ArcaMax

It's a slash-and-burn job market. So you're good at what you do? Big whoop. So your last quarterly performance review was stellar? Ancient history. So your father is the majority stockholder in the company that employs you? Get real. Even nepo babies get the blues. They get the pink slips, too.

Think I'm being paranoid? I think you're not being paranoid enough. Managers today are not rewarded for how much they can make; they're rewarded for how many employees they can cut.

CEOs insist AI is the reason for the cuts. How many employees do you need to fire to screw in a light bulb? All of them! Who needs light bulbs? AI sees in the dark.

No wonder "the idea of a safe job feels like a relic of the past." So says Sho Dewan, the author of "The Career Moat: How to Build a Defensible Career in an Uncertain Job Market," a chilling article from Forbes.

Job security is a thing of the past, Dewan argues. Career resilience is a thing of the present. You achieve it by creating an "economic moat." That's Warren Buffett speak for" a company's unique, defensible advantage that protects it from competitors."

The moat concept applies to people, too.

A "Career Moat" is "a set of personal professional advantages that protect you from layoffs, competition and the chaos of the market." Ready to create your career moat? Grab a shovel and let's start digging.

No. 1: It Takes Two to Tangle

"In the modern workplace, you become valuable being one of the few who is very good at two or more things in combination," writes Sho Dewan, "not just a single common skill."

Ideally, your second skill will contrast with your primary skill. For example, you could be a mad marketing genius with far-out ideas, who also knows how to stay within a budget. Or a cutting-edge IT professional, who actually cares about the humans they are forced to work with.

The rarity of such Frankenstein creatures makes your unique "skill stack" so valuable that no one would or could replace you. (If you can't find that complementary skill, learn to make the office coffee. This is a skill so regarded and so rare that no matter how bad you are in the job you were hired for, you'll never get fired.)

No. 2: Go Brand Yourself

"Your job is what you do from 9-to-5. Your personal brand is who you are known for in your industry."

In order to become known requires more than spending lunch hour, bloviating in the break room. Become a content creator and commit to spending a portion of your workday posting your insights on social media. A good balance would be 95% posting, 5% working.

While it is good to be known as an industry expert, your real goal is to become an influencer. It will be difficult to become your industry's Mr. Beast or Alex Earle. Frankly, you just don't have the clothes for it. But Alex and Beasty don't know anything about Business Capability Modeling and Agile Backorder Management.

Your opinions on such fascinating business practices will be content catnip to your potential followers on highly respected social media sites, like OnlyFans and Tinder. Your reputation will soar, as long as your swiping thumb holds out.

No. 3: Don't Just Work, Network

A "deep, diverse network" will be a source of employment opportunities when your current employer picks up a chainsaw and starts cutting.

To build out your network efficiently and effectively, spend half of your time schmoozing with people you know well and really don't like. Spend the other half with people you don't know well but will definitely not like once you do. If anyone shows signs of liking you, drop them from your network immediately. They're coo-coo birds who have no judgment at all.

No. 4: Even Soreheads Keep Score

Despite your best efforts, the uptick in downsizing could put even the most secure job at risk.

To defend against future career carnage, create a "Wins Tracker," where you record all your successes. You should be able to handle it on a Post-it note.

No. 5: Float Your Moat

When you're called into HR for a surprise exit interview, your towering skill set, your legion of followers and your high-powered network should keep you safe, but don't be afraid to use your ultimate defense.

If company management ever wants to drink decent coffee again, they'd better fire someone else.

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Bob Goldman was an advertising executive at a Fortune 500 company. He offers a virtual shoulder to cry on at info@creators.com. To find out more about Bob Goldman and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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