Portfolio Jobs: Everything Old is New Again

When I was in sixth grade, I remember learning about the concept of portfolio jobs. It was the "workplace of the future." Instead of having a job that lasted years and years, you might have two or three "project"-oriented jobs each year, working on defined tasks and then moving on. Or you might have a couple of part-time jobs instead of one full-time job.

That was back around 1984. In the intervening years, job tenures did become progressively shorter, and the "lifetime" job, where you started in the mailroom and retired as CEO, all but disappeared. The portfolio job hasn't really materialized … but the idea lives on.

I was reading the July 7-13, 2014 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek and came across a book review by Bryant Urstadt reviewing The Alliance, a book written by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and entrepreneurs Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh.

In the book, Urstadt says, Hoffman suggests keeping employees engaged by "setting up 'tours of duty' involving specific tasks such as managing groups, then mining the networks they form."

While not exactly the definition of portfolio careers I learned in the sixth grade, it's interesting that the project-oriented career is still being explored. It works well in Hollywood, where the "gig" lifestyle is geared around a movie: People are hired, do their jobs, and then move on to the next project.

Perhaps it's coming to the Fortune 500 company near you.

As resume writers, it's something to consider. Maybe there will be a whole new resume format that arises to help meet the need of describing this project-oriented career. After all, as anyone who has ever written a resume for an IT consultant or project manager knows, those resumes can easily stretch to 4, 5, or even 6 pages or more.

Urstadt writes, "Hoffman's ideas have grown out of an environment where young workers with elite backgrounds and big personal dreams are feverishly recruited under the guise of changing the world."

These are the clients who will be hiring us. If not now, they will soon be.

Food for thought, for sure.

Associations for Professional Resume Writers

I'm leaving up the original post (below), but I've updated the association listing.
Check out the updated post by clicking here.

Looking for networking opportunities, certifications, information, and more? There are several associations devoted to the professional resume writing and careers industry.

These include:

• The Career Management Alliance. Originally founded as the Career Masters Institute (CMI) by Wendy Enelow, "The Alliance," as it is informally known, was purchased by Kennedy Information (which became BNA Subsidiaries LLC). Their annual conference is in Las Vegas in April 2011. The conferences are pricy, but well done. Memberships begin at $135/year.
• Career Directors International (CDI). Originally founded as the Professional Resume Writing and Research Association (PRWRA), this association is run by Laura DeCarlo. They offer one of the best annual conferences out there. Dues are $150/year. They offer several certifications, including the Certified Advanced Resume Writer (CARW), Certified Expert Resume Writer (CERW), Certified Resume Specialist (CRS), and Master Career Director (MRD) designations. They also offer an annual resume writing awards contest, the TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) awards.
• Career Professionals of Canada. With a subscriber base of 250, three credentials that are widely recognized by Canadians, and a rigorous training program, CPC is a valuable resource for Canadian practitioners.
• Career Thought Leaders. The brainchild of Wendy Enelow, Career Thought Leaders Consortium bills itself as a "think tank" -- but is offering a conference and symposium in 2011 in Baltimore in March.
• CertifiedResumeWriters.com. Not really a true "association," this is an online directory for resume writers that has morphed into an "information resource site" for resume writers as well. Maria Hebda puts together an impressive line-up of teleseminars. There is a one-time (lifetime) membership fee of $497. (Multiple pay-payment options are available.)
• The National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA). This is a member-driven organization, with a volunteer board of directors. They offer an annual conference (the 2011 conference is in Maine) and a rigorous certification -- the Nationally Certified Resume Writer credential. Dues are $150/year (2-payment and 3-payment options available for new members).
• Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC). Founded by Frank Fox, PARW was the "original" resume writing association, from which many other associations branched off. PARW offers the most common resume writing certification, the Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) credential. It also certifies individuals as Certified Employment Interview Professionals (CEIP) and Certified Professional Career Coaches (CPCC). Membership is $150/year.
• Resume Writing Academy (RWA). Not an association, really, the Academy is a training program offered by Louise Kursmark and Wendy Enelow. Resume writers can earn the prestigious ACRW (Academy Certified Resume Writer) credential, which is the preferred certification for many resume contracting firms.
• Arizona Resume Writers' Association. This small group maintains a website to market their services collectively to prospects in their geographic area.
• Association of Online Resume & Career Professionals (AORCP). It offers a Certified Master Resume Specialist (CMRS) credential. Membership is just $50/year.

Fake Career Associations

Well, I'm updating the Resume Writers' Digest database again, and my search for some of the careers professionals that have moved or left the business continues.

Along the way, I have come across some interesting things -- like a couple of associations for resume writers and career professionals which -- according to my research -- simply don't exist. Yet they issue membership certificates and apparently award a "Certified Professional Resume Writer" credential.



A search for "National Association of Career Professionals" on Google came up empty.



Likewise, a search for the "International Association of Professional Resume Writers" turned up no matches.

There are plenty of legitimate professional associations serving the careers industry out there, like:

• Career Directors International
• Career Management Alliance (formerly Career Masters Institute)
• Association of Online Resume and Career Professionals
  
• National Resume Writer's Association
• Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches

You'll find all of those associations using Google.

NRWA Returns to an E-List

The National Resume Writer's Association experimented with changing to a secure bulletin board format for facilitating member-to-member communication, but announced a change to a traditional E-List format (hosted by YahooGroups) last week.

Although bulletin boards can be a very effective way to encourage interaction, they require that a member seek out the forum ... while e-mail lists deliver the messages to your e-mailbox immediately.

The Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches, Career Directors International, and the Career Management Alliance all use e-lists for member-t0-member communication.