Your replacement is already shadowing you. You just don't know it yet. 👀
(Part 2 of 2 — and this one is bigger than one job.)
A candidate of mine resigned recently. Director level, big firm.
Naturally, I asked if I could work on her replacement headcount because her firm usually engages recruiters.
She said it would be impossible.
Since last year, her company had been flying people in from Malaysia and China. Not to visit.
To secondment. To shadow the Hong Kong team. To learn exactly what they do.
The company was running an experiment:
"Can someone in KL or China copy this team's skills… at half the cost?"
The answer, apparently, was yes.
Her headcount is moving to KL or China.
Saving the firm more than 50%. 📉
And here's the part that stuck with me:
Her entire team started looking out last year.
Quietly.
They already know what the company is trying to do.
But because they're on higher pay scales, it took a while to land interviews and find the right next move.
Working in Hong Kong is both a blessing and a curse. 🇭🇰
HK has some of the highest pay in the world and when cost-cutting season arrives, that same pay makes you the first line item someone examines.
So here's my belief:
Make your skills as hard to copy as possible.
Not just "good at your job."
I mean so hard to replace that even when your company sends someone from another country, at a fraction of your salary, to shadow you for months.
They can only perform 40% of what you do.
Example: a Portfolio Manager with a strong track record. You can copy their process.
You can't copy their judgment, their mindset, their pattern recognition built over years of wins and losses. 💡
That kind of skill doesn't relocate easily.
Thought for Monday: 💭
If someone shadowed you for 6 months… how much of your job could they actually take over?
Your answer to that question is your real job security.
👇 What skill in your current role is hardest to replace? Genuinely curious.
PS: If you're job hunting right now, my guide might help:
📝 Fixing Your CV & LinkedIn in 1 Day
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