{"id":7821,"date":"2025-02-21T12:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=7821"},"modified":"2025-01-16T16:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T16:23:07","slug":"portfolio-careers-and-how-you-can-have-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=7821","title":{"rendered":"Portfolio careers and how you can have one"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A \u2018portfolio career\u2019 or \u201csquiggly career\u201d (Tupper, 2024) is a version of self- or partial employment<\/a> where you have several part-time jobs at the same time, rather than taking the traditional career \u2018path\u2019 of one full-time job. It offers a more flexible way of working, tailored to your unique set of skills, needs and priorities and can include different roles across various sectors. Portfolio careers have become more common since the Pandemic and offer an alternative way to navigate your career journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you more space \u2014 and frankly, more wisdom – to test out different\u00a0 things\u00a0 – and find your way.\u201d April Rinne, Harvard Business Review (2021)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking a portfolio career could work for you, here\u2019s how Careers and Employability Services can help you to prepare:<\/p>\n

Assess where you are with your career <\/strong><\/p>\n

Use the 3-minute careers check-in<\/a> to review your personal and career goals. You can return to this as many times as you like during your student journey, as your goals develop, clarify or change. Then, work out your next steps using the Navigate Your Future<\/a> tool.<\/p>\n

Develop your resilience and career confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thinking about change can sometimes sound challenging but it can be an exciting, energising process if you\u2019re prepared. Take steps to develop career resilience<\/a> and approach change with confidence. Work through our career confidence activities<\/a> to develop the self-assurance to try new things, go for what you want and be ready for anything that comes your way.<\/p>\n

Recognise and develop your skills <\/strong><\/p>\n

OU students have a wealth of qualities and transferable skills that employers value \u2013 and that means you too. Take stock, recognise the skills and qualities you have to offer<\/a>. Then map them out, with examples of where you can demonstrate them in different areas of your life, in a visual \u201cportfolio narrative<\/a>\u201d for employers to see. Your ‘portfolio narrative’ is:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story you tell to make connections between the skills people are hiring for and the skills you have developed through the breadth of your experience.\u201d April Rinne, Harvard Business Review (2021)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Honing your decision-making skills<\/a> can also help you to feel more confident about the career choices you make. Book one of our skills workshops and employer panel events<\/a> to help you to develop the skills you need to find or progress your portfolio career direction.<\/p>\n

Explore flexible work experience opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volunteering<\/a> and work experience<\/a> can be great ways to learn new skills and to gain an insight into different sectors and job roles. Exploring a wide range of opportunities<\/a>, including the latest job vacancies, volunteering opportunities, internships, and work placements, can provide you with invaluable insights and experience to take forward.<\/p>\n

Explore your self-employment options<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, you can find\u00a0various self-employment options<\/a>\u00a0on our Help pages. Explore these to take ownership of your portfolio, progress with developing your portfolio career and making it a success.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rinne, A. (2021) Why You Should Build a \u201cCareer Portfolio\u201d (\u201cNot a Career Path\u201d) <\/em>Available at: https:\/\/hbr.org\/2021\/10\/why-you-should-build-a-career-portfolio-not-a-career-path<\/a> (Accessed: 20 December 2024)<\/p>\n

Tupper, H. (2024) in Portfolio careers: the new normal? <\/em>Available at: https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/bitesize\/articles\/zktbn9q<\/a> (Accessed: 20 December 2024)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>Annabel Bennett is a Development Coordinator in the OU\u2019s Careers and Employability Services. She supports careers-related activity both within the service and across the University, helping students to achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential. Explore the rest of our blog for more articles from your careers team.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"X<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A \u2018portfolio career\u2019 or \u201csquiggly career\u201d (Tupper, 2024) is a version of self- or partial employment where you have several part-time jobs at the same time, rather than taking the traditional career \u2018path\u2019 of one full-time job. It offers a more flexible way of working, tailored to your unique set of skills, needs and priorities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-planning","category-jobs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7821"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7890,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7821\/revisions\/7890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}