Hard to Fire
Hard to Fire · Chapter 12 · Worksheet

The Optionality Calendar

Keep four career assets warm enough that none has to be rebuilt in a panic.

Optionality doesn't need another scorecard. It needs four actions protected from the urgent work already chewing through your calendar.

Choose a quarter to load the source suggestions. Keep them, tighten them, or replace them with a smaller action you will actually do.

QuarterRecruiter relationshipMarket awarenessExternal proofProfile and resume
Q1Reconnect with 2 recruitersReview 2 to 3 comparable rolesChoose this year's proof topicUpdate profile
Q2One market check-inIdentify 2 target roles at 2 companiesPublish or present onceCompare current language with postings
Q3Reconnect with former colleaguesCheck compensation and skill demandPlan the next proof itemRefresh resume and review agreement
Q4Complete relationship roundFull market assessmentAudit what became visibleComplete annual profile audit

Put the next four actions on the calendar

1. Recruiter relationship

Keep contact with two recruiters who understand your function or industry.

2. Market awareness

Know two roles and two companies you would seriously consider.

3. External proof

Keep lawful evidence that your competence exists beyond an internal dashboard.

4. Profile and resume

Update your profile and resume while the language, baseline, decision, and consequence are fresh.

Next-quarter plan0/4 dated actions
Quarterly reviewNot scheduled

Use the first date for the recurring quarterly calendar event. This is maintenance, not an active-search announcement.

4 actions still need an action and date. Schedule the recurring quarterly review date.

Monday Move

Send one warm note to someone outside your company before you need anything. Three sentences are enough. Ask what they are seeing in the market, then listen.

Quiet optionality works

The best time to build options is while you still have them. Maintenance done from strength is quiet. The same activity after a layoff carries urgency into every conversation.

Don't hint about offers, manufacture flight risk, or treat every recruiter call like an auction. Performative optionality makes colleagues wonder what meeting you are taking from the parking lot.

Keep the proof clean

External proof can be useful and modest: an article, panel, association session, open-source contribution, or framework shared with peers. Keep employer confidentiality, intellectual property, conflict, and disclosure rules intact.

Options won't guarantee a fast offer or better terms. They give you current information and people who will answer the phone.