Portfolio careers

Our career preferences evolve over time. Those of us who, "rather than pursuing a single, full-time job, balance[...] a portfolio of different and changing opportunities" (Inkson et al., 2015, p. 43), tend to operate what is known as a "portfolio career" (Handy, 1989; Inkson et al., 2015). Our desire to do this may arise because we value autonomy, freedom, and flexibility - or we may drift into a portfolio of skills by seeking to balance other life commitments. This is where we leverage our skills in short term and temporary contracts, rather than be permanently employed by an organisation; and the payoff is in achieving greater "work-life balance", and potentially further educate ourselves (Inkson & Elkin, 2008, p. 84) at the same time. A portfolio career can open "additional opportunities, or enhanced career versatility" (p. 84), providing we feel able to risk unemployment at the end of a contract, and can deal with the stress of living off our wits, so to speak.

Portfolio career holders are likely to hold multiple contracts, work across a range of employers, have a very varied day and commitments, have to bid for work, bill for work, and keep on top of the administration, paperwork, certifications and insurances (Legg, 2022). Leave and retirement plans have to be built in: as does sudden axeing of contracts if there is an economic downturn. We are more likely to be remote workers (Legg, 2022), but we may be co-located at our contract-holder's office (many government contractors require this). 

We tend to conflate portfolio career holders with precarious workers. But the precariat (Standing, 2013) experiences "temporary work [with] stress [at] its precariousness, marginalising effect, and lack of career progression" (Inkson & Elkin, 2008, p. 84). Precarious workers are those for whom "their labour is insecure and unstable, so that it is associated with casualization, informalisation, agency labour, part-time labour, phoney self-employment and the new mass phenomenon of crowd-labour" (Standing, 2015, p. 6). These are people who are marginalised through lack of choice, and lack of self-determination. 

Whereas portfolio career holders tend to be contingent workers at the higher end of the scale, who have more choice, and more earning potential. Not always, but often. 

However, it can be difficult to make sense of a career through portfolio work, so those of us who work with people who hold a variety of skill sets may need to use some type of narrative structure to help our clients make sense of their own identity and worth (Inkson et al., 2015); and to provide a redirect when they are feeling too diffuse!

Sam

References:

Handy, C. (1989). The Age of Unreason. Business Books.

Inkson, K., Dries, N., Arnold, J. (2015). Understanding Careers (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Inkson, K., & Elkin, G. (2008). Landscape with Travellers: The context of careers in developed nations. In J. A. Athanasou & R. Van Esbroeck (Eds.), International Handbook of Career Guidance (1st ed., pp. 69-94). Springer Science + Business Media B.V.

Legg, B. (2022). What is a portfolio career? [image]. The Portfolio Collective. https://portfolio-collective.com/content/articles/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Standing, G. (2015). The Precariat and Class Struggle. RCCS Annual Review, 7, 3-16. http://doi.org/10.4000/rccsar.585

Standing, G. (2013). Defining the precariat: A class in the making. Eurozine. Retrieved from https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18276/1/Defining%20the%20precariat%20Eurozine%20Apr%202013.pdf