Member-only story

Treat Your Career Like a Portfolio, Not a Resume

Linear career paths are a thing of the past.

Anna Burgess Yang
Index
5 min readMar 19, 2022

pop art illustration of a winding path through a forest
Image created via Midjourney

For generations, careers have been a ladder to climb.

You start at the bottom, grab each rung, and pull yourself up until you reach the top. You might slip and fall back a bit (like a layoff) or skip a few rungs with a promotion. Or maybe you get stuck somewhere in the middle and stay there. But overall, the task was straight and known.

Moreover, your chosen ladder was your chosen ladder. Forever. Forty years of working, going up and down on a single ladder.

Careers aren’t like that anymore. Nor do they always take place in a traditional office or corporate environment. As a result, you should think of your career as a collection of knowledge, experiences, and skills, whether you need to submit that next resume… or strike out on your own.

If you think of your career as a portfolio — a representation of all of your accomplishments — you’ll be better poised to control your career’s direction or handle any curveball thrown your way.

Non-linear careers are the future of work

The career ladder has disappeared in part due to rapidly changing technology. Entire industries have to reinvent themselves. Print…

Create an account to read the full story.

The author made this story available to Medium members only.
If you’re new to Medium, create a new account to read this story on us.

Or, continue in mobile web

Already have an account? Sign in

Index
Index

Published in Index

Index is a former publication from Medium about work. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Anna Burgess Yang
Anna Burgess Yang

Written by Anna Burgess Yang

Freelance Writer. Operations Advice for Solopreneurs. Career pivots are fun. 🎉 https://start.annabyang.com/

Responses (34)

Write a response

Great article! I think it is such a relief now that careers don't have to be linear.

I remember when I started mine in video games can years ago, I thought that was the only way but now, I've been running my own agency for 7 years and I only work…

I have never heard a career referred to as a portoflio before but it totally resonates. Brilliant!

One of the greatest assets you can have in your career is your ability to learn. You’ll never walk into a job with the exact skills you need on Day 1. Instead, you learn on the job — an...

Now that I'm actively recruiting (rather than being recruited) I can say hands down that this is one of the most critical skills I want to see in possible employees.
Here's the thing, everything is changing faster today than it did yesterday…