þWhat is a Career Portfolio?
A career portfolio is a
collection of documents and other easily portable artifacts that people can use
to validate claims they make about themselves. It is a collection of
actual documents that support and make tangible the things you want to say about
yourself in a cover letter, a resume, or a face-to-face interview. Letters
of commendation, performance evaluations, certificates, papers, and pictures of
things created or of activities led are all examples of items that might be
included. A career portfolio should contain documents that support the
important things you want known about yourself.
At first, many students
feel they don't have any items to use in their career portfolios. But they
soon discover that they really do have many portfolio-worthy documents.
The key point to know right up front is that career-relevant documents can come
from most anywhere, not just from a person's work life. You can, in fact,
build an entire career portfolio using only items that come from your school,
volunteer, or leisure activities.
As most students are in
the process of changing careers and lack the skills and knowledge required for
their new field, the portfolio must necessarily be used to accumulate
information about the new line of work -- an occupational analysis. Such
things as wages, benefits, growth, competition and number of openings add to the
overall picture of a new career. An in-depth study of the
tasks, abilities, knowledge, and skills can be compared to a student's current
level of attainment to determine his or her strengths and weaknesses. With
this knowledge, a student may alter their training and pursue areas that need
added attention.
A reasonable
understanding of the occupational analysis of the chosen field will prepare a
student for conducting an informational interview with a person actually working
in the career. This face-to-face meeting brings together all the
information accumulated thus far -- a synthesis -- a culmination of the
portfolio.
A career portfolio is
never finished -- it's a process. New items are continually adding to, or
replacing, older items. The portfolio is in a constant state of becoming
more perfect -- reflecting your current needs.
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. Whatever your field or
background, a well-targeted portfolio that is properly presented can be a great
self-marketing tool for five main reasons:
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It draws attention
to the key information you want to convey about yourself.
-
It provides links
that connect you with an opportunity.
-
It makes the key
intangibles tangible.
-
It adds to your
credibility.
-
It builds
confidence.
Portfolios get
attention. We've all known ever since kindergarten that "show and
tell" is more powerful than just tell. The simple act of handing a
potential employer a document from your portfolio not only gets that person's
undivided attention, it also piques their curiosity.
Portfolios
provide links. Once you have a potential employer's attention,
each item that you present in a well-targeted portfolio helps to make the link
between what you can do and what the other person is looking for.
Portfolios make
key intangibles tangible. Research indicates that employers and
bosses are looking for certain key intangibles that can be brought to life in a
portfolio.
Portfolios add to
your credibility. When you present an item from your portfolio,
you are not just saying you are something, you are showing that your claims
about yourself have real substance. In this way a portfolio that contains
the right items adds to your credibility. Selectively shown items help to
answer the question that always lurks when people are meeting for the first
time: "Is this person for real?" There is something to that old adage,
"Seeing is believing."
Portfolios build
confidence. Even if you show up for a job interview and discover
that you have forgotten to bring your portfolio, all is not lost. If
you've done your homework and created a great portfolio, you will know exactly
what you bring to this opportunity and will be able to articulate why you are
the right person for the job with great confidence. You will know that
what you say bout yourself is true, and the sense that you truly believe what
you are saying will come across, with or without your portfolio. But, of
course, you will be more effective if you do remember to bring your portfolio
with you!
Who should use a career portfolio?
Students seeking
employment. You can package what you have learned in a way that is
appealing to potential employers.
Students seeking
admission to college. You have gone to the effort of assembling a
portfolio to bring to an interview conveys the impression that you are strongly
motivated and are well organized to mount your campaign for admission.
People preparing
for a key job interview in a highly competitive field. It creates
the impression that you are well organized and properly focused -- that you've
"got your act together," so to speak.
People who are
"between opportunities." If you were fired from or quit your last
job, creating a portfolio is a very constructive thing to do during your
downtime. It not only gives you an edge in future job interview, it also
helps you rebuild whatever confidence you may have lost due to the manner of
your parting company with your former employer.
People who want
to re-enter the world of work after time off. A portfolio helps
you present the non-career accomplishments you've done in a way that makes you a
viable job candidate. It helps you overcome fear and hesitation.
People who want
to change careers. It is a great vehicle for presenting your
transferable skills to an employer in a field that is new to you. Going on
informational interviews will also help you identify the new direction you want
to go in.
People going for
a promotion, a work reassignment, a raise, or an annual review. Portfolios
are not just tools for getting new jobs in different organizations. A
portfolio also helps you make the case for a promotion or work assignment within
your present organization. It helps to demonstrate the value you bring to
an organization.
How can creating a career portfolio help you
manage your career?
The process of
assembling and then targeting your portfolio doesn't just give you a great
self-marketing tool, it also serves as a very effective technique for managing
your career. The knowledge you gain both about yourself and about
potential career paths will enable you to make career decisions that are right
for you and increase your feelings of career security. Here's how:
