Job Security No Longer Exists. Here’s What to Build Instead.

Let’s be real: job security hasn’t existed for years.

Since 2020, we’ve seen wave after wave of layoffs—tech, nonprofits, higher ed, government, you name it. Roles that were “safe” are now gone overnight. Skills that once made us stand out are being replaced or made irrelevant by AI. Even if you love your job, all it takes is a new manager or an unexpected life change to knock your career off course.

So what protects you when everything else shifts?

We don’t have an HR hotline for that.

We don’t have a literal insurance policy to cash in.

But what we can build is something I call "Career Insurance."

💡 What is Career Insurance?

As I’ve shared in my Forbes contributor column, Career Insurance is the protection you need when things go sideways. It’s also the leverage you want when things are going right.

It’s not simply “being good at your job.” It’s the strategic positioning that keeps you ready no matter what the job market, your team, or your goals look like next.

I think of Career Insurance as 5 core things:

• A power network of people who know you and trust your work
• An impressive and robust body of work
• A strong personal brand and visibility
• The strategic career skills to navigate change (not just hustle harder)
• And the habit of continually skilling up—without burning out

When you’ve got Career Insurance, a layoff doesn’t shake you. Promotions don’t feel random. And you’re not constantly trying to prove your worth or play office politics to be seen and recognized.

Because you’re positioned. You’re protected.

🚨 Why You Need It Now

If you’ve been following my work, you know the reality:

We can be talented. We can be overqualified. And STILL––we can be vulnerable.

We live in an era where:

• Job security no longer exists
• AI is replacing—not just assisting—work
• Quiet workhorses are getting left behind
• Networking-as-performance is exhausting (and frankly ineffective)

And most professional development out there? It’s not designed for women of color. It’s too basic. Or too expensive. Or too time-consuming. Or comes with outsized emotional labor just to make it usable—or worse, backlash because of who we are.

🔐 How You Start Building Career Insurance

Building Career Insurance starts with one question:

“Am I protected—and positioned—for whatever may be coming next?”

If the answer is “not really” or “I’m not sure,” here’s where to focus first:

1. Upgrade your strategic skills Not just your hard skills—your career strategy skills. Like how to ask for what you want. How to navigate and leverage feedback. How to become known by the right people for the right things.
2. Get clear on your brand If people are going to talk about you when you’re not in the room (and they are)—you need to shape what they’re saying.
3. Make sure the right people know who you are You already know you need to be visible. Now, focus on being visible to the right people, for the right things.
4. Set up your safety nets Emergency savings are great. But so are relationships, transferable skills, and tools that help you act quickly when opportunity––or disaster––hits.

👀 Want Help With That?

The increasing need for us to build our own Career Insurance is exactly why I created The Career Safety Net—a $9.99/month system that helps you build the skills, brand positioning, and leverage you need, one move at a time.

No live calls. No BS. Just one monthly drop of a core AI tool, plus a private podcast and strategy guides if you want to dive deeper—all designed specifically for ambitious WOC navigating this volatile economy.

You don’t have to wait for a crisis to get ready.

You can start building protection—and power—now.

👇 What’s one move you’ve made recently to “future proof” your career?

#CareerStrategy #JobSecurity #WomenOfColor #FutureOfWork