On October 31, a special job fair for Chinese overseas-educated artistic and creative talent was held in Beijing, drawing many students majoring in art-related fields.
"It is very different from submitting resumes online; you can communicate face to face with HR," said Xiao Yang, a post-2000 graduate this year in architecture from the University of Manchester. He had previously sent resumes online to many organizations or companies, often going through resume screening, AI assessment, and AI interviews. "In the first three rounds, you basically never see a real person, and that makes your hope and enthusiasm diminish bit by bit."
This job fair for artistic talent was organized by New Oriental's SfK and was attended by more than 20 companies, covering fields such as culture, art, design, gaming, fashion, technology, and consumer goods. As AI rapidly lowers the thresholds of technique, software proficiency, and basic execution, what kind of artistic and creative talent do companies truly need?
Xiao Yang admitted to reporters that he felt considerable pressure, because many companies have very high requirements for applicants' comprehensive abilities, "basically wanting an all-rounder." Huang Tianyu, a post-2000 graduate from the University of Edinburgh, felt the same way. "I feel there are few job openings and many applicants, and many companies and organizations require familiarity with currently popular AI tools or technologies, so we have to learn again." In addition, he found that many companies place more emphasis on applicants' project experience. "If fresh graduates do not have much relevant experience, this is an area they need to make up for."
The White Paper on Global Competence of Creative Talent released that day shows that under the AI wave, for artistic and creative talent, technique is depreciating, as generative AI sharply lowers the threshold for "turning ideas into images, models, and videos"; but judgment is appreciating, and the ability to clarify "what to do, for whom, why do it, and whether it is done well" is becoming the dividing line between people and AI; at the same time, boundaries are disappearing and the stage is expanding, and creative talent needs to understand culture and the market, with compound abilities becoming the norm rather than a "bonus."
Based on this, the white paper proposes that those who ultimately go far in the global creative industry are not the students with the most beautiful portfolios, but those who simultaneously build "creative judgment" across the four dimensions of business, culture, aesthetics, and technology, namely business perception, cultural resonance, aesthetic expression, and technological mastery.
"In the AI era, various solutions and possibilities become incredibly fast," said Hao Bin, assistant vice president of New Oriental Education & Technology Group and president of SfK International Art Education. In his view, what is scarcest in this era is judgment, the unique ability to choose formed after deep training in creative thinking.
Zhao Beiyang, a counselor at the School of Fine Arts of Minzu University of China and head of the "Painting a Beautiful Life" employment studio, believes that for students, confidence is also very important. They should actively prepare for employment and job seeking, do good psychological preparation, and bravely seize the opportunities of the times. At the same time, they should bravely take the first step into internships. "The first internship is very important; it will give students a real understanding of the workplace and of themselves."
Zhao Daming, a counselor at the School of Arts of Beijing Union University and director of the Student Affairs Office, told reporters that AI has greatly lowered the threshold for basic creative output, and if students remain only at the level of superficial creation, their works can easily become homogenized. At the same time, AI tools are emerging one after another, and long-term reliance on AI may also gradually weaken one's own insight and originality. He advises students to treat AI as a creative assistant and to focus their energy and abilities on core capabilities that AI can hardly replicate, such as user insight, humanistic expression, and unique aesthetics. In job seeking, they can also use AI to continuously accumulate a personal style while practicing the basic skills of creativity well, so that AI truly matches their own characteristics.
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