This article has been written especially for LinkMe members by Caitlin Burns, careers counsellor and director of Square Peg Careers.
Portfolio careers
There is so much pressure on us these days to have the perfect career. As a careers counsellor I see it every day. We invest so much of ourselves, our time, effort and our identity in the pursuit of the one right career. That's a lot of pressure!
There is a concept that I often introduce to people considering a career change but who are struggling to make a choice that will satisfy everything for which they are searching. This is a "portfolio career".
A reasonably new term, a portfolio career is simply one that is made up of a variety of different employment types (or a portfolio of jobs).
Who might suit a portfolio career?
- People starting out in small business often have this type of career so they can maintain an income from a form of employment while they build up their own business
- Those who are passionate about a particular field which does not offer much opportunity for income may also pursue this arrangement, working on their own projects as well as being in part time or casual work
- Those with a broad range of interests who enjoy working on a variety of projects at any one time and who are energised and motivated by working in a couple of different part time or casual jobs
- Career changers who might work part time in their current field of speciality while gaining experience in a new industry or career
What might a portfolio career look like?
It is only limited by your imagination! I have a portfolio career where I work one on one with individuals considering a career change (careers counselling), provide outplacement support to people whose positions are made redundant, conduct career, team building and leadership workshops within organisations, do regular voluntary work and have strategic relationships with other organisations to provide a range of career development services to their clients. These are all related to each other, but a portfolio career could be much more diverse than that.
An Interior Designer who works for a large design company 3 days a week, might also consult with private clients on other days as well as be the bookkeeper for another family business.
An IT Specialist has negotiated a 4 day week and spends the 5th day working in a book shop while studying public relations and communications by distance learning.
These are just some examples. If you're motivated by constant change and variety and think that a portfolio career could be a satisfying and rewarding one, start making a list of the types of work you would like to do, after all, where is it written that we can only have one job at a time?
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