Perhaps you see a hill coming in your career path and don’t know what will happen next? It could be a job change? Today facing job changes is a matter of if you will but when you will.

Use LinkedIn to search for options and ideas and if you have a job that is the time to start. Employers are checking you out.

In todays world some employers cut whole departments at the same time while expanding others. A trained, long-time loyal employee is let go and often at the same time, a new untrained and unproven staff is hired for another new department. The longer some departments exist the more likely it is that the department, along with its employees, have become dated and not up to speed with the fast-moving technology that will replace them.

What has changed is that employers don’t see their employees as lifelong commitments and they don’t continue to invest in them or build on what they have achieved as much as they did in the past.

The best companies say they value each employee, but is that enough?

You must understand your career direction and take the initiative to get the training and experience for the next steps. Keep your ears open and build on your network while you’re still working. Be active on your network with give and take. Start out early in your career and build and maintain your network.

Connect and network with those people who have the jobs you would like and study them. What was their career path? LinkedIn will show you the career history of those you want to learn from: do a little research and see the payoff.

The years ahead are shifting where an employee has more responsibility for continued employment and in addition, more advancement to the employee.