This is a 2 part guest blog by Barrie Hopson. This is Part 2.
Barrie is a psychologist specialising in career development and lifelong learning and is a serial entrepreneur. His life mission is helping people to become architects of their own future. His latest project is developing an online learning programme to help people design their retirement ‘Live Happier’ to help people design their retirement, launched and free to use in August 2016.
He is a Non Exec Director of the Aspire-Igen Group and of Disability Sport Yorkshire. He chairs the national Quality in Career Standard Consortium Board. He was Chairman of Axia Interactive Media 2007-2013. He is a writer, presenter, consultant and was chair of his local community association for 8 years. He is on the advisory board of The Open Retirement Club. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Royal Society of Arts. He has written 39 books – the latest being ‘And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career’, written with Katie Ledger. He gives presentations on the future of work, portfolio careers, and how to ‘design a retirement you’ll love’. He established the Counselling and Career Development Unit at Leeds University in 1976 and went on to found Lifeskills International in 1983. The company formed a joint venture – Hay-Lifeskills Ltd. – with Hay Group International of which he was co-chair for its first 3 years. His books include the bestselling 12 Steps to Success through Service, The Lifeskills Teaching Programmes and Build Your Own Rainbow. In 2008 he wrote The Rainbow Years: the Pluses of Being 50+ and an accompanying website for Learndirect www.fiftyforward.co.uk. The latter were all co-authored with Mike Scally. Barrie has worked widely as a consultant to commercial and educational organisations in the UK, USA, Asia, Canada and Europe. He sees one of the payoffs of his Portfolio Career as being able to follow Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He adores running and runs 10k, 10 mile and half marathons for the Stroke Association as he is now a carer for his stroke survivor wife.
The rest of this blog are in Barrie’s own words.
Here is part 1 in case you missed it:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/guest-blog-barrie-hopson-part-1/
Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?
No-one. Just me, my intuition and ensuring I have people who I respect and love spending time with and who are the sources of my inspiration. I never work alone. I have written 39 books and 2 online learning programmes and not one of them just by myself. The fun of creation comes for me in bouncing ideas off others. I am massively influenced by the quotation, “I never know what I think about something until I have heard what I have to say.”
How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?
I still look for meetings relevant to what I do and make an intuitive decision about whether or not to attend. 90% of the time, my intuition does not let me down. You need a website – at least one, and a really good LinkedIn profile. Spending time with creative people is also beneficial.
What, if any, is the personal brand used for your portfolio career?
‘Helping people to become architects of their own future.’ I have only been using this for the past 10 years or so as I realised that a succinct brand message communicates a lot and of course is actually an invitation to people to ask further questions.
What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?
Well of course, Katie Ledger and I through our research came up with a whole list of these and you can answer them for yourselves for free on www.portfoliocareers.net
What advice would you give to someone considering a portfolio career?
At the risk of being cheeky, read our book, And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating A Portfolio Career, A&C Black, 2009
What benefits do portfolio careers bring specifically to women and mothers, rather than to men?
A portfolio lifestyle, which, interestingly, seems to be attracting men now as well.
What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?
1) Know exactly what are your ‘motivated skills’ and only look for opportunities to practice them.
2) Only pick assignments consistent with your values.
3) Learn to say ‘no’.
4) Ensure you develop a portfolio lifestyle not just a portfolio career – which means organising downtime, having fun, taking holidays and spending time with people you love and respect.
5) Continue to reinvent yourself. This is one of the real joys of a portfolio career. There should never be a full stop – just a hyphen!]
What next?
For more information about portfolio careers, click on this link:
To find out more about ‘Live Happier’, click on this link:
https://livehappier.aviva.co.uk/
To find out more about Barrie’s book about portfolio careers, click on this link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Do-You-Creating-Portfolio/dp/1408116308
Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/
Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/
Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/
Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/
Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:
https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/