Investing in the Future: The Case for Hiring and Mentoring Junior Tech Talent
P.S. Lab Notes are written for and organized by Persona Types 👤 persona types – we wanted to sort our content by the way people think and not across topics, because most topics are beneficial for people of all different backgrounds in product building. Our method allows for readers to hone in on what suits them, e.g. via perspective, lessons learned, or tangible actions to take. .
For years, the tech industry has been grappling with a growing trend: the increasing dominance of senior-level roles and the scarcity of opportunities for entry-level talent. This “senior-only” market, characterized by a disproportionate emphasis on hiring experienced professionals, has been a long time coming, shaped by various factors and industry shifts. Let’s dig in to what contributed to this trend, some counterpoints to it, and the long term consequences of not hiring junior talent.
A note for readers: when referring to the tech industry here, anyone supporting, selling, integrating, or making technology qualifies. So a project manager at a small software company would be included, but so would a product designer for a major restaurant group. As technology becomes increasingly integrated into businesses, many traditional sectors like retail, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and hospitality are hiring tech professionals to keep up.
