tech companies invest three times what DAX companies invest in continuing education for their employees.

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Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing continuing education and employee development by enabling tailored learning paths, adaptive training environments and data-driven talent forecasting. Companies such as Microsoft use AI-based learning management systems that identify individual knowledge gaps through natural language processing and provide targeted training content. One example is the integration of Copilot Vision with developer environments, which provides real-time feedback on code quality and best practices. Immersive technologies also play a role: Meta, for example, has developed holographic training environments for interactive AI training. Predictive analytics models are also driving career planning. Google Cloud individualizes certification processes for cloud architects, which led to a significant increase in the completion rate. Mentoring programs also benefit from AI: Microsoft's “Coffee Connections” analyses employee profiles and project histories to form optimal mentoring pairs. At the same time, awareness of ethical issues is growing. Companies are increasingly using Explainable AI to ensure transparency in promotion and learning decisions.