Future-Ready Your Career Before Layoffs Hit

Dec 2, 2025

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🔴 For full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/769

Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg Smith

In this season finale, Meg and Mark explore how to future-ready your career before layoffs hit. They use Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret” as a springboard to talk about AI-driven disruption, the illusion of job security, and why side hustles, weak-tie networks, and daily learning matter. Meg shares her 10-minute podcast habit that reignited her career, while Mark unpacks planning A, B, and C, trimming fixed costs, and using StrengthsFinder and structured interview prep to translate your strengths into new opportunities.

👉Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz

🎙️What you’ll learn

Recognise the illusion of job security in an AI dominated world
Design plan A, B, and C so a layoff does not put you in panic mode
Start small, sustainable learning habits even when you only have 10 minutes
Use StrengthsFinder and your strengths language to target better-fit roles
Prepare interview stories with the SBI method to prove impact with evidence

✅Highlights

“We become what we think about.”
“There is a coming risk of us to bury our head in the sand and think that the way we work is going to be there forever.”
“I honestly believe that there's going to be a scenario where entire companies that have been around for decades are going to disappear.”
“Maybe you can find 10 minutes to start with. And then you might be able to set the ball rolling.”
“The first time they were on LinkedIn was because they got laid off.”
“Out of that becomes the ability to connect you to potentially your next opportunity.”
“One of them was to look at our personal finances and cut the fat.”
“For me, trying to figure out how to transfer my or translate my skills, the thing I started with was StrengthsFinder.”

🧰Mentioned

The Strangest Secret - Earl Nightingale https://amzn.to/3Mb99GM
90 Day Mentoring Challenge https://www.90daymc.com/
StrengthsFinder / CliftonStrengths
SBI (Situation, Behaviour, Impact)

✅Connect with the hosts

Mark Smith:
Blog https://www.nz365guy.com
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guy

Meg Smith:
Blog https://www.megsmith.nz
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnz

Subscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.

✅Keywords: ai, layoffs, job security, weak ties, linkedin, strengths finder, cliftonstrengths, digital literacy, side hustles, career resilience, interview prep, networking

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith