Tutorial: Career Portfolio

By Jennifer Margison


Acknowledgements
Joan Richardt, CareerLife Consulting Services
Ruth Blasner, Ministry of Education
Martin Kimeldorf


Contents

The Portfolio Approach
Definition
Why Use a Portfolio?
The New Economy Work Alternatives
Planning a Career in the New Economy
A Portfolio Can Help You Answer These Questions
The Working Portfolio
Contents
Supplies for Your Portfolio
Collecting and Organizing Your Samples
Creating Your Showcase Portfolio
Showcase Guidelines
When Is It Appropriate to Present Your Portfolio?
In Summary
General Career Portfolio Resources
Online Examples of Career Portfolios

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The Portfolio Approach

"Look upon your work journey as a "Portfolio Career" rather than a linear experience."

Charles Handy
The Age of Unreason

Definition

  • Port - to move
  • Folio - papers or artifacts
  • History - from the arts

    A portable collection of papers and/or artifacts presented in a variety of formats

    A place to assemble records and products of learning and work to help an individual gain new work opportunities


    Why Use a Portfolio?

  • Offers a process for career development
  • Demonstrates concrete proof of skills and learning
  • Provides and opportunity for creative self-expression
  • Essential tool for the New Economy worker
  • As a marketing and self-promotional tool for job seekers to use in interviews or for the self-employed to present to a prospective client
  • As a career planning tool for workers in transition, for self-discovery and self-evaluation to assist in identifying transferable skills
  • As a performance appraisal and promotional tool for workers employed within an organization
  • As a prior learning assessment tool for assisting people to gain credit and recognition for their non-formal learning experiences
  • As a tool for students to track and record their learning experiences, to identify transferable skills, and to use for job search while in school and after graduation

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    The New Economy Work Alternatives

  • Full-time employed - the "dental plan" job
  • Part-time, job sharing, contracting, multi-tracking
  • Self-employment: home-based business, consulting, talent pooling
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Increasing financial and emotional risk
  • Increasing flexibility and opportunity


    Planning a Career in the New Economy

  • Think of careers as portfolios of work
  • Think of yourself in terms of a "portable" skill-set and not as a job title
  • Conduct your future job search in an entrepreneurial fashion, as if you were marketing a product called "Me Inc."


    A Portfolio Can Help You Answer These Questions

  • What do I want to do next?
  • Why should we keep or promote you?
  • Tell me about yourself?
  • Why do you think you are qualified for this job?
  • Why should we grant you credit for your prior learning experience?
  • Why should we grant you a scholarship/award?
  • Why should we give you a business loan?
  • Why should I contract with you for these goods/services?

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    The Working Portfolio

  • Everything you want to record and keep related to your studies/work/life
  • Content for your Showcase Portfolio
  • Organized into labeled file folders


    Contents

  • Table of Contents
  • Career and professional development goals/student learning plan
  • Self-assessment records
  • Your work philosophy/description of your beliefs about yourself
  • Skill areas
  • Works in progress (activities and projects)
  • Work and learning samples
  • Work history
  • Resumes
  • Copies of cover letters
  • Letters of recommendation/references
  • Certificates, diplomas, degrees and awards
  • Records of community service/volunteer work (brochures, letters of recognition, etc.)
  • Transcripts
  • Faculty and employer biographies
  • Professional memberships and service
  • Work term reports
  • Networking contacts
  • Newspaper clippings featuring you
  • Letters of appreciation
  • Photographs or other relevant media


    Supplies for Your Portfolio

    Working Portfolio

  • Legal file folders and labels
  • Post-it notes
  • File box or filing cabinet
  • Index cards

    Showcase Portfolio

  • Three-ring binder
  • Sheet protectors (non-glare)
  • High-quality paper
  • Optional: photosheet holders, plastic pouches

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    Collecting and Organizing Your Samples

  • Focus on educational, work, volunteer history
  • Analyze the samples: what, when, why, how, with whom
  • Group the samples: note the skills and personal qualities the samples reflect (use post-it notes)
  • Organize samples chronologically by date, by function or skill or even by theme
  • Write captions and narratives for each work sample
  • Use titles at the top of the page and a caption below


    Creating Your Showcase Portfolio

  • Research the employer of job desired
  • Review your working portfolio and select material
  • Create individual portfolios for each opportunity
  • Develop a sequence for the samples i.e. arrange according to skill sets required
  • Choose samples related to goal
  • Create an introduction or summary and a table of contents
  • Develop your first draft
  • Evaluate your product, get feedback on content and design
  • Revise and develop finished draft
  • Rehearse using your Showcase Portfolio

    Showcase Guidelines

  • Include an introduction and table of contents
  • Organize work samples into skill areas
  • Observe a maximum length - 10-15 artifacts
  • Be creative
  • Don't include original documents
  • Don't punch holes in your documents
  • Use quality paper and captions to enhance the contents
  • Create all text on computer
  • Don't use too many font styles
  • Use a high-quality printer
  • Number sheet protectors, not contents
  • Consider having a copy of your portfolio or important parts of it to leave behind with an employer or other audience
  • Tailor your portfolio so it includes only relevant information to the opportunity you are seeking
  • Keep to a consistent format

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    When Is It Appropriate to Present Your Portfolio?

    In an interview

  • To illustrate skills you are asked to describe
  • As concrete proof of your accomplishments as they relate to the opportunity at hand
  • Generally do not send with your application package unless requested

    In a job performance evaluation

  • To remind the employer of your contributions and accomplishments


    In Summary

    Everyone can use a portfolio to both manage their professional or career assets and top showcase their potential.

    The very act of organizing your portfolio brings clarity to your career direction.

    This process requires reflection and analysis.

    When you sequence your samples in your portfolio, you begin thinking more broadly about your collection of talents. You think more deeply about who you are.

    The material will show what makes you different from the other applicants for a particular position. A well-prepared portfolio provides "evidence" to the reviewer of your accomplishments, skills and abilities; it documents the scope and quality of your experience and training. A portfolio is designed to do one thing - to support you as you market yourself! It is limited only by your imagination. It is possible for someone in any major to successfully develop and use this tool."
    Dr. Steve Iseman and Nancy S. Sheeleyl

    "The portfolio is designed by you, to help you present the best of yourself to other people"
    Anna Graf Williams, Portfolio at a Glance

     "One can never be certain where our careers will lead today. Therefore, use a portfolio to keep track of where you have been. It may just help you get to where you are going next."
    Martin Kimeldorf

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    General Career Portfolio Resources

    Portfolio Library:
    http://www.amby.com/kimeldorf/p_mk-toc.html
    Highly recommended site offering a variety of articles by Martin Kimeldorf on career portfolio development. Also provides an excellent on-line example of a portfolio; click on "Kimeldorf's Career Portfolio Sampler."

    Creating an Impressive Portfolio:
    http://www2.biz.colostate.edu/career/portfolio.htm
    From Colorado State Business College, this on-line guide this on-line guide has some good advice for anyone wanting to build an effective career portfolio.

    Professional Employment Portfolios:
    http://www.bsu.edu/careers/foliotip.html
    From Ball State University (Indiana), this comprehensive resource offers tips on developing career portfolios, resources for self-assessment, resume writing and interviewing skills. Check out the URL for self-assessing your goals (http://www.bsu.edu/careers/selfases.html) and your skills (http://www.bsu.edu/careers/skills.html).

    Portfolio Basics:
    http://www.aag.org/Careers/UW/Profportfolios.html
    From the American Geographer's Association, check out this summary of portfolios. Also click on "Starting Your Portfolio Collection."

    A Teacher's Portfolio:
    http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed385608.html
    Description of how teachers can use the portfolio process for performance assessment and professional development.

    Online Templates for HTML Resumes:
    http://www.careerhunters.com/Directory/Templates/
    You can use these templates to create your own on-line resume or portfolio.

    Employment Readiness Tests:
    http://www.businessworks.bc.ca/tests.htm
    From Business Works in Victoria, these self-assessments introduce you to the concept of employability skills and help you rate your skill level. A very basic introduction, but helpful for developing "skills language."

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    Online Examples of Career Portfolios

    Advanced Online Resume Format:
    http://w3.one.net/~scoresby
    A very clean and impressive presentation of an on-line resume. Showcases the individual's web design skills.

    Impressive Academic Portfolio:
    http://ericir.syr.edu/~rdlankes
    A very comprehensive career portfolio format and presentation suitable for an experienced professional.

    Portfolio For Self-Employment:
    http://careerlifeconsulting.com
    Check out Joan Richardt's on-line portfolio that promotes her company, CareerLife Consulting Services.

    Graphic Designer's Portfolio:
    http://www.6869.com/resume/index.html
    A clean, simple design with great graphics.

    Web Designer's Portfolio:
    http://www.carteret.com/mikefahy
    A good example of integrating work samples within a web site.

    Basic Online Resume:
    http://www.guidesign.com/tammy/index.htm
    This format is virtually identical to a paper-based resume format. Note lack of internal links.

    Creative Presentation:
    http://members.tripod.com/~janetfowlow
    This on-line resume has potential with a creative front page, but not all internal links are functioning.

    Resources compiled by:
    Joan Richardt, CareerLife Consulting Services
    E-mail: careerlife@home.com
    URL: http://www.careerlifeconsulting.com

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