What is career cushioning? This is the latest workplace trend you need to know about

Sue Ellson (pictured) told FEMAIL ‘career cushioning’ sees employees keep their options open incase of a sudden job loss

Employees are keeping their options open with ‘plan b’ jobs in a new workplace trend called ‘job cushioning’.

The recession, the rising cost of living and fear of being laid off has led to the new career tactic among employees, which involves networking and expanding skillsets.

The trend doesn’t involve actively searching for a new role but instead focuses on building your value to be remembered by those in the industry.

Melbourne career expert Sue Ellson told FEMAIL ‘it pays to let people know what you can do and the value you bring’ rather than explaining your job or company you work for.

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The recession, the rising cost of living and fear of being laid off has led to the new career tactic among employees, that involves networking and expanding skillsets (stock image)

‘The reality is that most of us will face a retrenchment, redundancy, or reduction of hours throughout our working life,’ Ms Ellson said.

‘When this happens, we suddenly realise how precarious it is to have a job today and no job tomorrow, so we start strategising how we can make sure we can maintain our income.’

To ‘cushion’ your career, be sure to keep your network updated either in person at events or on LinkedIn. 

This way when a position becomes available the employers will have a selected few in mind for the role.  

Also be open about your career prospects on LinkedIn so employers can truly see your value.

Networking also helps keep ‘passive candidates’ in the minds of employers when positions open. 

‘Passive candidates are not necessarily looking for work, but because they have good quality skills, knowledge and networks, they are prime targets for a head hunter or someone searching for them online,’ Ms Ellson said. 

‘Up to 90 per cent of jobs are never advertised, so staying ‘in the loop’ is vital and personal referrals are one of the best ways to secure a new role’.

This ‘cushioning’ will help keep you favoured over others and employed throughout your career.

Next, compare the skills you have to the possible job you want – this may require participating in a course or reading books to improve your capabilities. 

The consider making a long-term plan of what you want to achieve or a position you’d be open to taking if you were to lose your job. 

Ms Ellson added: ‘It is great to see more people living a life of intention and making conscious decisions about how they can align themselves with the right opportunity.’  

‘I am not an advocate for job hopping for the sake of it, or applying for jobs for practice as this is very distracting and a time waster for the employer, but learning the skills to get a job as well as the skills to do a job is essential in a world where everything is changing at a faster time than any previous time in history.’  

It follows after Aussies saw the rise of ‘quiet quitting’ that involves employees doing less to improve their life balance and avoid burnout.