Portfolios

Want a Jump on the Competition?

Career portfolios will allow you to present tangible items that display your capabilities and qualifications. Your portfolio will also give proof to employers that you are who you say you are and that you have, in fact, done the things you say you have done. Because building a career portfolio is a process, it will allow you to evaluate your personal and professional experiences as well as your future professional goals. You will discover your strengths and weaknesses, as well as a new found confidence and be more prepared for interviews, which will ultimately land you a job!

Types of Career Portfolios

Working Portfolio a collection of all of your work. These items are organized by hanging folders within a file box and kept at home.

Suggested Working Portfolio Items

• Resume
• References
• Letters of recommendation
• Faculty and employer biographies
• Documentation of professional memberships and service
• Certificates, degrees, diplomas and awards
• Statement of originality
• Professional philosophy/Mission statement
• Career goals
• Community service and volunteer work
• Work samples, projects and report

Interview Portfolio – a three ring binder encompassing only the items pertinent to the job you are applying for. Just as resumes should be tailored to each position you apply for, so too should your portfolio. Customizing your portfolio will show a potential employer that you understand and possess the qualities needed to get the job done. Place three to four samples, in each skill area you select to promote, in your portfolio. Using your interview portfolio in an interview will present a visual picture of your qualifications and will help an employer remember who you are.

Suggested Interview Portfolio Items

• Table of contents
• Resume
• Transcripts, degree, licenses and certifications
• Letters of recommendation
• Career summary and goals
• Professional philosophy/Mission statement
• Skills, abilities and marketable qualities
• Artifacts – Items that prove your knowledge in the critical skill areas.

How to Get Started

Gather all possible items that demonstrate your abilities, achievements, assets, creativity, personality, etc. Organize these items in your working portfolio. If these items become relevant to an interview, you will pull them from your working portfolio and place them into your interview portfolio.

Creating an Interview Portfolio

1. Create and print tabbed pages that will divide your three-ring binder into skills you would like to focus on. Make sure your qualifications fit the job description of the position you are applying for.
2. Create an originality and confidentiality statement.
3. Gather your resume, letters of recommendation, references, work philosophy and career goals and place them into your portfolio.
4. Place three to four of your best examples for each skill into your portfolio.
5. Create sample cards that identify each item and attach them to your work.
6. Make sure to place all documents in plastic sheet protectors.

What to Do

• Do use simple fonts and keep them uniform throughout your portfolio.
• Do use underlining, bolding and italics conservatively.
• Do use plain paper that is not overpowering.
• Do use subtle colors. • Do use proportional font sizes.
• Do keep the style consistent. • Do single space your text.
• Do use spell check.
• Do allow for a ¾” to 1” margin around the entire page of the document.
• Do use high quality resume paper.
• Do print documents with a high quality printer.

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