There is a shift happening from a mindset of the career path to the career portfolio.
One great article I recently discovered was from the Harvard Business Review.
I was drawn to this statement:
“Whereas a career path tends to be a singular pursuit (climb the ladder in one direction and focus on what is straight ahead), a career portfolio is a never-ending source of discovery and fulfillment. It represents your vast and diverse professional journey, including the various twists and turns, whether made by choice or by circumstance.” – Harvard Business Review
The article goes on to describe how to include your unique skills and how they can be mixed in different ways to meet a current business need.
Your portfolio would include not only your professional work, but also your volunteer, community service, passion projects, and hobbies.
To keep track of the portfolio, you could keep a word document or develop a graphic.
My Perspective
The shift from linear paths to a portfolio has many benefits and challenges.
Benefits to individuals include the ability to fully express skills and talents.
Company benefits are discovering skills in their current workforce or new hires that weren’t obvious and could provide a competitive advantage.
The challenge is the infrastructure.
Individuals don’t know how to create a portfolio document.
Career platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed have a linear structure.
As do resumes.
HR departments and hiring managers are accustomed to reviewing resumes.
I believe to take the step to the future we must start addressing the infrastructure.
One company and one resume at a time.
Step by Step.
Day by Day.
Your Turn
Does your career fit neatly into a linear resume or LinkedIn format? Why or why not?
What is not on your resume that could be highlighted as a valuable skill?
How could companies start to shift to consider portfolio resume reviews?