What is a career moat?
A career moat is a key competitive advantage that sets us apart from our competition in the field.
It is our ability to protect our employability and generate sufficient financial returns.
Conversation
We have a career moat - when we lose our job, we don't lose our mind.
We are confident that we will find employment quickly with our career capital.
Job security is a myth. True job security is our ability to get our next job, and not keep our current one.
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We live in a world of constant change.
What is valuable today may not be so tomorrow.
Roles might be outdated, which requires our skills to be updated.
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Career moats are built with skills.
The best skills are so valuable and difficult to find that leaders are looking to recruit you.
A rough metric to know if you are on the right path - are you getting inbound offers?
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Qualities of a rare and valuable skillset
- It isn't clear how to build the skills. Ex: Writing
- It is unattractive or hard to acquire. Ex: Programming
- It is a niche now but might be the next big thing. Ex: AR/VR, AI, Crypto
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After picking up rare & valuable skills, we must strive to be the best in our field.
The best writers, artists, engineers and thinkers have the deepest moats.
Build a moat with skills and proof of competence - own and deliver metrics.
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Getting paid to learn a rare and valuable skill set is even better.
While choosing a career move, keep an eye on the moat.
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Thoughts on a new career
- Will it teach us rare and valuable skills.
- How will we learn these skills?
- How this skill will help us become the best?
It is also good to think in terms of a unique combination - like programming+writing. strategy+tech etc.
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As we build our moats, it is important to show our skills and deliver value to an audience.
The right networking can keep the doors open for our future careers.
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I will be writing more thoughts on building careers for the next few days. Keep a look.
For more thoughts on career moats, refer to the article:
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