JOBTALKS
Building Your Career Portfolio
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business
Contents used in this presentation are adapted from Career Planning Strategies
and used with the permission of the author.
The Career Portfolio
How to Present Yourself to
Potential Employers
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Definition
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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.
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Employers are asking…
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“How much will you
cost me to train?”
“Can you keep your
personal life in order
so that it does not
interfere with work?”
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Employers are seeking…
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Proof of current
relevant soft skills
Real work samples
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Two Broad Categories of Skills
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Transferable
– across careers, jobs,
and industries
– organizational
– interpersonal
– work-style
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Work Content
– do a specific type of
job
– immediate contribution
– gained through course
work and job
experience
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Employers Want the “Total Package”
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Excellent communication skills
Technical proficiency
Leadership
Teamwork
Interpersonal skills and personal traits
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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
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Steps for Assessing Your Major
Accomplishments
1. What
I Did?
2. What I Learned?
3. What’s Next?
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#1: What I Did?
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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.
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# 1 Artifact
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Choose a tangible item
to exhibit the
accomplishment or
skill you have just
selected to showcase
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Sample Artifacts for a Portfolio
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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
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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
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#2: What I Learned?
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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.
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These statements should also contain reflective
comments about your learning.
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#3: What’s Next?
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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
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Sample Arrangement of
Career Portfolio Sections
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Management philosophy
Professional goals
Resume
Work samples by skill areas
Works in progress
Community service (transferable skills)
Professional memberships
Degrees, certifications & awards
References
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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
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Section: Resume
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Your resume provides
a brief summary of
your education and
experiences.
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Section: Skill Areas
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Skill areas-tabbed sections containing information
on your skills and experiences relating to specific
areas
– Marketing
– People Management
– Technology
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Target skills desired by companies you are
interviewing
– Job advertisements
– Job descriptions
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Focus on measurable skills
– Technical skills
– Soft skills
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Skill Areas Employers
Want from Recent Graduates
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Analytical
Communication (Oral & Written)
Computer Skills
Creativity
Decision Making
Flexibility
Interpersonal
Leadership
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Listening
Multicultural
Understanding
Organizational
Problem Solving
Research
Teamwork
Time Management
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Work Samples
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Work sample-physical examples of your
work
– One for every skill
– Projects, reports
– Real work samples preferable to school projects
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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
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Propriety on Work Samples
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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
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Section: Additional Proof
Works in Progress-brief list of works,
activities, projects or efforts that are ongoing.
 Letters of Recommendation-support or
reference that verify your abilities in a
certain skill area
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Section: Transferable Skills
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Sources
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Community service
Volunteer organizations
Avocations (intense hobbies)
Intramural activities
Artifacts
– Letters of recognition
– Photos of projects completed
– Programs and brochures
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Transferable Skills Support…
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Soft skills
–
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Teamwork
Presentation skills
Communication skills
Attitude
Leadership
Others
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Section: Professional Growth
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Memberships-member
cards, citations, letters
Certifications
Diplomas, Degrees, or
Awards-copies of
actual recognition
received
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Section: Reference Materials
Academic Plan of Study-list of courses and
what you learned in them
 Faculty and Employer Biographiesdescriptions 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
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Showcase Tips: Paper Portfolio
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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
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Create all text on
computer
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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 10-15 artifacts
Consider having a copy of
your portfolio or important
parts of it to leave behind
with an employer
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When Is It Appropriate to Present
Your Portfolio
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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.)
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And Also…
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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
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Hard Copy vs Electronic
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HARD COPY
Introduces oneself
Answers questions
during interview
Summarizes
qualifications
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ELECTRONIC
To compete for an
interview
As additional research
for candidates
As follow-up
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It’s alive!......
Whether hard copy or electronic…..
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A portfolio is a “living thing” in that it will grow as your
career progresses
You will want to limit the portfolio offerings you actually
use in any given a situation to the requirements of that
particular job or performance interview
Sometimes too much is just too much – limit what you bring
to an interview to carefully targeted portfolio items
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Online Portfolios
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Idea 1: Online resumes
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Idea 2: Linked resumes
Idea 3: Online portfolio
collections
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Online Resumes
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Classic Online Portfolio
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Online Examples of Career Portfolios
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.
Web Designer's Portfolio:
http://www.carteret.com/mikefahy
A linked resume with good example of integrating work samples within a web site.
Graphic Designer's Portfolio:
http://www.6869.com/resume/index.html
A classic online portfolio with clean, simple design and great graphics.
Portfolio For Self-Employment:
http://careerlifeconsulting.com
Check out Joan Richard's on-line portfolio that promotes her company, CareerLife
Consulting Services.
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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
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In Summary
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You can use a portfolio to manage both
your professional or career assets and
showcase your 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.
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Collect NOW – Sort later
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Set up your system
– Calendar
– Designated collection point
Schedule your self-review times
 Sort later
 Think Ahead—you are worth it!
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If you would like
to learn more,
Career Planning
Strategies
textbook will
supply additional
information on
this topic.
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