Building a career path will put you at risk of financial ruin
Here's why a career portfolio is the better choice.
The problem with a single career path
“What do you do?”
A common question that comes up during gatherings with family and friends.
A question that encourages comparison.
A barometer to judge where you stand in the eyes of society.
Or perhaps, a common question you get during job interviews.
“I see you’ve got a finance degree and extensive finance related work experience. But we also have at least 20 other candidates with a similar profile to yours. So, why should we hire you?”
Gone are the days where having work experience alone gives you a high chance of landing your desired role.
These days, companies are looking for more than just that.
They’re looking for people who are highly adaptable, and open to learning new skills on the job.
Since young (especially prevalent in Asian households), we’ve often been told to “Study hard, and get a good job.”
The general idea is to choose a specific industry and excel in a particular area of expertise.
While this advice comes with good intentions, have we ever paused to consider “What if that area of expertise that we choose to excel in becomes obsolete?”
Adaptability is more important than ever in today’s day and age.
When I first graduated from university in 2016, a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance was the “in thing”. Throw a stone and you’ll find another person doing the same majors.
Fast forward 7 years, the number of students (in the U.S) who graduated with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting have fallen off a cliff.
Ironically, the peak was in 2016.
The drop-off in demand for accountants is not surprising. Stable as it may be, a job in this field entails long working hours and low pay.
Unlike in the past, where people work themselves to the bone, modern society have increasingly prioritised work-life balance , or life-work balance.
The issue of mental health, which used to be a social stigma in the past, have taken on an elevated level of importance.
What is a career portfolio? And how is it different from a career path?
A career path tends to be a singular pursuit, where you climb the corporate ladder, going up until you reach the top.
A career portfolio is a never-ending pursuit of discovery and fulfilment.
It represents your vast and diverse professional journey, including the bumps along the ride.
Why build a career portfolio
A career portfolio doesn’t have to include only paid jobs. It can also include your hobbies and interests.
For example, I am an analyst by trade. But my career portfolio also includes titles such as “writer”, “climber”, “poker player”, “yogi” and of course, “investor”.
While some of these do not generate an income for me, they are relevant identities of my life that I’ve spent time developing.
But why bother building a career portfolio?
Diversifying your investment portfolio reduces your investment risk.
In the same vein, a career portfolio broadens your horizons and grants you versatility in your professional life.
Over the years, we have seen many jobs become obsolete while others are now facing on the brink of it due to technological advancement.
Applying it to my own personal situation, I could be out of a job if AI becomes advanced enough to perform the tasks I do in my day job, and write exactly the way that I do.
The best way for me to mitigate this risk is by having a career portfolio. A portfolio that gives me options to fall back on for an income.
Most importantly, it helps me to navigate uncertainty once I am used to learning new pursuits from scratch when building my career portfolio.
How to build a career portfolio
The first step to distinguish yourself from the crowd is identifying what is in your career portfolio.
All of us possess a unique combination of skills, personality traits and experiences.
The sum of these is why no two individuals are alike.
Too many of us are trapped within the confines of our resumes.
It’s as if our career revolves solely around traditional paid work experiences.
A career portfolio is more than that.
Think about your hobbies or anything that you do during your free time. It can be as simple as doing volunteer work or cooking for your loved ones.
As long as you have created value for others in that role, it deserves a place in your career portfolio.
Once you have these hobbies and interests listed down, it’s time to build a career portfolio map.
Find an intersection between the various things you do in your life. Which are the roles where there are overlapping skills?
List down as many roles as possible that comes to mind. Brainstorm the connections these roles have to one another.
You might be surprised that they are more connected than you think.
Summary
We can’t control how the future of work will change.
What we can control is building up our career portfolio to by using our unique set of experiences and expertise to deliver the greatest value.