How will organizations attract\u00a0and develop\u00a0the AI-native workforce they\u2019ll\u00a0need tomorrow when entry-level roles are shrinking today? Here\u2019s the future-ready, early talent strategy you need.<\/p>\n
Fewer opportunities for early talent\u00a0<\/p>\n
The job marketplace has contracted significantly for those with less than five years\u00a0of\u00a0professional experience. Research published by SAP shows that openings in the 10 most common entry-level job titles declined by 35% in just one year, from 2024 to 2025.*<\/p>\n
Budget constraints, hiring freezes, and uncertainty around the ROI of early talent\u00a0as AI\u00a0increasingly takes on routine and manual tasks\u00a0are among the\u00a0reasons\u00a0cited by HR leaders today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Applications\u00a0skyrocket\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI is\u00a0also\u00a0having a major impact on the recruitment process.\u00a0With such limited opportunities available,\u00a0more than half of early talent candidates use AI to help them land a job\u2014a process that\u00a0now\u00a0takes\u00a0eight months\u00a0on average\u00a0and involves more than 300 job applications.*<\/p>\n
HR<\/a> is feeling the pressure managing the candidate pipeline, with\u00a0the number of applicants per early talent job opening doubling since 2021.\u00a0A\u00a0high volume of candidates\u00a0are\u00a0submitting\u00a0AI-generated r\u00e9sum\u00e9s and applications, and it\u2019s becoming much harder to detect high-fidelity signals around skills, fit, and potential.\u00a0<\/p>\n HR can strategically select and develop the workforce of tomorrow<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u00a0a painful\u00a0scenario for everyone involved. Fragile and unsustainable. And the\u00a0implications\u00a0will be\u00a0profound for enterprises that\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0act quickly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n HR leaders\u00a0voice\u00a0concerns\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Playing out the current\u00a0trajectory\u00a0to its natural conclusion, what happens when all the\u00a0fresh talent eventually dries up? Already,\u00a0HR leaders\u00a0are alarmed by this risk.\u00a0\u201cUltimately, if we stop investing in early talent, we will wind up eliminating our talent pipeline,\u201d one\u00a0global head of early talent\u00a0programs at a high-tech organization\u00a0told researchers.*<\/p>\n A senior HR director at a high-tech organization commented: \u201cIf we continue down this path and don\u2019t provide a way for early talent to get started, it\u2019s going to lead to massive skill shortages in the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Widespread reductions in early talent hiring will lead to skills gaps that\u00a0will\u00a0prove expensive to remedy. Organizations will struggle to build company capabilities,\u00a0retain\u00a0knowledge, and develop future leaders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But by far the most common concern from leaders\u00a0was around not\u00a0seeing\u00a0early talent as\u00a0AI-native.\u00a0If the AI\u00a0capabilities\u00a0of this cohort\u00a0are\u00a0overlooked,\u00a0companies\u00a0may\u00a0miss out on\u00a0a key opportunity to scale AI innovation and adoption\u00a0across the business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s\u00a0the answer?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Today,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0an opportunity for HR leaders to be more intentional\u00a0and strategic, to reimagine\u00a0their approach\u00a0to early talent from the ground up. With the right early talent strategy, organizations can gain a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n Here are three steps\u00a0to consider.\u00a0<\/p>\n Step\u00a01: Rethink entry-level roles\u00a0<\/p>\n Traditionally, junior employees have\u00a0mainly\u00a0been given routine, repetitive tasks.\u00a0Combined with frustratingly slow career\u00a0progression, the result is\u00a0eroding morale and commitment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This\u00a0approach must evolve.\u00a0The nature of work is changing rapidly,\u00a0and early talent no longer need to take on those routine tasks. These employees need the opportunity to develop at speed and to be supported in performing\u00a0work that\u00a0meaningfully addresses\u00a0business challenges.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n HR has the chance to reshape entry-level positions,\u00a0to provide support, guidance, and tools to enable\u00a0junior staff\u00a0to contribute\u00a0in\u00a0more\u00a0impactful\u00a0ways. This may involve them\u00a0working\u00a0with proper guidance\u00a0to support\u00a0more critical\u00a0projects, interacting with customers,\u00a0and\u00a0even\u00a0owning some tasks end to end.\u00a0<\/p>\n This\u00a0approach\u00a0not only enables early talent to contribute more positively to the business at an earlier stage, but when combined with clear goals, regular feedback loops, and occasional coaching, it also fosters greater engagement and commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Step\u00a02: Support your strategy with technology\u00a0<\/p>\n Hiring\u00a0and developing\u00a0early talent\u00a0have\u00a0become more complex\u2014from deciphering AI-generated applications, to redesigning\u00a0roles and meeting their aspirations in a fast-changing business context.\u00a0And with the nature of early talent work\u00a0shifting,\u00a0leaders need\u00a0tools to help\u00a0understand the\u00a0new capabilities that will predict\u00a0long-term success and demonstrate the\u00a0value\u00a0of\u00a0early talent initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where technology can help. During the hiring process,\u00a0technology\u00a0can help\u00a0employers\u00a0see beyond the\u00a0noise of\u00a0AI\u00a0applications\u00a0and rediscover the\u00a0meaningful\u00a0signals\u00a0they\u00a0need to create candidate shortlists and strengthen hiring decisions. Meanwhile, technology can also help to maintain engagement with other high-potential\u00a0candidates\u00a0who applied\u2014for when the next opportunities arise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Once\u00a0early talent\u00a0begin\u00a0work,\u00a0today\u2019s technology\u00a0can help you track their participation\u00a0in early talent programs and progression towards their goals.\u00a0It also helps facilitate individualized learning opportunities and demonstrate\u00a0the\u00a0ROI\u00a0of your early talent\u00a0investments.\u00a0For\u00a0research-based recommendations on the role of technology in early\u00a0talent selection and development,\u00a0check out this\u00a0quick guide<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Step\u00a03: Reframe the business case for early talent\u00a0<\/p>\n As the nature of early\u00a0talent work is changing alongside the technology used to support\u00a0them,\u00a0HR leaders agree that the old business case for early talent investments needs to be\u00a0reimagined. Many organizations are focused on mitigating critical skill\u00a0gaps and engaging in large-scale AI transformations. While early\u00a0talent\u00a0lack\u00a0experience, they are eager to engage in continuous learning and understand how to work effectively alongside AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n Research also reveals\u00a0that\u2014as they work alongside modern tools\u00a0and technologies\u2014early talent can contribute to high-value, meaningful work much faster than in the past.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A\u00a0modern early talent business case is one that involves\u00a0focusing\u00a0on faster time to\u00a0meaningful work, reducing critical skill gaps, and\u00a0leveraging\u00a0the AI-native capabilities of today\u2019s\u00a0entry-level workers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Build your early talent strategy\u00a0<\/p>\n Will HR leaders\u00a0watch\u00a0on\u00a0as a generation of AI-savvy talent\u00a0remains\u00a0underused, or act now and build the skills pipelines necessary\u00a0for a future-ready workforce?\u00a0<\/p>\n Get further insights on this topic by reading our report, \u201cEarly talent in peril:\u00a0How HR can strategically select and develop the workforce of tomorrow<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Visit\u00a0our\u00a0research library<\/a>\u00a0to stay tuned\u00a0for when phase\u00a0two\u00a0of this research gets published later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Autumn D. Krauss is chief scientist at SAP SuccessFactors.<\/p>\n Get the latest SAP news delivered to your inbox once a week<\/p>\n