Seven skills every worker needs in times of generative AI

The fact that AI tools will take over people’s work also means that people themselves will focus on other aspects and have to develop new skills, both to be able to work well with AI and to focus on what AI cannot do.

Last week I wrote about the general developments around generative AI and some of the challenges that technology brings. As one of the challenges I mentioned the changing way of recruiting staff in the future. The emergence of AI is accompanied by a new mindset and skills that employees must master. In this way, more value is attached to it soft skills and the ability to adapt and innovate becomes essential. Activities aimed at production and repetition will decrease.

Several organizations are already working on this subject. Employment agency Randstad has set up a general information page that gives a good overview of the skills for 2025 and marketing agency Goldfizh published an AI whitepaper about it. I will go into more detail on the seven skills mentioned there.

Tech savvy

This involves the proper and simple use of new tools and software with a view to how new technologies function and in which direction they are moving. Are (new) employees interested in the latest software, working methods and AI tools? How can these new technologies and tools be integrated into day-to-day work and applied effectively? Indeed provides a few helpful tips in this article tech savvy and companies such as Bosser & Knossen also offer training programs on this subject.

soft skills

In our digital age, traits such as customer focus, emotional intelligence and communication skills are invaluable. This is the area where we as humans have a big lead over AI robots. An article from Techradar indicates that today the following soft skills become increasingly important: curiosity, communication skills, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and the motivation for lifelong learning.

Strategic thinking

Since the ‘simple’ work can be done by means of tools, it is important to keep the big picture in mind and broaden our horizons. What are points that motivate employees to work harder? Here comes the understanding again thought leadership looking around the corner, something I already mentioned in my previous blog. Online learning platforms such as GoodHabitz offer in-depth courses to become a future-proof strategist.

Critical reasoning

AI has a lot of potential, but checking facts and using the most appropriate sources falls short. Sometimes data just doesn’t add up. That calls for caution in the rapidly changing world of AI. That is why it is becoming increasingly important as a content and media maker to be analytical and critical.

Is the information generated by an AI tool reliable or not? It is wrong to simply rely entirely on AI algorithms. LexisNexis provides useful tips for proper selection and checking of sources. In addition to this, the AI ​​course for the creative industry is a useful learning resource for critically assessing new media expressions.

Creativity

AI uses existing content to generate new content. It is based on the principle of input and output and therefore unable to produce original content. That is another thing that is reserved for man. To stand out as a company, constant innovation is necessary and creativity remains essential. Looking for resources for creativity? These TED talks can help fuel the fire of creativity.

Flexibility

Because ‘everything’ will soon be digital and AI will play a crucial role in this, the ability to keep up with changes is essential to stay ahead of the competition. For example, people will have to show that they can easily manage an AI tool and can always train where necessary. For example, where marketers are currently busy creating and organizing campaigns, they will soon be mainly occupied with coming up with a creative approach to the campaign. This will also be reflected in other business processes.

Prompt

Write prompts (or prompt) is the way we interact with AI: formulating commands for an AI tool. It is important to be clear and specific in the requests so that the tool can better understand what you want to know. There is a lot of information available on the internet about this. The question, however, is how to send search requests in such a way that you receive the best quality output in response. Here comes the prompt engineer in the game and that is precisely why this is a requested position at many companies today, as Randstad United Staen also confirms.

To get started creating the perfect prompt yourself, there are a few handy steps:

• Give the bot a clear role – “You are a content expert today”
• Be as specific as possible – “You need to create a social media campaign plan”
• Provide contextual information – “The campaign is for a major environmental organization and is about climate change. The aim is to recruit new donors who have not been in contact with the organization before.”
• Use examples to clarify what you mean – “Work out the plan in a see think do care-fashion model”

It’s important to remember here too that practice makes perfect. That’s why it’s helpful to update prompt requests until you get the best answer. Wired gives even more tips for setting up good prompts.

About the author: Alexander Lamprecht is Lecturer Digital Media at Hogeschool Amsterdam / Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

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