Your career moat isn't your job title.
It's what you've built around it.
The opinions you've shared.
The articles you've written.
The ideas you've contributed to.
The panels you've spoken on.
The podcasts you've appeared on.
The industry publications you've contributed to.
The conversations you've started.
The problems you've helped people solve.
All of that becomes evidence.
Evidence that says:
This is what I know.
This is what I think.
This is what I'm good at.
And over time, it starts to separate you from everyone else who has roughly the same experience and the same job title.
Think about it.
There might be 100 people who could do the role you're interested in.
They might all have 15 years' experience.
They might all have managed large teams.
They might all have impressive resumes.
But then there's the person whose name keeps appearing.
You've seen their article.
Someone sent you their opinion piece.
You heard them on a podcast.
You saw them speaking at an industry event.
You've read their comments on something you care about.
You've started to recognise their thinking.
They're becoming known in the ecosystem.
That's a moat.
And this is one of the most important parts of Career Practice.
Don't just ask:
"What job do I want next?"
Ask:
"Where can I contribute something useful to the ecosystem I want to be part of?"
Make a list.
Industry publications.
LinkedIn.
Newsletters.
Podcasts.
Conferences.
Professional associations.
Webinars.
Panels.
Research.
Commentary.
Guest articles.
Communities.
Then go and contribute.
Not because you need to "build your personal brand".
Not because you need 100,000 followers.
And definitely not because you need to become an influencer.
Do it because you want the right people to know what you know.
Because when the right opportunity comes up, you don't want to be one of 100 qualified people who apply.
You want someone involved in that opportunity to say:
"I know them."
"I've seen their work."
"I know what they think about this."
"They'd be good for this."
That's what Signal does.
And the best part is that you don't build it overnight.
You build it through Career Practice.
A little bit of contribution.
A little bit of visibility.
A little bit of relationship building.
Repeated over time.
Until your reputation starts doing some of the work for you.
So if you're serious about the role you want next, don't just make a list of jobs.
Make a list of places where you can add value.
Then go be useful.
That's how you become known before you need to be known.
Stop Applying. Get Approached.