Get Creative with Your Career

Whether you’re interested in a peek into the future of work, curious about how technology may help you make the most of your time or are looking for a completely new career path – then there may be something here for you. We’ve all heard plenty about the gig economy, side-hustles, and more recently, the remote work debate - there is clearly a desire to break away from the traditional working structure. 

Portfolio careers?

I had to do some quick searching when the presenter for our upcoming Speaker Series @ Tūranga event, Séku Skandan, suggested the topic “The Era of Technology Enabled ‘Portfolio Careers’”. You may be more clued up than me, but if not, a ‘portfolio career’ is when you work at several different paid activities, instead of a traditional full-time job. As careers.govt.nz explains, they may be particularly appealing to those wanting to draw on their interests and skills, especially in creative industries, or those needing a flexible schedule. They may involve part-time employment supplemented by self-employment or freelance work. Several advantages and challenges may spring to mind, which Séku will explore in his talk at Tūranga on Thursday 10 October. He’ll discuss how technology can help facilitate this way of working, touching on tools, platforms, automation and AI, before taking audience questions. 

Séku has been onto this way of working for a while already. The event listing has more on his varied background, but he is known at the library for his involvement in this year's DocEdge Festival and organising tech meetups. His name was suggested to us as a captivating speaker who could provide an interesting and unique perspective to our Speaker Series. There are several reasons that I’m interested in his talk. I am lucky enough to have a full-time job that I love, so I may not appear to be the intended audience, but like many people, I am also studying part-time and trying to fit in other interests and commitments. I’m curious to hear Séku's insights into how to manage my time more effectively, and how technology might enable me to get through the things I need to do and fit in more of the things I want to do. If you’re a student planning your career path, looking to upskill for a change in focus, or like me you just want to use you time more effectively, come along with your questions. 

Future talk on AI

If you’re reading this then you might also be interested in the following talk in this series on Thursday 14 November, AI Worlds. University of Canterbury lecturer, Dr Adrian Clark, will be giving a primer on Generative AI, and exploring what it might mean for the entertainment industries. 

Improve your career prospects at the library

How else can the library help? 

Looking for a place to work, study or host a meeting in town? Check out our free meeting rooms, the Wāhi Mauritau / Quiet Space, and our new laptop stations. 

Have a look through LinkedIn learning for courses to help you upskill, it has huge variety from Photoshop to Python. Our Auahatanga / Creative Spaces have everything from laser cutters to 3D printers to help with your prototypes or explore your creative ideas. Your Christchurch City Libraries membership gives you free access. Our Careers page might be worth a look too, and if you’re interested in vacancies at Christchurch City Council, take a look and register to get notified about future vacancies. 

Hamish
Librarian - General Reference, Tūhuratanga | Discovery, Level 3, Tūranga