Latest / Career Coaching with Fexingo: Professional Coaches, Career Counselors, and Guidance for Workers / How to Build Career Resilience Through Side Projects
Transcript
- Lucas: So a listener wrote in recently and asked — and I'm paraphrasing — 'I feel like my entire career depends on one job. What happens if that job disappears? How do I build some backup without actually quitting?' Luna: That's a smart question. And honestly, it's one a lot of people are sitting with right now, especially after the layoff waves we've seen over the past couple of years. Lucas: Yeah. And the answer I keep coming back to is side projects. Not side hustles in the 'grind at 2 AM' sense — I mean intentional, low-stakes work that builds skills, networks, and maybe even income outside your day job. Luna: I think people hear 'side project' and assume it has to be a full-blown startup or a monetized blog. But it doesn't, right? Lucas: Exactly. Let me give you a concrete case. I talked to a marketing manager last year — let's call her Priya. She worked at a mid-sized SaaS company, good role, but she felt all her eggs were in one basket. So she started a monthly newsletter about B2B content trends. Nothing crazy — one post a month, an hour or two of work. Luna: And did it become a business? Lucas: Not at first. But eighteen months in, her company did a restructuring and her role was eliminated. She was suddenly in a job search. But because of that newsletter, she had a list of 1,200 subscribers — many of whom were people in her industry. She posted a note saying she was looking, and within two weeks she had three interview offers. One of them came from a subscriber who'd been reading her work for a year. Luna: That's the kind of safety net you can't build by just updating your LinkedIn profile. Lucas: Right. Your resume is a static document. A side project is living proof of what you can do. Priya didn't just say she understood content trends — she had a growing archive of her thinking. That's way more powerful. Luna: So what kinds of side projects actually give you career leverage? I feel like not all are created equal. Lucas: I'd group them into three buckets. First: skill-building projects. Things where you deliberately learn something your current job doesn't require. Maybe you're an accountant who learns SQL and builds a small dashboard for a local nonprofit. That's a concrete artifact you can show in interviews. Luna: Second bucket? Lucas: Network-expanding projects. Think: starting a meetup, co-hosting a podcast, writing on a platform like Substack or Medium. The goal isn't to make money — it's to get in front of people who wouldn't otherwise know you exist. Priya's newsletter fits here. Luna: And the third is income-diversifying projects, which is the one people tend to focus on first. Freelancing, consulting, a small product. Lucas: Yes. And that one's fine, but it's also the most likely to burn you out if you're not careful. I'd actually recommend people start with bucket one or two before chasing money. Because the financial return from a side project is usually small at first, but the career return — the optionality — can be huge. Luna: There's a LinkedIn survey from last year that found professionals who regularly shared their work — blog posts, projects, even just thoughtful comments — were 40% more likely to receive unsolicited job offers. That's not trivial. Lucas: Forty percent is enormous. And it makes sense. You're essentially creating a public portfolio that recruiters can find. The hidden job market runs on visibility. If no one knows you exist outside your company, you're invisible to that market. Luna: But I want to push back a little here. A lot of people are already stretched thin. Full-time job, maybe kids, commute, life. Telling them to add a side project feels like another thing on the to-do list. Lucas: That's fair. And I think the key is to start absurdly small. Not 'I'm going to launch a podcast' — more like 'I'm going to write one LinkedIn post per month' or 'I'm going to help a friend's nonprofit with one project.' Low commitment, low pressure. The point is to start, not to scale. Luna: So what's the minimum viable side project? Like, the least time you could spend and still get some benefit? Lucas: One hour a week. Seriously. Spend that hour reading about a topic outside your current role, then writing a short summary for a public platform. Do that for six months and you'll have a body of work. Or, if writing isn't your thing, spend that hour attending one networking event per month — virtual or in-person. Luna: I think the other risk is that people pick a side project that's too disconnected from their career goals. Like, if you're a project manager who wants to move into product management, starting a weekend Etsy shop probably isn't the best use of time. Lucas: Exactly. The project should be strategically aligned. Ask yourself: What skill do I want to build? What network do I want to access? What story do I want to tell in my next interview? Then design the project to serve that. Luna: Let's talk about the fear of doing it 'wrong.' Some people worry that their side project isn't polished enough, or that it'll reflect poorly on them if it's amateurish. Lucas: That's the perfectionism trap. Your side project doesn't need to be world-class. It just needs to exist. I'd rather see a rough but authentic project than a polished one that never ships. And honestly, hiring managers appreciate the initiative. It shows curiosity, drive, and self-direction. Luna: What about the risk of your current employer finding out? Some people worry that their boss will think they're distracted or disloyal. Lucas: That's a real concern, and it depends on your company culture. But I'd argue that in most knowledge-work jobs, a side project that builds relevant skills actually makes you better at your day job. Priya's newsletter, for example, made her a sharper marketer. Her employer benefited from it. The key is to not use company time or resources, and don't work on something that directly competes. Luna: If we can help you think through a career move like this — or even just give you the push to start that side project you've been mulling over — we'd love it if you considered supporting the show. We keep it ad-free and listener-supported because that lets us stay focused on what's actually useful. You can do that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: And we really do read every note people leave there. It helps us shape future episodes. Now, back to the practical side — let's say you're ready to start. What's the first step? Luna: I'd say pick one small thing you can do this week. Not next month, not when you have time. This week. Lucas: Agreed. Start with a single hour. Identify the skill or network gap you want to close, then take one concrete action. Maybe that's setting up a free Substack account and writing your first post. Maybe it's signing up to volunteer for a board or a committee. The key is to make it real. Luna: And then do it again next week. Consistency matters more than intensity. Lucas: Yeah. Six months from now, you'll have something to show for that hour a week. And when the unexpected happens — and it always does — you'll have a bridge, not just a gap.