Portfolio Guidelines

Guidelines for Developing Your Professional Portfolio

Portfolios have long been a part of the serious candidate's job search in a
variety of fields such as art, advertising, architecture, modeling, education, engineering, and journalism. The portfolio is a more recent phenomenon in the job search repertoire of the liberal arts candidate.

You should consider the portfolio as one of your standard job search tools.

You would not begin your job search without a cover letter or resume; and
you should not begin your search without first having developed your portfolio.

The portfolio is a means for promoting and facilitating career preparedness.
A portfolio is a dynamic way to organize and document your accomplishments and showcase your credentials and experiences to employers. It can be used to record, reflect on, and build connections between academic and co-curricular experiences.

A multi-faceted portfolio can tip the scale in the job search process by showcasing your successes and achievements which may not be reflected in test scores or class grades.

A portfolio is simply a self-generated, self-reported record of your learning experiences and achievements, both in and out of the classroom.

The portfolio may include early studies, career goals, self-evaluation, GPA, test scores, dean's list, transcripts, letters of reference, resume, essays, public and professional service, community work, and more.

Many students also include:

• A reflective essay, philosophy statement, personal statement, goal
  statement
• Citizenship and community responsibility
• Intellectual growth and discovery
• Emotional maturation and physical health
• Ethical and spiritual growth
• Representation of projects showing what you have done...this gets
  beyond the resume and backs up information regarding internships,
  activities, and philosophy.
• Special talents (travel experiences, foreign languages)
• Leadership and team development
• Self-designed personal web page
• Other pages s/he has designed

Students should pursue and demonstrate development in each dimension.
Students may show documentation and evidence of monitored activity by an
advisor or faculty member.

Think of ways in which you can demonstrate your talents, i.e. language,
writing, musical ability, creativity, etc.

Other Suggestions:

• Begin to stock pile and pick the best items for your portfolio goal.
• A portfolio should be no more than 20 pages of hard copy.
• A portfolio can be sent prior to the interview or you may bring it.
• Never impose your portfolio on your interviewer. Executives are busy
  people. It is okay to walk out of the interview with it closed--you
  enhanced your interview performance by simply preparing the portfolio.
• Keep your portfolio simple, tactful, tasteful, not distracting, cumbersome, or over-loaded.
• Executives don't want photos of you with your friends during spring break.
• Executives don't want to deal with clutter.
• You should provide clear examples.
• The portfolio can be customized to target specific career objectives.
• The Career Portffolio should have a table of contents.
• Build your portfolio by using any number of mediums which may include paper/notebook, expandable files, attache case, day-planners, electronic - web site, computer disc, audio/video disc, CD-ROM or multi-media presentation.
• Be a smart curator.
• Always keep original copies of important papers in a lock box.
• Be creative and original.
• Keep it short.
• Display organizational skills.
• Tailor materials.
• Once employed, collect materials for a portfolio that will document your growth and accomplishments as a career professional.

See 100 PORTFOLIO Suggestions.

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