The New Career Formula: AI Skills + Human Skills + Personal Brand

By: Urmi Hossain

Urmi Hossain is an Italian-Bengali author, speaker, podcast host, and advocate for women’s empowerment based in Montreal, Canada. Her work explores identity, belonging, self-leadership, and personal growth, encouraging women to embrace their stories, recognize their worth, and confidently take up space. She is the author of Discovering Your Identity: A Rebirth from Interracial Struggle and host of Stories Beyond Borders, a podcast highlighting stories of immigration, language, culture, and what home means to people from diverse backgrounds.

What does being “career ready” mean for the next generation entering the workforce

as a result of AI?

In my opinion, being “career ready” means being adaptable, resilient and versatile. AI is the elephant in the room. Everyone talks about it and everyone is worried about it. For many, AI will replace some jobs, and for others, it will enhance and transform many of the exciting roles that already exist. In the past, we have always had situations where we had to adapt to emerging technologies, such as the rise of computers, the internet, automation and smartphones. AI is another major shift, and the people who remain adaptable, resilient and versatile will be best positioned to navigate it. For instance, those entering the workforce will be at an advantage if they can take courses about AI and learn how to use it in ways that bring value to their companies and future opportunities. We often talk about soft skills and technical skills. AI literacy is becoming another skill that we need to add to our knowledge toolkit.

Another important element is versatility: the ability to learn different skills and switch from one thing to another. My advice is: do not focus on learning one thing only. Widen your knowledge by learning new skills, even if they are not necessarily related to your degree. We cannot predict exactly what the future of work will look like, but we can prepare ourselves to adapt to it.

What can’t AI do? What skills are becoming more marketable and more important to

invest in in this digital age?

AI doesn’t have any real lived human experience. It doesn’t have human judgement or the

ability to understand the world the way we do. It is a machine. It will do what you tell it to do,

and what you feed will influence the outcome you get. We often hear the jargon “garbage in, garbage out.” It can hallucinate, it can make mistakes, and it lacks the judgement that is often required in certain situations. But more importantly, AI can’t tell your story. Let me give you an example. You are required to write a speech about your biggest fears. Can AI write that for you? Does AI know what your fears are? Or another example would be, “Tell me about a time you won a competition at school.” Can AI talk about that? Definitely not, because AI can’t live your experiences or tell your story. 

Another element AI cannot fully replace is human-to-human interaction. Think about consultants, advisors, teachers, doctors and professors. These are some of the roles where human connection, empathy, judgement and trust are extremely important. We may use AI to support these roles, but there is still a need for the human element. This is why I believe skills like communication, critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence and more will become even more important. These are skills that AI can support, but they are still deeply human.

Why is there, or is there, a shift in emphasis towards leadership, communication, and

interpersonal skills as opposed to technical and analytical skills? What are employers really looking for as a first impression, and in the long run?

In my opinion, you need everything to make a good impression. Being an amazing

communicator, knowing how to present yourself to a potential employer, how to speak, how

to shake hands, and simply being a people person are all things that will continue to matter.

First impressions are important. They allow people to see how they can approach another

person. Does this person know how to listen? Can they explain a concept properly? Do they

have the desire to learn and grow? Are they enthusiastic? I always say that technical skills are easier to learn. What you learn on the job, you can teach to someone. But how someone shows up, that comes from the person.

How has developing your personal brand served you in your career? What can university students do right now to build their personal brand?

In today’s era, personal branding is everything, and it is so much easier to create now than it

was back in the day. Everyone has a personal brand. We all have something to offer the world. We all have strengths and unique talents that people come to us for. When you build a strong personal brand, you open the door to many opportunities. Here are some of the advantages:

1. Personal branding shows what you are knowledgeable or passionate about - If you can

share your expertise through a blog post, a podcast, LinkedIn articles, speaking, or other

platforms, you are telling the world what you are good at and building credibility around that

topic.

2. Personal branding is portable - I always say that a proper personal brand is attached to

your name and your name only. You can work for many different companies, and often your

identity becomes attached to the company you work for. But when you change jobs, that

identity can disappear. If you build your personal brand independently of your job, just based on your authenticity, what you truly love, what you want to share with the world, and what you consistently do, you carry that with you wherever you go.

If you use LinkedIn to promote yourself, don't just talk about your 9-to-5. Talk about the work

you do outside of it. Maybe you are involved in your community. Maybe you have a podcast.

Maybe you do public speaking. Maybe you have written a book. Maybe you mentor people.

Talk about all of it. These are the things that make you different, and they help people

remember you.

For university students, my advice is simple: don't wait until you have ten years of

experience to start building your personal brand. Start now. Share what you are learning, talk

about the things you care about, get involved, and let people see what makes you different.

You don't need to be an expert. You just need to start showing people who you are and what

you bring to the table.

When we all have access to the same AI resources, what will differentiate one

professional from another?

I think in a world where we all have access to the same AI resources, one thing that AI

cannot give us is human connection, our creativity, our lived experiences and our ability to

build relationships. AI can definitely enhance our lives; it can take notes, edit content, find information and help us become more efficient. But it can’t speak for us. It doesn't live our lives. It can't replicate a human being or our personality. The human aspect and the value we bring to the table are irreplaceable.

We can all use the same AI tools and ask the same questions, but the answers we get and what we do with them will be different. We need to be wise about how we use AI and the information we get from it. Not all information is accurate, and it still requires us to double-check the facts and use our own judgement. I think at the end of the day, AI is something that needs to be used with caution. It is something that can enhance our lives, but it should never replace our human judgement.