From Pivot to Portfolio
Building a Career That Holds All Your Worlds
When people ask about my career path, I usually pause—it’s not a short story, and it rarely fits into a single narrative.
As a third culture kid, I learned early on how to adapt to new environments, listen between the lines, and carry a sense of self even as the landscape shifted. That kind of upbringing didn’t just shape how I saw the world—it gave me a deep comfort with change and taught me to be fluent in more than just language.
So it’s little wonder that my career has taken a nonlinear path. I’ve worked across industries, continents, and contexts—holding in-house leadership roles, advising executives as a consultant, building a communications practice, joining a nonprofit leadership team, and preparing to launch a podcast alongside my newsletter. The details may be varied, but there’s a common thread: a commitment to meaningful connection across cultures and communities.
This is the essence of what some call a portfolio career: a working life defined not by a single title or employer, but by a collection of roles, interests, and experiences that reflect who you are and what matters to you.
What Is a Portfolio Career?
A portfolio career isn’t just gig work or side projects. It’s a conscious, evolving way of designing a professional life around multiple identities and skill sets, often with more than one income stream. Some pursue this model out of necessity. Others choose it with intention: for greater alignment, autonomy, or expression.
For me, it’s been a way to honor the fullness of my experience. I’ve never viewed my career moves as starting over. Each pivot—whether into a new industry, a different role, or a creative project—has been a deliberate step that builds on what came before. Every decision has deepened my understanding and expanded the ways I create impact.
Career diversification, then, becomes an act of design. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing what’s aligned.
Growing Through Change (Again and Again)
In one of my early Substack pieces, Growing Through Change, I wrote:
“I’ve come to appreciate that career paths are rarely, if ever, linear. Sometimes the most significant opportunities come from unexpected directions.”
That still rings true today. I believe every pivot is intentional, even when it’s born from uncertainty. Some of the most formative chapters in my journey came from leaning into ambiguity, raising my hand for opportunities beyond my scope, and staying curious about how different parts of an organization connect.
Each shift has shaped how I think and lead, adding to my portfolio of lived experience. A career built this way isn’t a patchwork of roles—it’s a layered narrative shaped by intention.
Lessons from the In-Between
🧭 Your identity is bigger than your job title.
The world may ask for a quick answer—What do you do?—but your story doesn’t need to shrink to fit that question.🧰 Transferable skills are your superpower.
Communication, adaptability, and strategic thinking travel well. They evolve with you and carry forward into each chapter.🪡 Clarity comes through coherence, not chronology.
Even if your journey has unfolded in unexpected ways, a clear through-line often emerges. That’s your narrative—and it matters more than a tidy timeline.
What It Takes
If you’re exploring a portfolio-style career, here are a few questions worth asking:
What values guide the choices I make?
What themes or skills consistently show up in the work I enjoy?
How can I create intentional containers—consulting, creative projects, advisory roles—for the work I want to hold?
Mentorship, community, and reflection have been essential for me. So has learning to say no to what doesn’t align—even when it looks impressive on paper.
And just as importantly, trusting the long arc of a career: knowing that every step, even the quieter ones, adds to the shape of the whole.
To the Cross-Cultural and Curious
This path might not look conventional, but it’s becoming increasingly familiar—especially for those of us who move between cultures, work across disciplines, or find meaning in less traditional trajectories.
A portfolio career doesn’t just offer flexibility—it offers alignment. It allows you to design a life and career that reflect all the layers of your identity, creating space for evolution while honoring both the present and what’s still possible.
On Building a Life, Not Just a Resume
There’s no single way to build a portfolio life. You might start with a freelance project, say yes to a creative idea that’s been tugging at you, or shift direction within the work you already do.
The point isn’t just to chase more—it’s to pursue what’s meaningful, and to trust that each step, taken with intention, leads somewhere purposeful.
Because your work should reflect your values. Your voice. Your view of the world.
And if you’ve never quite fit into a single box, maybe it’s because you were always meant to design something entirely your own.
I know I am.
"if you’ve never quite fit into a single box, maybe it’s because you were always meant to design something entirely your own." 🥹🥹