MBD125: The Rise of [job]+

10 May 2026 | Issue #125

In this issue:

The Rise of [job]+
Aeto: The End of the Unbilled Hour
Recent Podcast Appearance
Design Quote of the Week

The Rise of [job]+

Your job title is just the beginning.

Everywhere I look, I see people lamenting this awful job market. People are losing their jobs and it's taking a lot longer to find a new one. As someone who looked for a job after the dot com bust, and the housing crisis, and the “efficiency” era we’re now in, I know how hard it is.

One of the struggles is due to the rise of [job]+.

We’re all expected to know more than our specialties. I wrote about this last week when discussing specialists vs generalists.

With companies looking for efficiencies, people who can do more than their job title are the most attractive to hiring managers.

Years ago, I worked with a creative leader who chafed against the idea that designers were expected to know how to design and build websites. She wanted to be great at her one or two disciplines. She didn’t want to learn new things outside of her regular lane. Which was okay ... back then.

As someone who always wanted to learn more and expand my skill set, I was usually first to volunteer to take on new challenges. This mentality to keep moving forward has paid off over the years.

If you're like me, you've had job titles that don't sum up everything that you do or did within that role.

I was a designer who learned web development. I was a creative who learned brand. A digital experience director who learned content and social media marketing. A brand leader who learned to be an author.

And now I’m a product developer and manager.

I just finished* building an app for freelancers to manage their projects, track the time they spend on tasks, and invoice clients.

So much of what I had done in the past allowed me to build this app. Not only could I design and build the basics of the app, but having worked in SaaS tech for the past 14 years, I’ve learned a thing or two about creating experiences that lead to success.

I had used AI to develop a few apps and WordPress themes in the past couple of years. This project was an opportunity to push my AI co-development skills to a new level.

Now, I have an app that I’ve used for the past couple of months that has helped me be more productive. And now I'm opening it to anyone who wants to use it.

Before I open it up to the general public, I wanted to share it with you. If you're freelancing — or freelancing on the side while you job hunt — this was built for exactly that situation. Take a look.

https://aeto.app

30-day free trial. No credit card required.

*No software is ever fully finished, but my original vision for this app is where I wanted it to be.

PODCASTS

I was recently on the GetResultsology podcast. We talked about how brand style guides help establish and grow your brand ... and it can defend against bad ideas.

The host, Robin, helps people be more productive by creating momentum and slaying procrastination. If you're looking for help in this area, check out Robin's offerings at https://getresultsology.com/referred-by-jim-macleod/.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR FREELANCERS

I had time tracking and invoicing covered, but managing the actual projects was still happening somewhere else. I built Aeto to bring all three together. A few months in, it's working exactly as I planned.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“When you are stuck, walk away from the computer and draw. It will teach you how to see.” – Gerard Huerta

My AI disclaimer: I wrote this week's article and Claude helped me with edits.

Gemini image prompt: a man is working on a computer, but he has a second set of robot arms coming out of his back typing on different screens. A vibrant, high-contrast illustration using flat vector-style shading with neon and duotone color blocking. The characters are stylized with exaggerated lighting in yellow and magenta tones, set against a cyan background. There’s a strong use of shadow and highlight to create depth without using gradients. It uses clean lines and a minimal background to keep focus on the figures and objects. --ar 16:9