What’s Happening with IT Hiring? Find Out in the New Episode of Closed the Round

A new episode of the podcast Closed the Round (Zakryv Raund) is out now. This time, hosts Anton Poleskov and Illia Kabachynskyi are joined by Olena Rudenko, Data Analyst at Djinni.co, to unpack the current hiring landscape in tech. Together, they discuss which roles are in high demand, where job seekers face the toughest challenges, and which positions remain unfilled for months. The episode is produced with the support of FAVBET Tech.

Today’s market is full of paradoxes. On paper, there seem to be plenty of specialists, yet finding the right talent remains difficult. Senior professionals are switching jobs less frequently, prioritizing stability — especially those who’ve managed to keep their peak-level compensation from 2020–2021. Meanwhile, companies are aggressively looking for talent who can drive sales. Demand for sales and marketing roles has risen to about 20% of all openings, while the need for artificial intelligence specialists is also climbing.

According to Rudenko, one of the fastest entry points into the industry is customer support, where communication skills and basic English are more important than technical expertise. From there, career growth becomes much more accessible.

https://youtu.be/uM8RZxYWOyA?si=GjnG4OJyrUJwip7t

At the same time, opposite trends are at play. Senior employees most often leave due to conflicts with management, while companies are willing to invest heavily to secure candidates with the right skill set. Both outsourcing and product companies are hiring, though outsourcing firms are doing so at a much smaller scale than a few years ago. Interestingly, job seekers are lowering salary expectations if their search drags on too long.

Junior candidates, however, are rarely hired. Applications for entry-level roles are also dropping, as many newcomers abandon the job hunt after repeated failures. Still, the market is showing signs of recovery, with new opportunities emerging in Defence Tech, R&D, and industries far removed from the traditional tech sector.

Photo: Podcast hosts Anton Poleskov and Illia Kabachynskyi

This episode also covers salary trends, the “two-job” phenomenon, the return to office work, and hiring opportunities for Ukrainians in Europe. Plus, it answers key questions like how to choose a career path in IT without coding, and which transferable skills can serve as a springboard into a new profession.

Zakryv Raund is a podcast about technological trends, the job market, and the people shaping it. The project has been running for three years with the support of FAVBET Tech, a Ukrainian technology company ranked among the country’s top 50 IT businesses and a co-initiator of the AI Committee at the IT Ukraine Association.