Not everyone has a neat, linear career path. If you’re a freelancer juggling multiple clients, a gig worker across several platforms, a portfolio careerist combining part-time roles, or someone in a profession that doesn’t have a standard portfolio template, the advice out there often feels irrelevant.

“Show your best client work!” Sure, but what if your work is invisible — admin support, operations management, community coordination? “Link to your published projects!” Great, but what if your deliverables live inside someone else’s system and you can’t share them publicly?

Let me help you build a portfolio even when the conventional templates don’t apply.

The Portfolio Career Challenge

Australia’s workforce is increasingly non-traditional. The ABS reports that around 30% of employed Australians are now independent contractors, freelancers, or casual workers. Many more are combining two or three part-time roles into a career that defies simple categorisation.

These professionals often have the most diverse and interesting skill sets, but the hardest time presenting them coherently. A resume for someone who works as a yoga instructor, freelance copywriter, and part-time project coordinator looks scattered. A portfolio, however, can tell a cohesive story.

Finding Your Thread

The first step is identifying the thread that connects your various roles. There’s almost always one — you just might not have articulated it yet.

Ask yourself:

• What skill do I use across all my roles?
• What do clients, employers, or collaborators consistently value about my work?
• If I had to describe what I do in one sentence (without listing job titles), what would it say?

For the yoga instructor / copywriter / project coordinator, the thread might be: “I help people and organisations communicate more clearly and perform at their best.” That’s a portfolio positioning statement, and it unifies three seemingly unrelated roles.

What to Include When Your Work Is Invisible

Many non-traditional careers involve work that doesn’t produce obvious portfolio artefacts. Here’s how to create portfolio content from seemingly intangible work:

Process documentation. If you improved a process, document it. Before and after workflows, even if drawn on paper, show your thinking. “I redesigned the volunteer scheduling process for a community arts organisation, reducing scheduling conflicts by 70% and saving the coordinator approximately 5 hours per week.”

Impact statements. When you can’t show the work itself, describe the impact. Numbers, testimonials, and outcomes are all fair game. “Managed logistics for a 500-person charity event, including vendor coordination, volunteer management, and day-of execution. The event raised $45,000 for local mental health services.”

Skills demonstrations. Create sample work that demonstrates your capabilities. A virtual assistant could create a mock project plan. A community manager could document a case study of how they grew an online community. The work doesn’t need to be for a paying client to be valid.

Testimonials and references. When your work is invisible, other people’s words become your evidence. Collect short testimonials from clients, colleagues, and collaborators. A quote like “She’s the most organised person I’ve ever worked with — I literally couldn’t run my business without her” is portfolio gold.

Certifications and training. For non-traditional careers, certifications can fill the credibility gap that a traditional work history would normally cover. Include relevant training, courses, and credentials that support your positioning.

Structuring the Non-Traditional Portfolio

The structure matters even more when your career path is unconventional, because you need to impose order on what might otherwise look chaotic.

Option 1: Skills-based structure. Organise your portfolio around capabilities rather than roles. “Communication,” “Project Coordination,” “Community Building” — with examples from multiple roles under each heading.

Option 2: Impact-based structure. Lead with your most impressive outcomes, regardless of which role produced them. This works well when your results are strong but your titles are unimpressive.

Option 3: Client/audience-based structure. If you serve distinct client types, organise around them. “For small businesses,” “For non-profits,” “For individuals.” This helps potential clients quickly find relevant examples.

Whichever structure you choose, include a clear introductory page that explains your professional identity and the value you provide. Don’t make visitors guess.

Addressing the “Why So Many Roles?” Question

You’ll encounter scepticism from traditional employers who see multiple roles as a lack of focus. Your portfolio should pre-empt this by reframing variety as versatility.

Show the connections. Use your portfolio narrative to demonstrate how each role informs the others. “My experience coordinating community events gives me a practical understanding of audience engagement that directly improves my copywriting for event-based businesses.”

Emphasise adaptability. In a rapidly changing economy, adaptability is a strength. Position your diverse experience as evidence that you can learn quickly, work across contexts, and bring fresh perspectives.

Let the results speak. Ultimately, the best response to scepticism is proof. If your portfolio shows strong outcomes across multiple roles, the variety becomes an asset rather than a question mark.

Getting Started

Pick the role or project you’re proudest of, regardless of how conventional it is. Write it up as a brief case study: the context, your contribution, and the outcome. Put it online — anywhere. LinkedIn, a simple website, even a Notion page.

That first entry is the hardest. Once it exists, you’ll start seeing portfolio opportunities in all your roles. The unconventional career deserves an unconventional portfolio, and building one is more achievable than you think.