Portfolio Career
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by Jenny Ungless
Monster Career Life Coach 
How to escape the 9 to 5 grind and still earn a good living
Do you dread each Monday because another boring, same-y week lies ahead of you? If you like what you do but wonder if you’re missing out on other opportunities and you wish that you could work more flexibly and have more control over your time then a “portfolio career” could be the answer.
What’s a portfolio career? It’s simply a way of working where you have more than one job. It’s not moonlighting, because it’s totally legitimate, and it’s not about working all the hours God sends. It’s about recognising that all of us have more than one string to our bow. It’s arguably not at all natural to spend 40 hours (or more) a week doing pretty much the same kind of thing – we’d get bored fairly quickly if we did exactly the same thing every weekend. A portfolio career is about doing two or more different jobs on a part-time basis. They might be totally unrelated, or they might be complementary. For example, you might spend 4 days a week working in an office so that you have a day a week spare to build up your garden landscaping business. Or you might spend 3 days a week running your own software consultancy business and 2 days a week working in a company as their software developer.
So what are the advantages of a portfolio career, and how do you set one up?
It’s a great way to work, because:
- it gives you variety and allows you to pursue more than one area of interest at any one time;
- if you’re relatively new to the world of work and aren’t sure of your long-term direction, it’s an efficient way of “dipping your toe in the water” of a number of different areas;
- it’s ideal for people who have other responsibilities to work around, e.g. children or caring for relatives;
- part-time workers are often more attractive to employers, especially smaller ones, as they offer more flexibility – not every small business needs full-time marketing staff, for example;
- it’s also a great approach for people who want to have a go at setting up their own business, but don’t want the risk of jacking their job in completely
- if you’re clever about it, it’s a great way of developing your personal and professional “brand”, as you can combine different skills and interests in a way that is unique to you; AND
- it can actually be easier to earn more money from 2 part-time jobs than from one full-time job!
So how do you go about putting a portfolio career together? Here are our top tips:
- First of all, think about the sorts of things you’d like to be able to do that your current job doesn’t include. What other kind of work would you like to try? Would it be something totally different, to give you a real change, or something complementary which could add to your value in your current workplace too?
- Think about the balance you’d like between the different roles. For example, would you like to work mainly in one area (say, 4 days a week) with one day to ring the changes, or would you prefer to split it half-and-half, with maybe a day off in between to do your own thing?
- If part of your plan is to stay with your current employer but work fewer days, sit down with your line manager and/or HR department and discuss whether this is feasible. Point out the benefits for them as well as for you – you’ll be more energised and enthusiastic, for example, or you’ll be able to draw on your expertise in another field.
- If your plan is to change jobs completely and do one or two different things, try to make sure you have one part of your new working arrangements sorted out before you hand in your notice. Don’t try to take on several new things all at once – phase it in gradually over a few months, for example.
Of course, not all jobs or career directions lend themselves easily to portfolio working. But it’s amazing how much flexibility and variety you can build in your working life with just a little bit of creativity and imagination.
If the idea of portfolio working appeals to you, but you’re not sure how to go about actually making it happen, City Life Coaching can help. We’re offering Monster readers a 2-hour “Portfolio planning” session for the special rate of £200 (normally £275). This includes pre-session questionnaires, and a month’s follow-up by email to help keep you on track. Simply email jenny@citylifecoaching.com quoting “Monster offer”.
