2026 Autumn Recruitment: Are Fresh Graduates Being Asked for 3 Years of Experience?

In the 2026 autumn recruitment season, competition for AI talent is fierce. AI-related positions account for more than 80% of Alibaba's 2027 campus hiring, and over 90% at Baidu. PDD plans to recruit at least 100 large-model algorithm engineers. In the first half of this year, new AI job postings rose 789% year on year. Some AI PhD graduates saw their offers rise by 410,000 yuan within a few weeks. Meanwhile, AI adoption is shrinking entry-level roles. Routine tasks such as writing basic code, organizing data, and collecting materials are being automated, and companies are cutting junior hiring. Some firms have replaced internship slots with AI positions or shifted recruitment budgets to AI tokens and agent operations. According to a Shanghai Tech University survey, the positions hit hardest by AI are those paying 5,000 to 8,000 yuan per month and requiring 1 to 3 years of experience. Employers now often ask even current graduates for a year or more of AI development experience or three years of practical coding experience.