The short version
There is no shortage of people who can animate. There is a severe shortage of people who can read a brief, protect the idea inside it and return something a client will approve.
What is really going on
Reels select for finish, not for judgement. A polished reel proves someone can execute a locked board — it says nothing about what happens when the board is wrong.
Most portfolios are built from studio work where the designer animated three shots of a piece somebody else directed. The credit is honest; the capability signal is not.
Trend-driven work ages in months. A director hiring from last quarter's trend reel inherits an aesthetic that will already look dated when the campaign ships.
How to handle it
Ask what changed between the boards and the final cut, and who decided. The answer separates executors from designers.
Brief a small paid test with a deliberately incomplete brief. You are testing questions, not craft.
Look for evidence of restraint — a designer who removed an effect because it hurt the message is rarer and more valuable than one who added five.
The takeaway
Hire for judgement and reliability. Craft is visible in a reel; both of those are only visible in conversation.