Portfolio Careers: Everything You Need to Know to Build An Inspiring Work Life

Portfolio careers offer a fresh, sustainable take on work that allow you to leverage existing skills in new ways, and incrementally design your way towards a more rich and rewarding career model. They offer the opportunity to combine a range of complementary roles in a portfolio that together form a balanced whole, align with your values and fill your cup.

“Follow your passion: it will lead to your purpose.” OPRAH WINFREY

What is a Portfolio Career?

The concept of a portfolio career evolves away from the idea of a traditional full-time role with a single organisation, and instead sets the scene for a way of work where you can:

• bring your authentic, whole self to your working life,
• lean into your interests and curiosity,
• wear a variety of (fancy, bespoke) hats,
• take a sustainable, long-term approach to your career,
• leverage your skills and expertise,
• add new strings to your career bow, and
• make the most of your earning potential.

Portfolio careers may include full-time, part-time, voluntary, freelancing or self-employed options. It’s a way of working that combines different jobs, roles and income streams that align with your skills and values, and suit your life aspirations, interests and career goals.

Why Consider a Portfolio Career?

The motivations for considering a portfolio career are varied, and so are the potential benefits. A common feature – and attraction – of portfolio careers is the autonomy to decide what work you do, and the flexibility to manage your work and time.

You may seek self-development, variety and progression opportunities and find it challenging to achieve these things through a single role in a conventional working environment. If this is the case for you, the fluidity of a portfolio career can help you achieve these goals.

Many women looking into portfolio careers want to broaden their skills and experience, try different work methods and maintain a healthy work-life balance. A portfolio career’s flexibility comes with the ability to select roles best suited to your current life commitments and circumstances.

What Skills Do You Need to Successfully Build a Portfolio Career?

There are some important skills and competencies that are highly desirable for building and maintaining a successful portfolio career. These can include, but are certainly not limited to:

• analytical thinking and problem-solving,
• personal initiative and a ‘can do’ attitude,
• planning and prioritisation,
• clear communication and strong negotiation,
• teamwork, mentoring and coaching,
• organisation and time management, and
• specialised sector knowledge, expertise and awareness.

Each of these skills is highly desirable and transferrable, and of great value to potential roles that can make up a career portfolio.   Sit dis sed ante

What Does a Portfolio Career Look Like?

The beauty of portfolio careers is that no two are alike: they are individually tailored and can evolve over time to meet your specific needs and interests. Below are a couple of examples that can offer inspiration, however, the possibilities for creative and innovative work-life design are endless.

Chloe has been a high school teacher for five years. Looking to leverage her creative interests and skills, she reduces her teaching hours to work with a local theatre company on weekends. Chloe also merges her passion for people and the arts by taking on work one day a fortnight leading guided tours at a city art gallery. She moreover decides to lean into her passion for flower arranging, and prepares gorgeous arrangements for smaller weddings. Over time, as her reputation grows, she picks up a broader range of work, including for some of the numerous events at the gallery. Each week brings something new and she loves the autonomy, flexibility and ability to utilise different aspects of her skillset.

Violet is a GP specialising in women’s health. While she loves the work, she is ready to incorporate some fresh elements into her work week. She has decided to set time aside to round out her clinical work with an exciting collaboration with a friend in IT: to bring to life a health and wellbeing app designed to help women manage their health with helpful content and tracking options. By leveraging her specialised skills, her work life takes on new energy as she dives into the digital realm. Violet also satisfies her passion for writing by successfully pitching to be a regular contributor with a large newspaper, responding to reader health queries and challenges under the pen-name of Dr Vi. Her passion and work has attracted the interest of a public health NGO, that has reached out and asked Violet to consider serving on their board.

Portia is a lawyer who enjoys the analytical and problem solving aspects of her role, as well as the satisfaction that comes with helping her clients. However, the high pressure, fast-paced environment has led her to consider how she can design a career that better aligns with her lifestyle goals. Reaching out to some old contacts at law school, Portia decides to cut back her corporate hours and take on some academic work, teaching one day a week. While less financially lucrative, she finds the connection and mentoring of students highly rewarding. As another plus, she gets to build on her communication skills, including as an engaging public speaker. The new role also allows Portia to build her networks, which lead to interesting new opportunities as a keynote speaker and media commentator in her field. 

By combining several different roles, Chloe, Violet and Portia each find that they can better align their interests and values through clever portfolio career design that allows them to continue to learn, grow and evolve in their work life.

Is a Portfolio Career Right For Me?

Anyone can make a portfolio career work. However, it’s helpful to ask yourself some important questions to decide if it’s the right path for you.

• What industry are you in and how much experience do you already have under your belt?
• What are your interests and what would you enjoy doing more of for a satisfying work-mix?
• What are your key skills and strengths, and how transferrable are they to different roles?
• What do you envision a portfolio career to be and how realistic are your goals?
• How will you self-manage across multiple roles?
• What risk are you willing to take?

It is also helpful to reflect on where you are on your career journey and the options that are currently available to you now. This will shape what actions are attainable now, and inform how you can plan for future change, including by expanding your skills, experience and network before taking the plunge into portfolio work. If you are early in your professional career, there is a lot to be said for developing your skills and knowledge for a period of time in a more traditional role.

Remember that building a portfolio career can be a gentle, gradual evolution and does not require an all-or-nothing approach. Understanding the advantages, and possible downsides, of a portfolio career can also help you determine if it’s the right path.

What are the Benefits of a Portfolio Career?

A portfolio career can offer many attractive benefits, including:

Independence: Enjoy greater independence and control over the work you do. What could be more empowering than waking up each morning feeling excited for the day ahead?

Coherence: Cherry-pick roles that align with your goals and values, for a more sustainable career that allows you to bring your whole self to work.

Flexibility: Design a lifestyle that provides better work-life balance and can accommodate other commitments and pursuits that are important to you, such as family, travel or hobbies.

Variety: Explore multiple areas of interest, broaden your skills, tap into diverse learning opportunities and have more avenues to develop and gain experience.

Freedom: Experience greater freedom to pursue a career that leverages your strengths, passions and hobbies.

Security: Multiple income streams can increase your earning capacity, job security and protection in uncertain times.

What are the Potential Downsides of a Portfolio Career?

On the flip side, a portfolio career can have its disadvantages and challenges. The most notable include:

Lack of focus: You are responsible for balancing the individual components of your portfolio career. You could fall into the trap of trying to do “all the things”, potentially at the expense of other life commitments (family, friends, hobbies).

Managing accountability: You are running the show and need to be disciplined with your time and managing your deliverables across a range of roles.

Navigating ambiguity: The ability to accept a higher level of ambiguity as you navigate your way towards a well-rounded portfolio career is a helpful attribute if you are looking to plunge in.

Personal costs: You will likely need to spend your own time and money on education and networking to keep your skills and contacts current, as well as general work admin, such as invoicing and billing, marketing and managing your own super and tax affairs.

Financial risk: You may need to be comfortable with some income uncertainty, particularly if freelancing makes up a large portion of your career portfolio. There may also be less access to some traditional benefits available in full-time employment (sick leave, super contributions or maternity cover).

Company of one: As you build your portfolio career, you may find that you miss the camaraderie of the traditional office environment, bouncing around ideas with colleagues or having ready-made mentors. You will need to be proactive in getting involved with relevant professional groups and organisations to stay engaged and connected with your peers and industry.

Is There a Right Time to Embark on a Portfolio Career?

While a portfolio career can be a rewarding and viable option for you, diving in can be daunting. There is no definitive right time to begin your portfolio career journey. However, some signs that can indicate you are ready for change could include:

• You want to achieve greater alignment between your work and personal goals or values.
• You’re looking for a more fulfilling role that connects with your passions.
• You want to lean into what you are already good at and offer those skills in new ways.
• You have an entrepreneurial itch and want to bring your creative vision to life.
• You want your career to better leverage your skills and expertise.
• You have grown weary of corporate life and need a change.
• You are craving more work-life balance.
• You’re mentally drained at your current work.
• You don’t take pride in your work anymore or your career has stagnated.

If any of these themes resonate with you, it may be a sign that it is time to consider a portfolio career.

How Do I Build a Portfolio Career?

A portfolio career takes commitment, dedication and time to evolve and maintain. It is therefore important to understand your ‘why’ and be clear about your motivations for pursuing this path.

So how to navigate your way from concept to reality? Starting out can be as simple as taking a short course, reading relevant books, journals or blogs, or setting up some coffee dates with people who can help you on your way. By understanding your options and becoming more informed, you can incrementally build momentum towards meaningful change.

While your path toward building a portfolio career depends on your interests, industry and skills, below are some steps that can help you start a portfolio career:

Define your skills and strengths: Set aside time to consider what services you could provide based on your interests, skills and expertise. Identify the value you offer and how you can position yourself to best take advantage of opportunities you would like to pursue.

Make a plan: Identify a plan of action for how you will approach building your portfolio career. Research different areas of work that pique your interest and spend the time to consider your options from all angles. Remember that building a portfolio career takes focus, persistence and commitment as you design your way towards more sustainable and rewarding work.

Leverage your network: Finding people who support you is vital for a portfolio career. Expand your network and communicate your goals. There are numerous specialist platforms where you can find people sharing similar interests. Talk to people and stay flexible and open-minded, as tapping into your contacts is one of the best ways to find new opportunities. 

Build a coherent professional brand: Professional credibility is important for portfolio careers and helps project professionalism to organisations or individuals you wish to work for in the future. Start with your digital profile. A coherent identity across your website, networking and freelancing platforms is essential. Consider how closely the different streams of your portfolio career align to help decide whether it makes sense to have one or several work profiles.

Develop your online presence: Depending on your specific field, an online presence may be an essential ingredient of a portfolio career. While having a professional website isn’t always necessary, it can be a great tool to showcase your motivation, skills and expertise.

Marketing you: Once you are clear on your offerings, a web presence and a voice, you are ready to market your skills to the world. There are many marketing options, digital or otherwise. Focus your efforts where your target audiences spend their time, be it Google Search, LinkedIn, The Portfolio Collective or other relevant social media platforms.

Final Thoughts

As you go through the exciting journey of career exploration and growth, knowing how to leverage your portfolio career can expand your horizons further and unlock even more opportunities. Successfully building your portfolio career to best serve future you involves understanding your unique value proposition, identifying and improving your transferable skills and utilising your professional networks. 

Sail on, lovely, as we raise a glass to inspirational career journeys.