Weekend Bonus — Crafting a Resilient Design Career: The Ground Is Shifting
A couple years ago, a friend of mine went from being “indispensable” to unemployed in the span of a month. It wasn’t because of performance, they hadn’t suddenly forgotten how to do their job, and their company wasn’t collapsing. The ground under their role simply shifted faster than they did.
A new re-org merged their team with another, titles and reporting structures were flattened, and the work they were best known for was suddenly automated by a tool the company had just licensed. Overnight, their reputation for being the go-to expert didn’t matter as much. When it became time to improve margins, my friend was suddenly on the outside looking in.
I’ve seen that same story play out many times since, in design and beyond. People who did everything “right” still found themselves unmoored, not because they weren’t good at their jobs, but because the environment they relied on shifted underneath them.
The truth is, the old career playbook doesn’t hold up anymore. Specialize, work hard, move up — that formula was written for a world where roles stayed stable for years. But today? Design titles are collapsing into generalized buckets, AI is automating tasks we thought were safe, and companies restructure quarterly.
The reality is that your value isn’t just about what you can do today. It’s about how quickly you can adapt when the landscape changes.
That’s where resilience comes in. It’s not about chasing every new trend or panicking at every headline; it’s about having a system — a way of thinking about your career that lets you scan the horizon, spot shifts early, and adjust before you’re forced to.
Here’s a quick way to start: take three minutes this weekend and write down three things:
A change in your industry over the last year that surprised you.
A change you see coming in the next 12 months.
One action you could take right now to prepare for it.
This isn’t about getting the answers “right.” It’s about building the muscle of noticing change and taking it seriously before it knocks you off balance.
You don’t have to overhaul your career system in one weekend. But shifting your mindset — seeing your career as something you design, version, and maintain — can be the difference between getting blindsided and staying resilient in uncertain times.
This bonus issue is adapted from my guide, Crafting a Resilient Design Career.
It’s a free playbook to help you build a career you love in the age of AI, UI commodification, and constant change.