Career Portfolios

What is a Career Portfolio?

A collection of documents and other easily portable artifacts that people can use to validate claims they make about themselves.

What the Career Portfolio Looks Like

The carrying case for a Career Portfolio typically looks like a leathered briefcase that can be zippered shut.  The kind of impression you wish to make (along with your budget) will determine the actual look of the carrying case you use for your portfolio.  When you open it the carrying case reveals a three-ringed binder.

Web Portfolios:  This format enables you to post your portfolio at an easily accessible Web site.  A Web Portfolio can include links for learning more, as well as all of the latest multimedia “bells and whistles” including animations, film clips of you in action and voice-overs.  If a Web portfolio is done well, having one certainly conveys the impression that you are technologically savvy.

Why Should You Use a Career Portfolio?

In fields such as art, advertising, architecture, writing, photography, design and fashion, students and practitioners have been using portfolios as the primary vehicle for marketing themselves for years.  Nowadays, the use of portfolios is spreading to other fields as well.  Career-minded people, whether they are students or practitioners, high up in an organization or just starting out, are discovering that a well-thought-out and presented career portfolio is an effective self-marketing tool that enhances their ability to present themselves both clearly and credibly.

Whatever your field or background, a well-targeted portfolio that is properly presented can be a great self-marketing tool for five main reasons:

  • It draws attention to the key information you want to convey about yourself.
  • It provides links that connect you with an opportunity.
  • It adds to your credibility.
  • It builds confidence.

Who Should Use a Portfolio?

  • Students seeking employment.
  • Students seeking admission to college or graduate school.
  • People preparing for a key job interview in a highly competitive field.
  • People who are “between” opportunities.
  • People who want to re-enter the world of work after time off.
  • People who want to change careers.
  • People going for a promotion, a work reassignment, a raise or an annual review.
  • Independent consultants looking for business or referrals.

What Format Should a Portfolio Be In?

The format that you use for the portfolio will influence how well you use the portfolio.  If your documents are organized in appropriate, easy-to-remember categories, you will be able to easily select the right document at the right moment.  A highly effective targeted portfolio can be organized around the following five categories, which can be easily recalled using the acronym, P.E.A.K.S.

  • Personal Characteristics (Performance Evaluations or Thank You Letters)
  • Experience (Resume or Examples of Work)
  • Accomplishments (Award Letters or Copy of Awards)
  • Knowledge (Degrees or Copy of Transcripts/Diplomas)
  • Skills (Certificates)

Examples of Portfolio Documents

1. BIO STATS

  • Resume: on paper, disk, or other format
  • Personal history
  • Hobbies
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Passport, work permits, and visa enabling you to travel/work and/or study in coun­tries other than your own
  • Foreign travel and languages
  • Your e-mail address
  • Web site address and home page printout
  • Business cards, past and present
  • Evidence of good health: for example, a record showing you've accumulated credit for not taking sick days
  • Attendance record or letter commending you for excellent attendance record Letters   of introduction/recommendation from faculty or past employers/bosses
  • Professional photo (the kind used in press releases)
  • Military service, honors Sports affiliations, honors Security clearance
  • Letters from police showing clean record, if applying for a high-security position
  • List of references (make sure you've first asked these people to be your reference)

2. LEARNING SKILLS

  • Degrees
  • Transcripts from schools you have attend­ed and/or reports on academic progress
  • GPA (Grade Point Average)
  • High grades in individual courses
  • Academic awards: dean's list, honors, prizes
  • Scholarship award letters
  • Certificates
  • Licenses you hold
  • Experiential learning (self-directed)
  • Professional development activities: semi­nars; workshops; conferences; professional networking; professional organizations
  • Letters from faculty noting your accom­plishments
  • Favorable faculty evaluations
  • Examples of academic work: papers, pro­jects, etc.

3. TARGETED TASK SKILLS

  • Evidence of communications skills: writ­ten, oral
  • Writing sample with highly favorable handwritten comments; samples of arti­cles you have published
  • Still photographs from a video of a presen­tation you have made
  • Evidence of competence in more than one language
  • Project or work samples that illustrate a task skill, such as the ability to create a marketing plan (black out or delete propri­etary information)
  • Evidence of computer and other technical skills\

4. PEOPLE SKILLS

  • Leadership activities (at work, in school, or in community)
  • Evidence of being appointed to a leader­ship position and commendations received for your leadership skills
  • Evidence you were elected to a position by your peers (captain of a team; student or employee representative)
  • Evidence that you are an effective team player: favorable peer and leader evalua­tions
  • Management experience
  • Organizational affiliations and positions held
  • Letters or articles announcing a promotion or new assignment received
  • Evidence of interest in and exposure to more than one culture; proof of foreign travel/study

5. SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS

  • Personal mission statement
  • Your personal and career goals
  • Your personal S.W.O.T. Analysis* giving a self-assessment of how best to capitalize on your strengths
  • Time management skills
  • Personal financial plan: e.g., plan that en­abled you to attend school
  • Career self-management course docu­ments
  • Professional presence: lectures, presenta­tions, publications
  • Networking skills: evidence of professional contacts
  • Listed in professional or honorific directo­ries (professional lists, who's who lists)

6. TASK ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • S.T.A.R.s+
  • Creative products
  • Pictures of something you created or docu­menting your participation
  • Awards for task accomplishment
  • Letters you have received relating to your accomplishments
  • Letters of appreciation, employer testimo­nials
  • Letters from satisfied clients Pins/medallions awarded
  • News articles about you or something you were significantly involved in
  • Photographs of you in newspapers, maga­zines, or in-house publications, because of an accomplishment
  • Sales reports documenting your success New accounts you opened
  • New business activities you created that contributed to an organization's success
  • Section from a business plan you created (with proprietary information deleted)
  • Evidence of new products or services you created
  • Evidence of inventions you patented
  • Evidence of revenues or profits you were responsible for achieving
  • Customer satisfaction reports Employee surveys you created Promotional materials you developed Designs or logos you created
  • Printouts from Web sites created for clients/employers
  • Training manuals and programs you cre­ated
  • Performance appraisals received, if highly favorable
  • Evidence of a favorable 360-degree perfor­mance evaluation*
  • Evidence of achievements in clubs, sports, hobbies, or other recreational achievements
  • Tax return information (e.g., proof of past commissions/earnings; proof of profitable business)

7. COMMUNITY SERVICE

  • Volunteer organizational affiliations, posi­tions held
  • Activities specified and illustrated: hours, photos
  • Awards
  • Thank-you letters for community service time or accomplishments
  • Peace Corps service
  • Pins/medallions awarded
  • News articles about you or something you were significantly involved in

*S.W.O.T. is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Organizations frequently do S.W.O.T. analyses in order to identify appropriate strategies. If you are familiar with this technique you can per­form a personal S.W.O.T. analysis to help you identify useful career strategies.

+S.T.A.R. stands for situation (challenge, problem, or opportunity) faced task to be undertaken, action taken (what decisions you made and actions you took in response to the problem), and results (the outcome of your action)

*Evaluations from a sample of all the people you work with and for

 

For additional information please refer to the following books regarding Career Portfolios:

The Career Portfolio Workbook.  ISBN:  0-07140855-X

Your Career and Life Plan Portfolio.  ISBN:  1563709074

Creating Your Career Portfolio:  At a Glance Guide for Students.  ISBN:  0131505041

 


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