Key Takeaways
- Because AI is now part of many college programs, new grads have this experience listed by default. This means experienced professionals are unknowingly competing with them.
- Many industry-standard creative tools have AI built in. However, clients and Recruiters won't know you're using these tools unless you explicitly state it on your resume or profile.
- In a market where clients are actively seeking AI fluency, not listing these skills can look like resistance or a lack of experience, putting you at a competitive disadvantage.
- Updating your profile with your AI skills and experiences helps Recruiters advocate for you when clients are looking for talent with AI capabilities.
I just filled several new roles for clients, specifically looking for AI skills in candidates. While doing so, I noticed something unexpected. Recent graduates were among the few listing specific AI skills and platforms.
ChatGPT came out just a few years ago yet most colleges have already integrated AI into their programs. So to newly minted grads, AI fluency is just another skill they learned in school.
If you’re a seasoned creative, there’s a good chance your job search materials haven’t kept pace with your latest work and don’t include newly developed AI skills. And that gap is showing up in recruiting searches I do for my clients every day. Let’s fix that.
The AI skills comparison is happening without you
When a hiring manager asks a Recruiter for creative talent with AI fluency—and that request is coming up more and more—Recruiters search their database for candidates who have those skills listed, just as you would search for any other skill or key competency.
If your profile hasn't been updated recently, there’s a good chance you don’t have AI skills listed. Instead, here's what a Recruiter sees: lots of experience, real accomplishments, and a proficiency gap where AI should be. Meanwhile, a recent graduate with a fraction of your experience is showing up in searches because they’ve listed AI tools and skills they learned in school.
Most experienced creatives are using AI (often without even thinking about it). It’s built into Adobe, Figma, Canva, and almost all of the industry-standard tools that have been part of creative workflows for years. Many of our talent are going much further—a Product Manager in our network coding prototypes faster than her Dev Team, a Marketer who rebuilt his entire campaign pipeline so it runs without him, a Designer producing work that used to require a full department. If examples like these aren’t represented on your resume, portfolio, or online profiles, you’re going to be overlooked for many creative roles.
What silence signals
Let’s address the concerns. Some experienced creative professionals fear that listing AI skills sends the wrong message. They worry it suggests a reliance on machines for tasks they should do themselves, or that it diminishes the craft behind their work.
That fear is understandable, but it's also working against you.
Clients who are asking about AI aren't looking for people who have outsourced their creativity to a tool. They're looking for people who have figured out how to use new technology to do things faster, more efficiently, or at greater scale. They still need the human judgment and aesthetic sensibility that make the work compelling. That's exactly what experienced creative professionals bring. AI fluency is the new skill. Craft is still the foundation. Years of experience lead to better judgment and outcomes that new grads often lack.
Not listing AI skills doesn't protect your reputation as a skilled professional. It just makes it harder for us to match you to the clients who are actively looking for that experience.
What updating your profile actually does
The market for AI experience is real and growing. Enterprises that were cautious about AI a year ago are now building it into their workflow requirements, their job descriptions, and their intake conversations with recruiting partners. They're asking us which candidates have AI experience, not just an openness to learning it. Some are going further, developing formal AI skills assessments the same way they've long evaluated proficiency in design tools, platforms, or coding languages.
Your talent profile is what enables me, as your Recruiter, to answer that question on your behalf. That's why we're reaching out to a million talent across our network, asking them to share their AI skills and experiences in the form of a PAR story (Problem, Action, Result) so we can better advocate for them and help them find new job opportunities. If you’re in our talent network and haven’t heard from us yet, be on the lookout for an email in the coming month. You can also update your talent profile to include your AI skills at any time on my.aquent.com.
A practical question worth sitting with
Ideally, you’re now sold. You understand the value of AI to employers and Recruiters and want to be sure you can land your next role. I ask that you think about the last three months of work. What have you done with AI that you’re especially proud of?
New graduates are ready with answers to this question. Not because they’re more skilled with AI than you, but because it was required of them in school. The difference is that you have years of judgment, taste, and craft they don’t yet have. Pairing that with real AI fluency is where the real opportunity is. We’re seeing talent do things with AI that are truly remarkable. That could be you, too.
About the author
Chelsea is a dedicated Content Recruiter at Aquent with three years of experience connecting talent with opportunities in the Consumer and Services industries. Specializing in content-driven roles like Copywriting, PR, Internal Communications, Content Strategy, Social Media, and Content Specialist positions, Chelsea excels at matching skilled professionals with organizations looking to elevate their messaging and storytelling.
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