What is Career Cushioning, When and How To Do It?

Career cushioning has become the latest workplace trend. For those who feel unsteady in their current positions, it’s a great strategy for safeguarding their careers against unexpected upheavals.

In this article, we explore what career cushioning is and how to effectively implement it to ensure you’re prepared for any career curveballs that come your way.

What is career cushioning?

Career cushioning involves quietly taking steps to enhance your skills and expand your network, creating a “cushion” to fall back on in the event of a sudden layoff.

Think of career cushioning as your way to prepare for the worst in the face of professional volatility.

In addition, it can create an alternate career path that could turn out to be more rewarding than your current profession.

Who is career cushioning for?

Career cushioning can be advantageous for professionals at all levels, and it isn’t specific to one industry.

However, there are certain situations where this practice is especially beneficial:

• Low job security: If your industry is experiencing increased layoffs or your company is in financial trouble, you might be worried about job cuts. It’s time to start career cushioning if you have reason to believe your position is on the chopping block.
• Low job satisfaction: Are you overly stressed from the high expectations and pressure of your current job? Are you feeling unappreciated, underpaid, and deep in the trenches of a toxic work environment?
• Economic turbulence: With rising inflation impacting the cost of living, having a cushion can provide you with an alternate source of income. This supplemental income’s financial relief will help you through uncertain economic times.

How to cushion your career

Cushioning your career means taking proactive steps to ensure that you remain resilient in an uncertain job market.

Here are a few ideas on how to start cushioning your career.

1. Develop new and existing skills

Acquiring new skills or upgrading existing ones is a key component of career cushioning. Continuously expanding your skill set and gaining new qualifications enhances your versatility and value in the job market.

While vital for career cushioning, upskilling can also help you advance in your current professional role and prepare you for future opportunities.

Map out your development goals and use them as a starting point to plan your next steps.

With technology constantly evolving and becoming vital in the workplace, most jobs require a certain level of technological know-how, so improving your digital skills should be a no-brainer.

Enroll in online courses or workshops or pursue a degree to acquire new skills or certifications that make you more attractive to potential employers. Plus, in-person classes can help bolster your professional network. In some cases, companies will pay their employees to attend certification courses.

2. Build your personal brand online

To stay visible to recruiters, maintain a solid online presence and keep your LinkedIn profile current with your latest work experience.

Beyond keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date, be an active poster. Share industry insights, participate in relevant discussions, and write content that establishes you as a leader in your field. Actively engaging in key industry conversations demonstrates your commitment to furthering your professional development. Also, that way, you’re more likely to get sales calls and clients.

In addition, consider creating a personal website that displays your personality and professional profile. Linking to your website on your resume or LinkedIn can help you stand out to potential employers during your job search.

3. Keep your resume up-to-date

Be sure your resume is always up-to-date, regardless of your current job status. Keeping your resume updated prepares you for any new opportunities that come your way, allowing you to apply for job openings or side gigs quickly.

Your resume should include relevant keywords that will get picked up by automated applicant tracking systems (ATS). An ATS is a software hiring managers and recruiters use to manage and streamline the hiring process, and one of its main jobs is to filter resumes and search for matching skills, education, or experience. Without those keywords, your resume most likely won’t make it in front of the hiring manager.

An AI resume builder can help you craft a standout resume that accurately reflects your work experience and includes all the keywords necessary for it to pass through an ATS.

4. Network online and offline

No matter where you’re in your career, online and offline networking is crucial. Nurturing your professional network will provide support and career advice while opening doors to new job opportunities.

Follow industry experts and career coaches on social media so that you’ll be privy to important industry knowledge and job leads.

Attend industry events like conferences, seminars, and webinars to connect with professionals in your field. You can stay updated on industry events by following industry leaders and organizations on LinkedIn. In addition, industry-specific professional associations, such as the American Marketing Association (AMA), will have information about upcoming conferences and seminars on their websites.

If you work remotely, it can be challenging to network. Scheduling time to socialize within your network is an important remote work best practice. To help, consider joining a coworking space that allows you to work in close proximity with peers and other industry professionals.

5. Start a side hustle

Side hustles are great ways to have backup careers. If you do happen to lose your day job, you’ll have income to fall back on.

Choose a lucrative, in-demand side hustle with growing potential.

For example, if you enjoy content creation, consider that marketers are always looking for UGC (user-generated content) creators to produce and share authentic content about their brands. This rapidly growing field offers you a creative outlet and significant earning potential, making it a smart choice for a side hustle.

But juggling a side hustle and your day job can be overwhelming. Paymos offers both task management and time tracking software to help you manage your responsibilities and time effectively.

Manual stopwatch in Paymo Track.

Keeping track of all your side hustles, gigs, and projects is easy now with automatic time-tracking since all you have to do is leave the app running in the background, and it maps your time entries automatically. Create a free account and download Paymo Track.

6. Keep an eye on job opportunities

Once you decide to engage in career cushioning, you must closely monitor the job market. Search for jobs in your field, but also take this opportunity to research and explore other roles or industries you might be interested in.

Check employment sites for job opportunities, and keep an eye on companies that interest you. When you find a company you like but that isn’t currently hiring, if possible, sign up to receive alerts when job openings become available.

Reviewing job listings will give you an idea of the skills you need to refine to ensure you’re a qualified candidate.

It will also give you a better idea of the kind of compensation you should expect in the positions you’re interested in.

Try out career cushioning

Career cushioning can be helpful to anyone in the current tumultuous employment market. As an ongoing job security strategy, this practice will allow you to tackle the ups and downs of the uncertain professional landscape. With a career cushion, you’ll have a solid foundation that will enable you to adapt to changes and enhance your career stability and professional growth.