Cisco HR chief says the positions that everyone in the technology industry is right now hiring for are…
Cisco’s Chief People Officer Kelly Jones has identified AI and machine learning operations roles as the most challenging positions to fill across the technology industry, citing an extremely limited talent pool and unprecedented demand.“The qualified pool is so small, and the demand is so high,” Jones told Business Insider. She explained that virtually every forward-thinking organization is currently competing for the same specialized talent, both for product development and internal IT operations.
Cisco’s top executives personally call candidates to close deals
To secure elite AI talent, Cisco has deployed an unconventional strategy: getting C-suite executives directly on the phone with candidates. Jones revealed that Cisco’s President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel personally calls high-priority candidates to differentiate the company from competitors engaging in “AI washing.”“Companies are talking about all these things they’re doing and how they’re slapping AI on everything, but they’re actually not doing interesting things with work or with products,” Jones said, according to Business Insider. The executive outreach helps candidates understand Cisco’s genuine AI initiatives beyond marketing rhetoric.Other tech companies have adopted similar tactics. Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly hosted promising candidates at his home over dinner, while Sam Altman makes direct calls to recruits he wants at OpenAI.
Entry-level opportunities evolving as AI reshapes traditional roles
While AI and ML positions remain scarce, the technology itself is reshaping what entry-level work looks like at Cisco. The company has phased out its level-one customer support roles after an AI assistant took over, handling more than one million cases since 2022, Jones told HR Brew.However, this hasn’t meant fewer entry-level jobs—just different ones. Former first-tier support employees have moved into second-level roles, prompting Cisco to completely redesign its onboarding process.“You have to give them all of the learnings of level one because they’re stepping in where the technology couldn’t solve,” Jones explained to HR Brew. New hires now handle more complex customer issues that require human judgment.According to Fortune, Cisco is also using AI to free up employee time rather than simply cut costs. The company has introduced AI agents that answer HR questions and automate administrative tasks, potentially giving its 86,000-person workforce back five percent of their time.For AI and ML roles specifically, Jones said Cisco looks beyond technical skills to evaluate intellectual curiosity, emotional agility, and leadership potential. “It’s not just about skills, because those can be learned,” she noted.The company is also building presence in tech communities, forums, and industry events where specialized AI talent naturally congregates, moving beyond traditional talent branding strategies.
