And What Do You Do?: 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career

by Barrie Hopson, Katie Ledger

Even in a tough economy business professionals are always in search of ways to redefine and reassess the components of having a satisfying career and good work/life balance. This book gives ten practical steps for establishing a “portfolio career” option where you have two or more jobs for different employers and reframe your brand by playing to your greatest strengths. Each job would utilize different skills and allow you to follow your passions with enough built-in flexibility and diversity to help you thrive during economic slumps. Whether part-time worker or a combination of working for yourself and an organization, this book will show you the way to explore innovative career opportunities and find the maximum fulfillment in your work.

Genres: Business

248 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Who these days expects to be working for the same employer until they retire?” This was the question that I was asked when I started working life a little under 15 years ago. In that time the question has changed into “Who expects to be working for only one employer, possibly at the same time, until they retire?”. For it is likely that the working generation now may find themselves either by choice or by necessity working for a number of businesses.

The precept of this book is that every job is now temporary or without long-term assurance, so therefore most of us are effectively self-employed but with one source of revenue coming in (I.e 100% from your current boss). With this book someone can decide whether the leap into a so-called portfolio career is desirable, but also whether you are someone who can make that leap.

Whilst most of us singly-employed do not think about networking and social media as possibilities waiting to happen, a portfolio worker uses these tools to create an employment lifestyle that meets not just their financial needs but fills the gaps that conventional employment cannot answer.

This book looks at the skills you can bring to a portfolio career, as well as marketing and branding yourself in such a way that a potential employer can see you as not just a CV with a random selection of previous roles that have no coherence. It will even help you plot the transition from ‘normal’ life to a new ‘normal’ portfolio life, both in terms of managing the money, time and workflow.

I found this book to be an incredibly useful tool in identifying the sorts of things that need to be considered when changing your working lifestyle. There are no guarantees that this book will make the problems go away, but it will provide you with most of the answers when you are questioned.

[Mr Alister Cryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most valuable book I have read on career change in years

A close friend recommended that I read this book and it is really quite brilliant. Do read it in its entirety!

[Anna Lundberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening book that serves as an inspiration as well as giving concrete and practical advice when considering a portfolio career.

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read book on career development.

[Anwen Garston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful read for anyone contemplating more than one job.

[Heinrich Souza]

Imported from my LinkedIn Reading List via Shelfari.

[Sippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was inspired by it in some ways. Hands on book with lots of sound advice, but outdated in many ways too by the time I read it in 2016. Still: it made me think, so 4 stars.