"I know AI" is not a skill an employer can hire. Companies hire for specific, demonstrable capabilities tied to a role. The way to know if you have what they want is to stop self-assessing vaguely and start matching yourself against real requirements.
Start from real job listings
Pick three actual postings for the role you want and list the skills they repeatedly ask for. That list, not your intuition, is your target. Patterns emerge fast - and they differ sharply between building and applying AI, so decide your lane first via AI jobs vs AI development.
The categories employers check
- Demonstrable skill - can you show work, not just claim knowledge? A portfolio answers this.
- Relevant tools - the specific tools and methods the role names
- Judgement - can you reason about where AI helps and its limits?
- Communication - can you explain AI to non-experts? Often underrated.
Audit yourself honestly
For each skill on your target list, mark: can do and can prove / can do but cannot prove / cannot do yet. The middle category is your quickest win - turn "can do" into "can prove" with a small project or recognised credential.
Mind the applied skills
Employers adopting AI badly need people who can direct it, not only build it. Strategic judgement - the focus of Strategic Application of AI in Business - is a genuine, hireable skill many beginners overlook.
The bottom line
Assess yourself against real listings, not a vague feeling - can you do each named skill, and can you prove it? Close the "cannot prove" gaps first with projects and a credential. Next: from AI beginner to getting hired.