Portfolio Careers

Supplemental Readings on Personal Online Branding and Portfolio Careers

A powerful purpose for ePortfolios could involve managing knowledge workers' career development, from high school through late career. There is another opportunity: managing "portfolio careers." Portfolio careers are becoming more widespread in our society: multiple part-time jobs, flexible working patterns, consulting practices, etc.  Here is where an ePortfolio can provide an ongoing environment where individuals can develop and manage their own personal SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).

Reflective portfolios can help individuals build self-awareness and a positive online identity (their personal brand); I often quote from a Harvard Business Review article by Peter Drucker, "Managing Oneself", which is a great way to organize reflection in a professional portfolio:

What are my strengths?

How do I work?

What are my values?

Where do I belong?

What can I contribute?

I became aware of the Drucker article at a conference on advising highly talented undergraduates, where the opening keynote speaker, from Harvard, said he had all incoming freshmen read this article.

Here are some readings and videos on personal branding and portfolio careers:

• • Beyond the Transcript: Digital Portfolios Paint a Complete Picture

  • http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/02/beyond-the-transcript-digital-portfolios-paint-a-complete-picture/

  • Personal Branding Becomes a Necessity in Digital Age http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/07/personal-branding-becomes-a-necessity-in-digital-age197.html

  • No More Résumés, Say Some Firms http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203750404577173031991814896.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

• 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 years http://blogs.forbes.com/danschawbel/2011/02/21/5-reasons-why-your-online-presence-will-replace-your-resume-in-10-years/

• Watch Video on Portfolio Careers: http://vimeo.com/15236162

• Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker http://www.public.navy.mil/usff/Documents/managing_oneself.pdf

  • • “Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves

    • – their strengths, their values, and how best they perform.”

    • We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: If you've got ambition and smarts, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession, regardless of where you started out. 

    • But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren't managing their employees' careers; knowledge workers must, effectively, be their own chief executive officers. It's up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years. To do those things well, you'll need to cultivate a deep understanding of yourself-- not only what your strengths and weaknesses are but also how you learn, how you work with others, what your values are, and where you can make the greatest contribution. Because only when you operate from strengths can you achieve true excellence.

• Portfolio Career and Professional Fulfillment: Flexible Working Patterns in the 21st Century http://www.suite101.com/content/portfolio-career-and-professional-fulfilment-a136379

• "A portfolio career offers flexible working arrangements to suit people and their personal and professional requirements during the 21st century"

• Portfolio Careers: Creating a Career of Multiple Part-Time Jobs http://www.quintcareers.com/portfolio_careers.html

• The Future Of Work: Portfolio Careers http://gigaom.com/collaboration/the-future-of-work-portfolio-careers/

• Portrait Of A Portfolio Career: Answer To The "Perfect Job"? http://www.successfromtheinsideout.com/e_letters/portrait.html

• The portfolio career: To find fulfillment try simultaneous careers http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/07/04/the-portfolio-career-to-find-fulfillment-try-simultaneous-careers/

• Portfolio Careers / Portfolio Lives http://ourfounder.typepad.com/leblog/2010/06/portfolio-careers-portfolio-lives.html