Are you happy in your current job? Do you enjoy your work? Are you doing what you’re good at? Does your work make you feel proud? For many people the answers are No. If this is you then this book is for you…
A couple of weeks ago I caught a tweet and learned of a new book entitled And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to creating a Portfolio Career by Barrie Hopson and Katie Ledger. I bought the book and consumed it in under a week. I liked the contents of the book so much I’ve already started implementing my plan to create my portfolio career and feel this is worthy of a book review.
Finding one job that can pay the bills, give you the lifestyle you want, and make you happy is difficult but what if you had multiple jobs that allowed you to do the many things you enjoy, what you’re good at and make you feel proud; working those kind of jobs would mean work isn’t work.
The book starts out by describing the career situation that most people find themselves in, then discusses the relative pros and cons, presents the concept of a Portfolio Career, and then briefly covers the ten steps to arrive at your tailored portfolio career.
The first two steps prompt you to confirm whether or not a portfolio career is really for you, asks if you can afford to pursue one, and suggests ways to transition into a portfolio career.
The book then takes you though the next steps of identifying what you’re naturally good at, what you enjoy, and what makes you proud (your Motivated Skills), your values (what makes you want to work), and the many types of people that you are.
The rest of the book deals with how you get started with your portfolio career, networking, choosing the careers, marketing, brand, and follow on activities to make your careers thrive. The book has lots of exercises that help you realise the shape of your portfolio career.
I’ve always avoided doing something I love as a job as I’ve often heard people say that it could turn something you love into a chore and therefore something you hate. I believe that there is a risk that this can happen but I feel it’s all down to how you handle the job. There is always going to be ‘grunge work’ as the book describes it but so long as this is minimised there shouldn’t be a problem.
You can get a copy of And What Do You Do? from Amazon
I hope to blog more about my transition into my Portfolio Career, why not subscribe to my blog to ensure you get future posts.
Do you have a Portfolio Career? Have you read And What Do You Do? Do you agree with my comments? – Please take a few moments to leave me a comment.
Until the next post…
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you Steve for such a great review. We look forward with interest to see how your portfolio career develops.
A pleasure Barrie.