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You are here: Career=20 Services Home > Educators and practitioners > Career Edge > March = 2009

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In this Career Edge

Introducing our Career Edge e-zine

Career Services' popular magazine, Career Edge, = finds a home=20 online=20 More...

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Living a portfolio career

How a case of OOS became an opportunity to explore a = new way=20 of working

Surviving the economic crisis

A look at job hunting and career management in the = present=20 economic climate=20 More...

Creativity =E2=80=93 the missing ingredient?

Some ways to use creativity in career practice = More...

International careers conference takes shape

Details about keynote speakers and how to register = your=20 interest=20 More...

March 2009

Living a portfolio career

Angela McCarthy turned a case of OOS into an opportunity to = explore a=20 new way of working.

When I first heard the term "portfolio career", I = was=20 delighted. Here =E2=80=93 finally =E2=80=93 was a way to describe the = odd bundling of freelance,=20 permanent part time, study, mentoring and one-off jobs that keeps me = more than=20 fully employed.

Portfolio work means working for different=20 employers in two or more part-time roles that collectively make up a = full-time=20 position. I became a portfolio worker by default but it suits me well. A = bad=20 case of occupational overuse syndrome (OOS) meant I had to find a = temporary=20 alternative career to journalism. I became fascinated by career = practitioner=20 work and enrolled in a career practitioner qualification. My arm came = right and=20 so I proceeded to develop a portfolio career in career counselling and = freelance=20 writing that also includes anything else that sounds interesting, = possible or=20 worth trying.

My portfolio is currently quite homogeneous, but = could=20 combine many roles and fulfill any number of passions. I hope to include = biographer in my future lineup; I used to help run a restaurant. It = fulfils my=20 need for autonomy, change, variety, control, sociability, writing, = interviewing,=20 service to community=E2=80=A6 The list goes on.

The highs and lows of portfolio work

At its best a portfolio career is fun, varied, challenging and = stimulating. I=20 am continually creating my own job portfolio, working to my strengths. I = write=20 about things I enjoy, and my writing and career counselling continually = feed=20 into each other. The research I do for websites adds more. I=E2=80=99ve = developed new=20 strengths, such as good time management =E2=80=93 a do-or-die = requirement for portfolio=20 work.

At its worst a portfolio career can mean uncertainty and=20 overcommitment. At times I feel like a Jill of all trades and = mistress of=20 none. Some days I am extremely wearied by the mental gymnastics of = moving=20 between two quite different skill sets =E2=80=93 directive journalist = interviewing to=20 open-ended, microcounselling techniques =E2=80=93 and back. Remembering = which hat I=E2=80=99m=20 wearing is, indeed, wearying at times.

Meeting the expectations = of many=20 bosses and conflicting deadlines can be stressful. I can=E2=80=99t go to = someone else to=20 request deadlines be moved or projects reassigned. But this also gives = me the=20 freedom to get up at 5.30am to meet a writing deadline before heading = off to my=20 school career counselling job. If I then sleep in the next morning, so = be it.=20

Finding work and keeping skills up to date are the biggest = challenges

The biggest issues are sourcing work and keeping professional skills = up to=20 date for two different professions. I=E2=80=99m sometimes asked = how I cope without=20 one steady pay packet dropping into my bank balance. Yes, January can be = a tight=20 month financially, but a month or two of 10-hour days in the middle of = the year=20 usually guarantees that I can financially enjoy summer. KiwiSaver has = solved the=20 problem of a retirement fund.

Portfolio work = is not for=20 everyone. If you highly value financial security, certainty and routine, = then=20 it's not the way to go. You will struggle as a portfolio worker if you = value=20 belonging to an organisation, because it is hard to keep relationships = alive=20 when you=E2=80=99re coming and going in a workplace.

A = portfolio career is=20 about career self-management. It isn=E2=80=99t as secure as full-time = employment, but=20 then how secure is full-time employment anyway? If I lose one of my = jobs, I=20 still have the others to fall back on. It=E2=80=99s a win-win = (particularly in this=20 economic climate).

=20

Angela McCarthy is a freelance journalist and career practitioner. = She=20 juggles her writing work with career counselling roles at Mt Roskill = Grammar=20 School and AUT. Her three adult children, three grandchildren, three = cats =E2=80=93 and=20 one husband - provide plenty of entertainment and occasional = inspiration.

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