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)
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."By the time he was laid off last July, he'd already spoken with his financial advisor and was about a month into his job search.Ha is among the workers who say finding a job, keeping one, and building a career now takes more time, planning, and effort than it used to. For some, that means spending nights and weekends learning AI. Others are building personal brands online, relocating for better opportunities, or preparing for layoffs before they happen.Call it the career protection era: a time when many workers say strong job performance and years of experience aren't enough on their own to build and sustain a career.
Kent Ha started preparing for a layoff before losing his job at Intel.
