Own The Conversation - Issue 88
The evolving Conversation Design Role. Rewatch the webcast and read on to dive into some fascinating data points that I pulled out of Bot Jobs data.
This week, I was honoured to be included on a panel of Conversation Design peers to discuss “The Evolving Conversation Design Role”. I was invited to talk from a recruitment and hiring perspective, but it was also great to hear the views of Oluwabusayo Adeniyi, Ezinwa Amadi and Hillary Black.
Hosts Emily and Giulia facilitated a fantastic conversation, however, for some of the pre-agreed questions (don’t worry, there were also plenty of audience questions that we got to answer), I had to delve into some historical data from Bot Jobs to get some answers.
While lots of the data was on skills and platform knowledge needed as a Conversation Designer, two data points stood out to me.
Do we need empathy as Conversation Designers?
While we would think that empathy was an important soft skill to have in the role of Conversation Designers, given how important it is to understand the needs of the user, I was surprised at how few job descriptions mention this as a requirement.
Are Conversation Designers also Coders?
One gripe that the Conversation Design community has had for several years is that Conversation Designer job adverts also mention a requirement for coding skills. Whether that be Python, Java or one of a multitude of other languages. It’s a design role that is more creative than technical, so surely this should not be a requirement?
Well, I am pleased to say that the data shows a significant drop in this requirement, where this is now a rarity to see. Finally!
But outside of CAI platforms, are there any technical skills that I should develop?
Obviously, there were lots of mentions of Conversational AI platforms that you need to sharpen your skills on (Dialogflow and Voiceflow leading the pack here), but outside of these there was a sharp increase in demand for one technical skill that is becoming more in demand.
No, it’s not ChatGPT, LLMs, Langchain or Hugging Face.
It’s APIs and especially REST APIs, indicating a need for Conversation Designers to be proficient in integrating and working with external services and data sources.
How about that for some very cool data!
Bot Jobs Affiliate Scheme
Bot Jobs is launching an affiliate scheme. Simply, if you refer a business to the Job Board and they pay for a job posting(s) then you get a percentage of that charge.
Launching at the beginning of May.
👉 If you are interested in being the first to hear about the scheme, then register your interest here 👈
So anyway, let’s get on with things.
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So, without further ado, let's dive in and Own The Conversation!
To another great week ahead,
Martyn
Jobs
Firstly, our featured jobs:
There are now too many jobs being added to list them individually in this newsletter, as Substack is telling me that it’s too long to send by emails.
So, here’s the job categories that you can get to quickly from here.
FYI, if you want timely alerts on roles added to Bot Jobs, then we already have email notifications, which you can sign up to at Bot Jobs, the jobs are all posted to our LinkedIn page and we have a LinkedIn newsletter for regular lists of roles available. I even post them to my X (formally, Twitter) feed.
There are now three ways that I help connect job seekers to opportunities, and employers to Conversational AI professionals:
Bot Jobs… The original and largest job board dedicated to Conversational AI roles, globally. Register for job alerts and get the latest jobs straight into your inbox daily or weekly. Remember, readers of this newsletter get their first posting for free using “FIRST1FREE”.
Bot Jobs Talent Pool… Employers, by getting access to the Talent Pool, can get direct access to candidates without the hassle of advertising and screening applications. If you’re in the market for a new role, or even a conversation, then make sure your profile is up to date and that you turn on the “Display my profile to employers” option on your profile.
Bot Jobs Freelancers… As a freelancer, by joining us, you can not only showcase your skills with your free portfolio builder but also connect with businesses that value your expertise. As a business member, you get to tap into a pool of talented freelancers ready to bring their unique perspectives to your projects.
Events to Attend: 2024 events
I’m curating a crowdsourced list of events to attend in 2024. 30+ events already listed. Are you running a meetup, webinar, summit or conference? Take a look and remember to add your event here. Networking at these kinds of events has brought new opportunities for community members, so make sure to take advantage of any event you can.
As always, if you want to add anything to the next newsletter (events/jobs etc.) then feel free to DM me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Threads.
Here’s hoping you have a great week.
Yours in AI,
Martyn
