Benefits of a Portfolio Career with Multiple Interests

build a portfolio career. a career isn't just about the money you take home - it's your identity, your personal brand, the impact you create and how you spend your precious hours in this life. it's complex and winding. a portfolio career looks like having multiple sets of experiences and skill sets at the same time, and diversifying your learning, knowledge, networks, and growth tracks. it broadens your surface area for 'getting lucky', or for stumbling upon exciting and interesting opportunities. it reminds you that the world is large, and there are many more ways than one to build a life for yourself. a portfolio career allows you to have roles that create financial stability so that you can also dedicate time to less profitable causes and passion projects. a portfolio career means that you're investing into different versions of yourself with the understanding that you can never know which one will bring you the most joy, fulfillment, wealth and impact in the long term. it means you understand that you have many things to offer the world around you - multiple of which are likely wealth generating. a portfolio career integrates hobbies and interests as a core element of your work and professional life. it allows you to be publicly multidimensional and human. the 'work-life balance' is not real. increasingly, work is life and life is work. does work mean making money or creating impact? my portfolio career includes: mallory the GTM and product strategist mallory the investor mallory the interior designer mallory the writer mallory the community builder mallory the process optimizer mallory the linkedin contributor mallory the women's wealth building enthusiast and mallory the cancer surviving, adhd-having, mental health advocate. what's yours?

Over the last few days, I have had conversations with folks who are questioning their career paths. Or, put differently, they are wondering what to do with what they have. An example. A lawyer also likes to do podcasts, loves fashion, and is now thinking of making a segue into entertainment. Another, a medical doctor, possesses a PhD as well, has been involved in consulting, and is considering building a startup. All true life stories. If you’re focused on climbing a career or corporate ladder, it would be hard to figure out what to do with all that. Thus, having a career that is defined 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒍𝒚 by what we learned in school can be limiting. A few weeks ago, I wrote about cultivating a career portfolio, and these scenarios show how we unconsciously get to a point where we develop one. A career portfolio is a collection of your professional experiences, skills, and accomplishments that go beyond the traditional resume. It represents your diverse and evolving journey in the world of work, encompassing various roles, skills, and experiences that you've gained throughout your life. Like how an investor invests across different asset classes or companies in his portfolio. Here's how to understand and build a career portfolio: - A career portfolio is different from a traditional career path, which often follows a singular trajectory. It's more like an ongoing journey of self-discovery and fulfillment. - It encompasses a wide range of experiences, from traditional jobs to volunteer work, community service, side hustles, passion projects, hobbies, and other activities where you've created value and served others. - It may include personal experiences, skills, or aspects of your identity that don't typically appear on a resume but are essential to your professional identity and work.   The benefits of a career portfolio are that it’s a lifelong asset that you build and maintain, and it can't be taken away from you. Your diverse set of skills allows you to navigate ambiguity and make creative connections between different experiences.   You can combine skills from various experiences to tackle new challenges, diversify income sources, and serve in different ways.   Make connections between the different components of your portfolio.   Develop a portfolio narrative that explains how your combination of skills makes you valuable to employers and how these skills enhance each other. Your portfolio becomes a powerful tool for telling your unique story to potential employers or collaborators, helping you secure the roles you want. It's great to have a career path and climb the ladder. But don't neglect building a career portfolio.