StepStone Job Bulletin 1.30.25

📢 Skills-Based Hiring: The New Standard in Recruitment

The job market is shifting as employers place greater emphasis on skills over degrees. According to the World Economic Forum, 85% of companies plan to upskill their workforce, and 70% expect to hire candidates based on in-demand skills rather than academic credentials.

💡Key Hiring Trends

✔ Skills assessments and real-world experience are replacing GPA as a hiring filter.
✔ AI and data literacy are among the most sought-after skills, along with analytical thinking and resilience.
✔ Employers want candidates who can learn quickly, solve problems, and work effectively with AI.

For students, demonstrating skills is becoming essential. Case studies, internships, and real-world applications like StepStone’s simulations provide opportunities to gain and showcase practical experience. Staying ahead of these trends will better prepare you for the evolving job market.

🐋 DeepSeek Has Entered The Chat

If you haven’t heard all the hype around DeepSeek, here’s the TLDR: It’s a low-cost, open-source Chinese AI model that rivals major AI models like ChatGPT.

Why does this matter? DeepSeek claims to have built its model for just $6 million, while OpenAI has spent hundreds of millions training ChatGPT—yet their performance is nearly identical. This efficiency breakthrough proves that cutting-edge AI doesn’t require massive spending and signals that China is advancing in AI faster than expected.

The AI stock rally came to a halt this week as DeepSeek’s emergence sent Nvidia and other AI stocks tumbling, wiping $1 trillion from the market as investors questioned whether U.S. firms could maintain their lead. The selloff was compounded by new U.S. tariffs on semiconductor imports, adding further uncertainty

📊 Key Takeaways

⚡ Market sentiment is powerful. The same enthusiasm that drives stocks up can cause rapid declines when competition or policy changes emerge.
🌎️ Global dynamics matter. China’s advancements in AI are a reminder that innovation is a global race with real financial implications.
🏛️ Policy shapes markets. New tariffs on semiconductor imports highlight how government decisions can directly impact industries and valuations.

For students interested in markets, M&A, or trading, this is a clear example of how geopolitics, innovation, and investor psychology intersect to move markets.

More to come as the AI wars heat up… 🔥