Strong, Skilled and Ready: Navigating Uncertainty Mid-Career

The layoff announcements keep coming. Paramount recently cut positions across CBS Entertainment, MTV, and BET. Tech companies are restructuring. Verizon announced a new round of 15,000 layoffs. AI is reshaping how entire departments (and even industries!) operate.

If you’re a mid-career professional, you’re probably feeling it: that low-grade anxiety that your job isn’t as secure as it used to be.

A recent Stagwell study found that 64% of professionals are planning a career change within the next two years. But 73% of people also say they feel unprepared to make that change.

Most people see change coming. They’re just not acting until it’s too late.

The question isn’t whether disruption is coming It’s whether you’ll be ready to pivot or be scrambling when it happens.

Strategy 1: Make Learning Part of Your Daily Routine

Staying curious about opportunities in your industry – and workplaces in general – is one of the most powerful ways to future proof your career. Take time each day to learn something new and stretch beyond your comfort zone.

I try to watch at least one webinar a day on something new. Some days it’s directly related to my work. Other days it’s adjacent. The point is to keep learning as a habit, not an obligation.

Here’s a tip to stay ahead: if you’re skeptical about something, learn about it anyway. Especially if you’re skeptical.

Take AI. I’m not especially trustful of it, but I’ve played around with it enough that I can articulate exactly what I don’t like about it. That’s very different from having a vague negative opinion. People often fear what they don’t understand; learning is the antidote.

Consider Dorothy Vaughan—the NASA mathematician played by Octavia Spencer in the film Hidden Figures. She saw IBM computers being delivered to NASA and knew they would replace the human “computers”—the women who did calculations by hand. She could have resisted the change or hoped it wouldn’t affect her. Instead, she taught herself FORTRAN programming from a library book, then taught her entire team. When those IBM machines went live, they were the only ones who could operate them. She made herself indispensable by preparing for the change before it happened.

That’s what staying ready looks like!

Strategy 2: Network Outside Your Bubble

Most of us network within our own bubble. Same conferences, same types of people, same conversations. But some of the most valuable insights come from people whose work looks nothing like yours.

One of the best parts of my doctoral program was collaborating with professionals across diverse backgrounds and perspectives. What’s standard practice in one field can be revolutionary thinking in another.

Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that teams with high cognitive diversity—differences in how people think and process information—solved complex problems in half the time of teams that thought similarly. The teams with diverse thinking styles not only worked faster, but they were also more likely to solve the problem. The teams with similar thinking styles? Many of them failed to find a solution at all.

Mix it up! Ask people in other sectors what challenges they’re facing. Connect with someone who does what you do but in a different context.

For example: A communications professional in a talent agency will approach problems differently than one in healthcare—or will they? You won’t know unless you ask!

These conversations do two things. They give you fresh perspectives on current problems and help you spot emerging patterns in your own field.

Strategy 3: Don’t Try to Figure It All Out Alone

Remember that stat about 73% of people feeling unprepared for career changes? A major reason is this: we’re terrible at identifying our own skills gaps.

That matters more than ever! Skills-based hiring is becoming the norm—across all levels – not just for entry-level positions. Companies care less about your title and more about what you can do. For mid-career professionals who might look similar on paper, your specific capabilities, not your resume, become your differentiator.

Start by getting objective data. Use resources like O*Net. Take assessments to understand your real strengths and weaknesses. Then address the weaknesses specifically.

This is where working with a coach can be valuable. And I mean now, while you’re employed, not after you get laid off. A skilled coach can identify blind spots, map strengths to market needs, help you build a personalized plan and position you for roles that align with future demand.

The Bottom Line

The people who successfully navigate career disruption aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented. They’re the most prepared. They saw the writing on the wall and took action before they had to.

Don’t wait for disruption to force your hand. Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.

A version of this post originally appeared on Bob Gold & Associates' blog: https://bobgoldpr.com/strong-skilled-and-ready-navigating-uncertainty-mid-career/