Thanks to technological advancements, portfolio careers are becoming increasingly common. Yet, there is a certain vagueness around the concept. The issues related to traditional careers are very well-known; however, many professionals are not fully comfortable with the “portfolio way.”

So, what are portfolio careers, and how are they different from the traditional concept of office work? What are the skills required for portfolio work? How can one find work that is meaningful as well as financially rewarding? What are some tips and tricks for networking and positioning your portfolio successfully? 

These and many other questions will be answered in the following paragraphs. For those of you who are interested in greater fulfillment, here is an opportunity — an opportunity that answers some dilemmas faced by employees in traditional hierarchies and promises a richer career experience. 

Understanding portfolio careers

Portfolio-type jobs offer choice, opportunity, and control to individuals who prefer flexibility. The difference here is in how you spend your working week. Portfolio work could extend into your evenings; it could be part-time work, freelancing, or consultancy — it could have various options.

Charles B. Handy initially presented the portfolio concept of work arrangements in the 1980s — a collection of different bits and pieces of work for various clients. The word “job” now meant a “client.” Going portfolio refers to exchanging full-time employment for independence. More recently, digital platforms and ecosystems have disrupted industries by enlisting the work of thousands of dispersed and unorganized workers.

However, portfolio work does not have to be gig work. Professionals can stay employed part-time with former organizations while exploring other opportunities.

Both online and offline tasks in portfolio work are digitally mediated through technology and platforms (such as apps). This further enhances the flexibility and ease of managing multiple work roles without organizational support systems.  

In this shift from titles to experiences, research suggests that individuals will invent proxies for the advancement and rewards of the traditional career. People try to make sense of the uncertainty and enact a structure in which to work. Hence, they craft different ways to combine jobs that creatively complement each other. 

The shift from titles to experiences: Potential challenges and considerations

A portfolio career allows a person to manage work in a way that is as individual as they themselves are.

It has become increasingly popular over the last few decades as more and more individuals are “going plural.” Professional growth and income no longer depend solely on one company. Instead, both are diversified.

However, there are certain things to consider.

Portfolio workers face challenges such as managing different income streams, navigating the administration of more than one work setup, navigating revenue fluctuations, balancing work and life, and building relationships and connections in multiple work roles. 

An organization has a well-defined job description and salary package for every job. In portfolio work, you let go of this planned structure and venture to create your own blend of jobs.

A portfolio career essentially metamorphoses into new forms as the professional grows in experience and skills. It is impossible to know where it will be in a few years.

Protocols for building a successful portfolio career

The following are some steps to successfully position your portfolio career, outlined for your benefit. Discover science-based insights that will increase your chances of success.

Identify and develop your core skills and strengths 

“What are the skills that you consistently use in everything that you end up doing? Therein lies your strength, your story, your path to success”, Laura Sheehan points out in her famous TedTalk. Laura, a lawyer by profession, has used her advocacy skills in eight different jobs in eight countries over a number of years. 

Take note, though: the skills around which the portfolio is built are work-based skills, not leisure interests. A suggested protocol to show that you are really serious about moving into a new career is to keep building your skill set. You can do this by:

• Signing up for courses
• Attending workshops/webinars
• Volunteer work
• Internships
• Job shadowing
• Secondments, etc. 

As a first step, identify the professional skills you have that can start a flexible career, where you design your own work life.The Work Personality Index® Career Report is useful for this. It provides insights into your personality traits, the kinds of work you enjoy, and how you can manage career change.

Read more: Turning MBTI Test Insights into Real-World Success 

Despite apparently developing in isolation from an organizational setup, portfolio careerists enjoy exponential growth because of their experience with clients from different industries with diverse needs. They, therefore, become a “messiah” for clients who are unable to find solutions to their specific needs in the traditional market.

As opposed to hierarchical careers designed for retirement at a certain age, an aging portfolio worker dictates his own terms. The key to their success is thus embracing life-long commitment to adaptability and continuous learning.

Create a professional portfolio

Creating a successful work portfolio requires integrating diverse work and life experiences into a larger sense of self; in other words, an expansion of the core identity. Personal interests, skills from recent work, and recycled skills from long ago are all brought together in a saleable package. 

Dr. Racheal Crystal integrated her passion for yoga, her skills in surgery, and her desire for coaching in a portfolio blend that gave her a sense of balance and purpose. As she gained more insights into the new, fluid, multi-faceted career path, her work blend shifted and changed.  

Dr. Rachael Crystal, a full-time medical practitioner, found fulfillment in a portfolio career of part time work as a medical practitioner, a yoga instructor and a wellbeing coach, packed creatively into her work week. To not fall short of skill development, for this career change, she enrolled in a coaching qualification course simultaneously. 

To assess whether or not a blended career is worth exploring for yourself and what will be its features, ask yourself these questions

• What would your ideal work week look like? What portion of your week or month would each role take up? 
• Can it pay the bills?
• Why are you doing this?
• What are your strengths that will help you cope with some of the challenges?

Key recommendations for publishing a web portfolio

Publishing your portfolio using a web-based portfolio publisher (e.g., Upwork) could increase your chances of success manifold, through more jobs, more often. Here are some tips.

• Highlight the range of experience. Include summaries or share a preview of the best work from your different areas of expertise. 
• Continuously updated. Regularly update as you hone your skills and gain new experiences.
• Tell a story. Write a short story about a challenge you’ve solved or a business you’ve helped.
• Visual representation. Show your success using diagrams, charts, or graphs.
• Testimonials. Add feedback from former clients, vouching for your skills, to your portfolio items in a visually appealing way. 

Focus on authenticity and personal values

Authenticity has been defined in research as an individual’s performance, that is in accordance with their own values and motivations.

Thus, there is just a single personality upheld by a professional among various stakeholders, which is a true reflection of their beliefs and culture. It is related to positive performance. 

One of the greatest benefits of “job crafting” is that it increases engagement and meaning at work. Individuals are increasingly considered the owners and agents of their trajectories, capable of steering their professional lives in the weak and ambiguous situations that come up in portfolio work.

In portfolio work, people use their own value systems to judge the success of their careers. Thus, the focus should be on what comes naturally to you or inspires you, as this will make it easier for you to develop new skills in those domains. Combine them with areas of life that bring you the greatest fulfillment. 

These may be leveraging technology effectively, social causes, community endeavors or creative expression. Ask friends and family for their thoughts who might have a different perspective on your strengths. 

Next, gain an understanding of the expectations of work in your chosen niche, through participating in professional associations, for example. This will help you find clients and collaborators you can genuinely serve.

An authentic portfolio is one that reflects your true identity, contributions, and abilities. Beware of claiming credit for someone else’s work, inflating your results, and falsifying your information. Your portfolio should match your resume, your cover letter, and your online presence.  

Network and share your story  

“Creating real-life connections through actual conversations can enable and empower you to find success,” says Laura. “Despite the plethora of internet-based job boards, 85% of jobs are still filled by word of mouth. By personal connection!” These conversations can take place with anyone, anywhere.

Provided they are based on genuine curiosity, such interactions can lead you to your new connections, friends, confidantes, or who knows, maybe the next reference for that client or job! Professionals can also continue to serve their previous organizational clients in their new identity as a portfolio worker.

Events held by organizations you are targeting as part of your portfolio work can be a source of new connections. When you meet them, ask for advice on transitioning into the new field and insider tips, and remember to follow up. 

Updating your LinkedIn profile is another strong way to tell your story. Here are some tips:

• The headline. Create an eye-catching title that promotes your intended transition. If you don’t want to make public your career change yet, try a generic headline.
• The summary. Keep your explanation concise and positive, focusing on transferable skills that are important in the targeted industry.
• Portfolio resume. Bring forward the accomplishments that are most relevant to the work you are looking for.
• Recommendations. Share with the connections that are recommending you, the new positions that you are targeting as well as the skills that enable you to do so. 
• Groups directory & LinkedIn signal. The directory can help you find the groups relevant to your field. LinkedIn Signal helps identify trending topics in any industry through keyword searches. 

In conclusion

A professional portfolio is a variety of work arrangements taking shape in different industries, using all of an individual’s saleable skills. In portfolio careers, people are actually seeking to improve the security of their employability, as opposed to employment security in an organization. 

Furthermore, success is warranted only if individuals enhance their human capital by accepting personal responsibility for skill development. People must also be very clear about “knowing why” they are in a certain profession. This will pave the way for career authenticity in their exclusive brand. 

To totally offset the benefits of a formal hierarchical career, the portfolio worker should leverage continuous learning and strong publicity of their particular story. Crafting a creative work week with work-life balance is another key to success. 

For those who think it is for them, these insights could assist in going portfolio.  The adventure is out there! 

If you would like to see more resources on career paths, check out the Affluence Science Labs. The lab uses the research of the Institute for Life Management Science to produce courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other tools. Visit the Affluence Science Labs today.

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