With the NBA basketball season just starting up, ESPN has made an announcement that may seem quite shocking. They are planning to lay off 300 employees, or 4 percent of their 8,000-person workforce. Given that ESPN is a worldwide authority in sports, this news seems a bit jarring at first.

But, when you dig into the details, ESPN’s story is one familiar to many media outlets. Their once reliable revenue stream coming from cable and satellite subscribers is losing momentum. Rather than grow, their number of subscribers is down 5.3 percent in the past two years.

In many industries, as technology changes, it can change the way we do business. Some of this change is due to updates to the way the business operates from a technology perspective. Some is due to changes in the way customers are consuming. In today’s world, there are many places to find sports news other than cable television. Many websites and mobile apps are an alternative that often come with streaming video.

As an employee working at one of these big companies, it can feel like you’re helpless to not be left behind when these changes occur. There are a few basic things to keep in mind that carry over been many different industries.

In today’s market, you may not be able to work for one company for your entire career. In past generations, it was normal to work for 30 years at one place and then retire. Now, it’s more of the exception than the rule.

It’s more common for employees to work at one organization for three to five years and then transition to another company, where they will also stay for three to five years. Although it sounds counter intuitive, this change actually helps to create stability. It keeps your professional skills sharp, it expands your network, and it keeps you current on your interview skills. It also creates diversity in your professional background.

Another big lesson is to pay attention to trends in the market place. Change is happening much faster now than ever before. Watch for signs that your industry is changing, and adjust accordingly. Don’t assume the big stable company you work for will be around forever.

Last, companies are often investing less in keeping their employees’ skills current. I believe this trend is partially related to the fact that employees are not retained for as long of a period of time. Rather than invest to train someone who will then move on, they may wait and hire someone else who already possesses the needed skillset.

This means that it’s extra important to take charge of your own career. You may need to pay for continuing education, whether it’s a course every now and then, a book or online educational materials. This may sound frustrating. So often, we expect our company to foot the bill when we go to school because they benefit. But, we also benefit. It’s an investment back into ourselves and our future career.

Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com.