Job search is an unpleasant task! So when you get hired, you are thankful to stop all of those unpleasant activities (networking, crafting your marketing messages, following up on leads, establishing your visibility and credibility online, identifying and researching companies and opportunities, and on and on and on) and get on with the business of doing your new job.
Yet by keeping up with those various activities, you will be much better positioned when the next transition comes (and it WILL come).
Marc Cenedella of TheLadders.com wrote an excellent blog post titled “What If You Got Fired Today?” He outlines some not-too-difficult things you can do every day, every week, every month, and every year that will keep you in the loop with your contacts and visible in your company and industry.
Yes, it’s human nature to avoid the unpleasant. But with just a bit of self-discipline, we can do some not-too-horrible things that will make a difficult task much lighter later on. Why not give it a try?