The new rules for building a career — and protecting it
Workers are increasingly adopting proactive career management strategies, such as upskilling in AI and building personal brands, to navigate a volatile labor market. Experts suggest that traditional hard work is no longer sufficient to guarantee job security in the current 'career protection era.'
Why it matters
This shift reflects broader changes in the modern workforce, where job instability and rapid technological advancement require employees to treat their careers as a continuous, strategic project.
Karena Plepel (left), Nicholas Jenkins (center), and Maahir Sharma (right) each invested time outside work to build and protect their careers. Karena Plepel (left), Nicholas Jenkins (center), and Maahir Sharma (right) Workers say finding a job and protecting their careers requires more effort than it once did. Layoff prep, upskilling, and personal branding are becoming time-consuming career investments. Many workers say hard work and experience are no longer enough to build and sustain a career. When a strategic shift at Intel made Kent Ha worry his digital marketing job could disappear, he didn't wait for a layoff notice. He started looking for his next job. "I figured worst case, I'd land another offer and have a backup plan," said Ha, who's in his 30s and lives in Oregon. "Best case, I'd keep my job and wouldn't have to make any changes."
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