Autumn recruitment race for AI talent heats up

Chinese tech companies are scrambling to hire fresh graduates from both home and abroad, particularly those with a good grasp of artificial intelligence, with many enterprises having increased their recruitment quota for AI-related talent.

In early August, which signals the start of one of the two peak hiring periods in a year, tech titan ByteDance announced its global autumn recruitment program, with over 5,000 job offerings across eight fields, including research and development, products and management.

ByteDance said its hiring quota for R&D positions increased 23 percent year-on-year, according to China Economic Net, a news agency.

Chinese e-commerce giant and online services provider Alibaba also activated its autumn recruitment program earlier this month, making more than 7,000 job openings available for college students at home and abroad who graduate between November 2025 and October 2026.

Over 60 percent of the job vacancies at Alibaba are closely related to AI technologies, the news agency reported.

Li Qiang, vice-president of domestic recruitment portal Zhaopin, said that August to October is the best time to hire fresh graduates under the autumn recruitment program. "Companies have roughly kept the same pace in activating their autumn recruitment program this year," he said.

Noting the growing demand for AI-related young talent, Li said that enterprises want to maintain a competitive edge in the AI industry.

"As the competition of companies in the AI sector has shifted from basic R&D to innovation and practical use, the sector is generating commercial benefits but facing a shortage of talent. Therefore, tech companies are scrambling to book talent in advance," he added.

According to a report released recently by global consulting company McKinsey & Company, the AI industry will unlock more than $1 trillion in potential value for China, and by 2030, the nation's demand for individuals skilled in building AI products will grow sixfold — from the current 1 million to 6 million.

However, local and overseas universities and existing top-tier talent are estimated to supply only about 2 million or one-third of the AI talent needed by 2030, resulting in a shortage of 4 million people for AI roles, the report said.

Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said: "The market competition is ultimately competition for talent. With the faster and frequent use of AI in the development of companies, they certainly put more focus on recruiting AI talent related to big data and algorithms."

In addition to offering good compensation packages, some companies have also enhanced the quality of perks and performance bonuses to attract talent.

Chinese e-commerce platform JD, for example, said it has invested 7 billion yuan ($974 million) to build nearly 5,000 fully furnished apartments in Beijing. Among these, some apartments will be provided to eligible interns for free and available for use from September.

"Work or internship bonuses show the intention of companies to retain talent," Professor Li said, adding that it takes extra effort to improve the work environment, streamline promotion channels and enhance career prospects to keep talented employees motivated for work.

A 25-year-old Beijing resident, surnamed Li, who joined an internet company after finishing his postgraduate education at Tsinghua University this year, said he has noticed the job market's surging demand for AI talent.

"I just saw the news on the intensified autumn recruitment battle among internet titans. They have an increasing need for people who can create algorithms," he said, noting that good academic achievement or rich internship experience may help college students win an ideal position in these companies.

Li Qiang, from Zhaopin, suggested that college students can also pay attention to other new industries, including modern manufacturing, new energy and health, and learn to use digital tools such as AI to improve their resumes and land a job during the autumn recruitment period.

Xi Zhimiao contributed to this story.