Business leaders say they want people who can work with AI. In Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 survey, two in three said they wouldn't hire someone without AI skills.
66%
Share of business leaders surveyed who said they wouldn't hire someone without AI skills. 71% said they'd rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced one without them.
Source: Microsoft and LinkedIn, 2024 Work Trend Index — 31,000 people in 31 markets, Feb–Mar 2024
But a line on your CV that says "AI skills" proves nothing — everyone writes it. What gets you hired is proof: real work, done better or faster with AI, that someone can look at.
Build three proof pieces#
Open a job ad you want. Pick three tasks it describes — a report, an analysis, a campaign, a support reply, a small tool. Do each one yourself, with AI, using public or made-up data, never anything confidential.
For each, keep:
- The before and after. What it looked like on the first draft, and what you shipped.
- The time. How long it would have taken you without AI, and how long it took with it — checking included.
- The check. How you made sure it was right: the sources you verified, the formulas you tested, the person who reviewed it.
Put them where they'll be seen#
One short page per piece: the task, the result, the time, the check, and the two or three prompts that did the heavy lifting. Link them from the top of your CV and from your profile's featured section. A recruiter should be able to see the work in under a minute.
Say it in the interview#
When they ask about AI, don't describe tools. Tell one story: "This analysis would have taken me a day. With AI it took two hours, and here is how I checked every number." Then show it.
What not to do#
- Don't claim what you can't show. One real proof piece beats ten tool names.
- Don't paste anyone's confidential data into an AI tool to make a sample. Use public or invented data.
- Don't let AI write your application. Use it to tighten what you wrote; the examples, the voice and the reasons you want the job have to be yours.
Want a structured start?#
RDMI AI Workforce is free, job-focused AI training built around exactly this: you build real work with AI and finish with a portfolio and a verifiable certificate.
Next rung: building something of your own.