1. Your Career Portfolio Here

2. Portfolios
All About You

3. A career portfolio is considered a very important tool for any job seeker, whether you are a public relations, advertising, creative media, journalism or speech communication professional.
Often overlooked until the last minute
A Work in Progress

4. Any portfolio is a creative product, but these guidelines should spark your imagination and help you:
Develop a complete and user- friendly final product.
Think about your portfolio as a collection of artifacts that thoroughly document the work
A Reflection of You

5. Documents and demonstrates your competency areas* and accomplishments.
Shows growth in your skills and understanding over time.
Documents your results but also how you got there and what you learned in the process.
What is a portfolio?

6. *What are Competencies?
Competencies are the measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (KSABs) critical to successful job performance.
Choosing the right competencies allows employers to:
Plan how they will organize and develop their workforce.
Determine which job classifications best fit their business needs.
Develop staff to fill future vacancies.
*What are Competencies?

7. Knowledge Competencies -  practical or theoretical understanding of subjects.
Skill and Abilities Competencies - natural or learned capacities to perform acts.
Behavioral Competencies- patterns of action or conduct.
Competency Types
Tip: You can go to the O*NET site and do advance job searches based on competencies. This helps you understand what employers will be looking for.

8. Assessing Your Competencies
*Typical competencies that employers
look for in candidates for jobs:
teamwork
critical thinking
leadership
personal management
social responsibility
technical/scientific
creativity
communication
Assessing Your Competencies
Discussion Point

9. Your Portfolio: Evidence for Employers of Your Competencies
Evidence of prior internship and work experience.
Specific and relevant pieces.
Use in an interview to help tell your story.
Mine for cover letter material.
Your Portfolio: Evidence for Employers of Your Competencies

10. Benefits of Having a Portfolio
Regardless of how you’ll use the finished product, all portfolios can help you:
Write or update your resume more quickly, since all the relevant information will be in one place.
Organize information you’ve gathered over the years, such as awards, certificates and records of other accomplishments.
Showcase your achievements, skills and abilities for an interview.
See your career as a collection of skills and talents that you’ve developed, rather than just a list of job titles.
-University of Michigan – Career Services Network
Benefits of Having a Portfolio

11. What goes into a good portfolio?
“No matter where you are in your education or career, it's not too early to start assembling a portfolio. If you're still in college and don't have a lot of solid work examples to use in the portfolio, you can use your classwork to display your skills and interests. Over time, you'll be able to compile enough to show a body of work that demonstrates where you've been and where you're headed.” -Nicole Vulcan, Demand Media

12. What goes into a career portfolio?
Table of Contents
Statement of professional goals, philosophy and competencies you possess.
Annotated materials and examples to illustrate or elaborate on your statement of goals, philosophy and the experiences referred to in your narrative description
Resume
Narrative description of experiences you want to highlight; for example:
Academic Work & Results
Leadership
Service
Publications
Designs
Media produced
Campaigns
Clubs and activities
Speeches
Conference Participation
Recognition and Awards
Internship Experiences
Letters of Recommendation
What goes into a career portfolio?
Discussion Point

13. Online vs. Hard Copy… Or Both?
Benefits of an online portfolio
Readily accessible from anywhere
Links to social media
LinkedIn Anyone?
Easy to update
Great format to showcase social media and blogging skills
Easy to place statement of goals, philosophy, competencies and also reflection pieces
A photograph is worth a thousand words
Showcase for multi-platform media: audio and video
Link from resume or cover letter
Online vs. Hard Copy… Or Both?
Discussion Point
Kelly Bast

14. Benefits of a Hard Copy Portfolio
Customize your portfolio for each interview
Some interviewers aren’t tech savvy
Some interviewers may not have had time to see online portfolio ahead of time
Show actual produced print pieces
Benefits of a Hard Copy Portfolio

15. Suggested Online Portfolio Resources
WordPress
Weebly
Wix
Portfoliogen
DoYouBuzz
Webs
Carbonmade
Suggested Online Portfolio Resources

16. Traditional Printed/ Hard Copy Portfolios
General/comprehensive portfolio – The portfolio that represents the varieties of experiences you have.
Targeted/focused portfolio – This type of portfolio consists of wisely picked samples if you’re applying for a specific job offer.
“Give” and “leave” portfolios – This type of portfolio is something that you’re willing to leave after interviews or meetings and never get them back, just like business cards.
Note: Depending on your major, you may require a comprehensive hard-copy to turn in as a part of your capstone.
-portfoliostart.com
Traditional Printed/ Hard Copy Portfolios

18. Include your resume
Include a table of contents
Include from 10 to 16 samples
Include your very best pieces ONLY
Diversify the contents
If you are showing to finalized projects, show them in real use application by using mock-ups
Make it easy to update or customize for specific jobs
ALWAYS have a copy to show during an interview.
Organizing Your Print Portfolio

19. By skill or competency
Tailored by the top skills required for a specific position you are applying for
Chronologically
By item
By client/project
Best first and last
By media type
More on Organization

20. What should a Portfolio Look Like?
Traditional
Print
What should a Portfolio Look Like?
More Online Portfolio Examples

21. Tricky Portfolio Pieces for Hard Copy Portfolios
PR/advertising plans
Social media
Blog posts and multi- platform media
Special events
Presentations/speeches
Related extracurricular activities/hobbies
Tricky Portfolio Pieces for Hard Copy Portfolios
Adapted from University of Oregon School of Journalism portfolio guidelines

22. Prepare your resume and draft a cover letter (can you effectively describe examples of what you say you can do on your resume?)
Focus on your competency areas.
Start saving initial assignments such as those specified in this class to the Cloud, Box or a special folder on your computer.
Collect and assess what you have available as demonstration pieces.
What are your best pieces?
What should you write reflections about?.
Prepare to do both an online and hard copy portfolio – explore sites and find examples that you can relate to and that fits your personality.
Continue to collect and archive your work.
Where do I Start?

23. Periodically update your resume and your portfolio.
You will continue to grow and build upon your college experience.
Be prepared, as you never know when opportunity will knock!
A Work in Progress

24. Sources and Resources on Portfolios
Career Portfolio Guide, University of Manitoba. ms/undergraduate/coop/media/student-career- portfolio-guide.pdf
The Power of an Online Career Portfolio. power-of-a-career-portfolio/
Tips for Creating a Digital Portfolio. Washington & Lee University. development/students/professional-online- presence/digital-portfolios-and-professional- websites/how-to-create-a-digital-portfolio
Vulcan, N. How to Make a College Student Career Portfolio. student-career-portfolio html
Sources and Resources on Portfolios