Freshers vs experienced professionals: Who is winning the AI hiring race?

Companies aren't necessarily hiring fewer people because of AI; they're hiring differently, rewarding candidates who can combine domain knowledge with AI skills over traditional qualifications alone

Routine tasks that once helped fresh graduates learn on the job, like coding assistance, documentation, research, testing and drafting, are increasingly being handled by artificial intelligence (AI). Reports by PwC, Microsoft and the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggest this is beginning to reshape entry-level work and hiring trends.

 

In India, the impact is already visible. While overall IT hiring remains subdued, recruitment for AI-related roles continues to grow. Staffing firms say employers are becoming more selective, favouring candidates who can apply AI to business problems and contribute from day one.

AI is changing the entry-level job

For decades, entry-level roles served as training grounds where graduates learnt through repetitive tasks such as documentation, coding support, testing, data collection and research.

 

 

Generative AI is changing that.

 

According to the WEF, many of these routine activities can now be completed significantly faster with AI, reducing the amount of apprenticeship work traditionally assigned to junior employees. Rather than replacing graduates, employers are raising expectations around workplace readiness, expecting new hires to solve problems and work effectively alongside AI tools.

 

"Before generative AI became mainstream, entry-level hiring was largely based on academic qualifications and the ability to learn on the job. Today, employers expect fresh graduates to arrive with stronger workplace readiness, digital fluency and the ability to work alongside AI tools from the outset," Dr Nipun Sharma, chief executive officer of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, told Business Standard.

 

"There is a misconception that technology companies no longer require freshers. They do. AI can generate code, but someone still needs to guide it, validate the output and solve the business problem," said Deepak Gupta, co-founder of TalentTrail.ai.

 

What has changed, Gupta told Business Standard, is the hiring model. Instead of recruiting large batches of graduates and training them over several months, companies increasingly prefer candidates who can create value almost immediately.

Freshers are still being hired, but the bar is higher

Contrary to fears that AI is replacing graduates, recruiters say companies continue to invest in early-career talent. However, the definition of a job-ready fresher has changed.

 

Candidates who can demonstrate practical projects, familiarity with AI tools and the ability to apply technology to real business problems are increasingly preferred over those relying solely on academic qualifications.

 

"Campus hiring remains an important talent source, but the criteria for selection are evolving," Sharma said.

 

The findings align with PwC's latest AI Jobs Barometer, which found employers increasingly value human capabilities such as judgement, creativity and collaboration alongside technical skills as AI automates routine work.

Who are employers hiring?

Both experts rank candidates with a combination of experience and AI skills as the most sought-after talent.

 

According to Gupta, the most valuable profile is an experienced professional who can combine domain expertise with AI to improve productivity and business outcomes. AI-skilled freshers come next, followed by experienced professionals without AI capabilities and traditional fresh graduates.

 

Sharma offered a similar assessment but cautioned against viewing it as a competition between freshers and experienced professionals.

 

"The key differentiator today is not years of experience but the willingness and ability to learn continuously," he said.

 

Gupta said the strongest demand currently lies in the three-to-five-year and five-to-ten-year experience bands, as these professionals can execute independently, adopt new technology quickly and translate AI into business outcomes. Fresh graduates remain an important talent pool, he added, but employers now expect greater workplace readiness than before.

 

Sharma cautioned against drawing broad conclusions across industries, saying demand varies significantly by sector and function. However, he agreed that adaptability, continuous learning and the ability to work effectively are becoming more important than experience alone across all career stages.

Companies are redesigning roles, not creating new ones

Experts say the larger transformation is taking place within existing roles rather than through the creation of entirely new ones.

 

Software developers are becoming AI-assisted developers, and recruiters are increasingly using AI for candidate sourcing and assessment.

 

New roles such as AI product managers, AI governance specialists and model evaluators are emerging, but they remain a relatively small part of the workforce.

 

"The biggest employment impact will come from AI becoming a compulsory capability within almost every existing function," Gupta said.

How will hiring change over the next five years?

The distinction between freshers and experienced professionals is likely to become less relevant over the next five years.

 

Instead, employers are expected to evaluate candidates on how effectively they combine technical expertise, business understanding and AI capabilities.

 

By 2030, years of experience alone are unlikely to be enough.

 

"Experience will continue to matter, but only when it is accompanied by adaptability and continuous learning," Sharma said.

 

Gupta agreed, saying the future belongs to professionals who can combine domain knowledge with AI-enabled execution rather than relying solely on tenure or technical expertise.