1. Presented by April Legler, Lecturer of Career Education, KSOB
Building a Career Portfolio How to Present Yourself to Potential Employers
Presented by April Legler,
Lecturer of Career Education, KSOB

2. What is a Portfolio?
What is your understanding of a portfolio and its purpose?
Who has traditionally created portfolios?
Does anyone have a portfolio?

3. Definition
A portfolio is a documentation and demonstration of your accomplishments representing growth in your skills and understanding of those skills over time.
The portfolio not only documents your results but also how you got there and what you learned in the process.

4. Employers are asking… “How much will you cost me to train?”
“Can you keep your personal life in order so that it does not interfere with work?”

5. Employers are seeking…
Proof of current relevant soft skills
Real work samples

6. Two Broad Categories of Skills
Transferable
across careers, jobs, and industries
organizational
interpersonal
work-style
Work Content
do a specific type of job
immediate contribution
gained through course work and job experience

7. Employers Want the “Total Package”
Excellent communication skills
Technical proficiency
Leadership
Teamwork
Interpersonal skills and personal traits

8. Portfolio Advantages
Clearly shows your individuality, personality, & skills
Speaks to your skills without your having to say directly “I’m good”
The resume gets you the interview, the portfolio gets you the job

9. Steps for Assessing Your Major Accomplishments
What I Did?
What I Learned?
What’s Next?
(We will be using a group activity to reinforce these steps in a minute.)

10. #1: What I Did?
The first step is documentation of events, activities, and skills that have been accomplished.
It is a collection of your most important accomplishments, both personal and professional.

11. # 1 Artifact
Choose a tangible item to exhibit the accomplishment or skill you have just selected to showcase

12. Activity: What did YOU do?
Think of a skill you wish to highlight and an “artifact” from an activity you have done that could showcase it. OR
Think of something truly significant you have done and what skill that demonstrates. What artifact can you use to showcase that?

13. #2: What I Learned?
The next step is going back and looking at each entry and writing “statements” identifying and explaining the purpose of each piece of evidence so that the entries are meaningful when reviewed by others.
These statements should also contain reflective comments about your learning.

14. What I Learned-Sample To develop an annual budget of $6000
To keep accurate line-item entry books of income and expenditures
To create and maintain excel spreadsheets of monthly finances
To create annual financial statements

15. Activity: What did YOU learn?
Write a statement of what you gained from the activity that you selected just now.

16. #3: What’s Next? Review each entry
View as springboard to future learning
Revisit and examine work accomplished
Professional and personal growth
Assimilate information into
“skills and achievements”
for resume and interview process

17. What’s next-Sample Add activity and accomplishments to resume
Improve organization of records to facilitate creation of annual report

18. Activity: What is next for YOU?
Write what you will do to use or improve what you have begun in this class activity.

19. Sample Artifacts for a Portfolio
Career & professional development goals
Resumes/Cover letters
Your work philosophy
Self-assessment records
Transcripts
Work history
Skill areas
Works in progress (activities and projects)
Work & learning samples
Work term reports
Certificates, diplomas, degrees, & awards
Professional memberships & service
Records of community service/volunteer work (brochures, letters of recognition, etc.)
Newspaper clippings featuring you
Letters of appreciation
Photographs/Media
Networking contacts
Letters of recommendation/ references

20. Career Portfolio Sections
Management philosophy
Professional goals
Resume
Work samples by skill areas
Works in progress
Community service (transferable skills)
Professional memberships
Degrees, certifications & awards
References

21. Sections: Philosophy and Goals
Mgmt Philosophy-brief description of your beliefs about yourself and the industry (Career Objective Statement)
Career Goals-professional goals for the next 2-5 years

22. Section: Resume
Your resume provides a brief summary of your education and experiences.

23. Section: Skill Areas
Skill areas-tabbed sections containing information on your skills and experiences relating to specific areas
Marketing
People Management
Technology
Target skills desired by companies you are interviewing
Job advertisements
Job descriptions
Focus on measurable skills
Technical skills
Soft skills

24. Skill areas that employers want from recent graduates.
Analytical
Communication (Oral & Written)
Computer Skills
Creativity
Decision Making
Flexibility
Interpersonal
Leadership
Listening
Multicultural Understanding
Organizational
Problem Solving
Research
Teamwork
Time Management

25. Work Samples Work sample-physical examples of your work
One for every skill
Projects, reports
Real work samples preferable to school projects
How do I get them?
What are you good at doing?
Rummage through your stuff at home and at work for samples
Plan to secure work samples

26. Propriety on Work Samples
Do I need to get permission to take copies of my work?
If you signed a confidentiality agreement
If you are a contractor or employee
Use the templates of your work
Do NOT share proprietary or personal information
Do share letters, customer comments, class or workshop projects

27. Section: Additional Proof
Works in Progress-brief list of works, activities, projects or efforts that are on-going.
Letters of Recommendation-support or reference that verify your abilities in a certain skill area

28. Section: Transferable Skills
Sources
Community service
Volunteer organizations
Avocations (intense hobbies)
Intramural activities
Artifacts
Letters of recognition
Photos of projects completed
Programs and brochures

29. Transferable Skills Support…
Soft skills
Teamwork
Presentation skills
Communication skills
Attitude
Leadership
Others

30. Section: Professional Growth
Memberships-member cards, citations, letters
Certifications
Diplomas, Degrees, or Awards-copies of actual recognition received

31. Section: Reference Materials
Academic Plan of Study-list of courses and what you learned in them
Faculty and Employer Biographies-descriptions of the people whose signatures appear throughout—who are they, what do they do
References-list of people who can verify your character, academic record or employment history

32. Group Activity
Break into small groups and select an individual to “record” for the group.
Pick 3 skills from the list provided.
Share experiences with your group, in which you each have developed those 3 skill areas.
Identify and lists ways to document that experience in your portfolio.
Report out to the group.

33. Skill areas most wanted by employers from recent graduates.
Analytical
Communication (Oral & Written)
Computer Skills
Creativity
Decision Making
Flexibility
Interpersonal
Leadership
Listening
Multicultural Understanding
Organizational
Problem Solving
Research
Teamwork
Time Management

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

35. 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.)

36. And Also… In a Job Performance Evaluation
To remind the employer of your contributions and accomplishments
Focus on the time since your last review
Include career highlights, works in progress, group/individual achievements
Give to supervisor 2-3 weeks before review

37. Hard Copy vs Electronic
Introduces oneself
Answers questions during interview
Summarizes qualifications
ELECTRONIC
To compete for an interview
As additional research for candidates
As follow-up

38. Online Portfolios Idea 1: Online resumes Idea 2: Linked resumes
Idea 3: Online portfolio collections

39. Online Resumes

40. Linked resume

41. Close-up view of linked info
Period: XX/YY – XX/YY
National Agency for Telecommunications (Anatel) Brasília, Brazil
Telecommunications Engineer
XXX (detailed job assignments)
XXX
Reason for leaving: resigned for personal reasons.
Supervisor Contact: Mr. John Boss,
(+55 61)

42. Linked Online Resume

43. Resume Link to Created Websites

44. Resume Link to Brochures

45. Classic Online Portfolio

46. Online Portfolio Index

47. Portfolio link - 1

48. Portfolio link - 2

49. Portfolio link - 3

50. Portfolio link - 4

51. Portfolio link - 5

52. Online Portfolio Postings

53. Portfolios.com Portfolio Sample

54. Portfolio link -1

55. Portfolio link - 2

56. Online Portfolio Postings

57. Tripod.com Portfolio Sample

58. Online Examples of Career Portfolios
Basic Online Resume: This format is virtually identical to a paper-based resume format. Note lack of internal links.
Web Designer's Portfolio: A linked resume with good example of integrating work samples within a web site.
Graphic Designer's Portfolio: A classic online portfolio with clean, simple design and great graphics.
Portfolio For Self-Employment: Check out Joan Richard's on-line portfolio that promotes her company, CareerLife Consulting Services.

59. Purposes of the Portfolio
Self-assessment: who you are and what you want to do
Repository for necessary documents: keeps everything for the career together
Interviewing tool: sell yourself
Performance appraisal tool: show supervisor your work strengths

60. In Summary
Everyone can use a portfolio to manage both their professional or career assets and showcase their potential.
The very act of organizing your portfolio brings clarity to your career direction.
This process requires reflection & 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.

61. Collect NOW – Sort later
Set up your system
Calendar
Designated collection point
Schedule your self-review times
Sort later
Think Ahead—you are worth it!

62. Evaluation Questions Use: Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know 1. I found the presentation of material easy to understand. 2. This Discussion session increased my knowledge on the subject presented. 3. I will be able to use some of the information from this Discussion session in the future. 4. The presenter was well prepared for this Discussion session. 5. This presentation should be repeated in future semesters.