Tech, Talent & Money: 2023 Bingo

I don't know about you, but I'm just about at the point where I feel like I can consider letting out a muted laugh/cry for wtf happened between Jeremy Renner's ski trip from hell, Taylor Time and this morning's Iced Long Black.

2023 has seen enough ridiculous moments for me to begin to consider whether The Matrix was a documentary, or for Solopcism to rise up as the latest credible candidate for the meaning of life.

In the interest of time, I've done my best to recap some choice moments across the intersection of tech, talent and money.

Maybe you're just as interested in this Venn Diagram as I am, maybe you've signed off for the year, or maybe you just wish I'd stop using "Venn Diagram" liberally in conversation. Either way, tongue firmly in cheek, I hope this article serves as a tonic for the bumps and bruises of the year.

*Deep breath*

Tech

If you've not heard of AI...

No, but seriously, if I'd have figured out a way of using AI mentions to mine crypto, I'd be seven margs deep in the Bahamas instead of writing this.

• Unless you've been in cryosleep, you'll have observed OpenAI remove monkeys from the backs of humans with internet access overnight by releasing ChatGPT*. If you begrudge the cognitive load of essays, building trip itineraries, making cinema by filming people/things, or writing the strategy doc for a drop-shipping business: this was your year, baby. If you know anyone whose identity is "group organiser", please check on them
• "ChatGPT" became to LLMs what "Hoover" is to vacuum cleaners, but wait, there's more
• Unless you live in Bondi, your sacred, 5G-fuelled, scroll-hole time doubled (or halved?), thanks to Nokia, T-Mobile and a few players
• Robots have (with the help of LLMs) on several occasions, reminded us that our shift as stewards of this planet might be drawing to a close
• Crypto, Blockchain and NFTs sat a coupla rounds out as being So Hot Right Now, and let Web3 take the reins as "least easy to articulate" in pubs, locker rooms and cafes the world over
• IBM assures us it's still doing fine, in case you forgot about Quantum Computing, thanks for asking
• Advancements in #greentech caused a few major governments some problems, and made a few family dinners a little awkward, but asked us to ask ourselves "should we pull stuff out of the ground and burn it to survive?" another year running
• Emails smelling a little less phishy? Nigerian Princes, hungover remote employees, Batman villains and ya boy Human Error have pushed 9/10 cyber security teams (to therapy, and) to adopt Zero Trust plans
• Oh, and vale Gordon Moore, whose critics once again failed to "chip" away (sorry) at his life's work! Just ask NVIDIA

Talent

A lot of money. A lot of people. A lot of cuts. A lot of jobs. Not enough time

• TA had its chair pulled out, sorry; gained a seat at the table. Turns out if hiring is your priority, you could do worse than listening to the people you hired to hire people. Oh yeah, and feel free to talk to them openly about headcount planning, how much you pay the people you hire, and how you hire them; y'know, TA things
• Virtue signalling = still a good way to remind us you're a Recruitment Thought Leader after a deal falls through, or getting fkboi'd by a client/candidate makes you scream into your hands. But yeah, does anyone "AGREE?!" that "there is absolutely no reason an agency should share a resume without a candidate's permission"? Also, "let's kick low-balling on salary out of recruitment"
• Creeping salaries, too much "use it or lose it" hiring money and growth outstripping talent availability in the tech sector formed the perfect storm for software engineers, customer success managers, salespeople, recruiters, and other Hero Hires of 2022. If you've found yourself at a career crossroads after a few years of growth you're not alone
• Speaking of recruiters, and growth, there's still been plenty of hiring. Just in 2023, it needed to be more efficient, according to 77% of TA leaders
• Recruiters use AI, too! 60% of companies actively hiring in 2023 agreed that it's possible to stay high-touch AND remove repetitive time thieves from the hiring process
• Employer branding wasn't a competitive edge, it was essential, and an undeniable link between candidate experience and hiring ROI
• You're not ahead of the curve if your hiring is "data-driven"; you're behind if it isn't
• We still don't have the answer to whether we should or shouldn't congregate in the same building to pay our bills, but boy did we love talking about it
• The threshold for standing out as an employer of choice remains, basically, just anywhere above Pizza Fridays, which is either a travesty or a huge opportunity
• DEI = DNA. In breaking news, demographic factors in hiring and culture strategy influence... how you continue to hire and inform culture
• In this month's episode of "I don't want to live in this world anymore", Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone except CEOs that announced layoffs right before the holidays

Money

Is everyone OK?!

• Eating was expensive, but less expensive than in 2022, then less expensive than earlier in 2023, but more expensive than pre-COVID. Top tip: if you want to know what exponential price-gouging feels like, make Bondi Woolies your local grocery store!
• Drinking was expensive, especially in places where drinking is a national sport
• Staying warm was expensive
• (Not) Parenting was expensive
• Not dying was expensive
• Renting was expensive
• Buying a house was expensive
• Commuting was expensive
• Going on holiday was expensive
• Enjoying yourself was expensive
• Running a business was expensive
• Retail investing was expensive... unless you timed it right
• The Holiday Season was (probably) expensive... Kevin McCallister would be dreaming if he thought he could pull the same Christmas shop together in 2023
• Venture Capital was still very much a thing, less so than in 2022, which isn't bad as you think, and sustained by technologies with potential for higher societal impact
• IPO numbers rallied after a brief snooze, with huge moments for hardware, enterprise SaaS and open-toed shoes
• Capitalism: Gen Z said "not for me, that"

Well, that's it. Let me know if I missed anything!

If you feel like a two-week nap, you've earned it. At the very least, anyone old enough to read this diatribe will at least have gained the right to berate their (grand)children when they describe how tough their 2033 was, safe in the knowledge they made it through 2023.