Preparing a Portfolio

Why prepare an employment portfolio?

An employment portfolio provides you with an opportunity to present your experiences, abilities, skills, and accomplishments to a potential employer. It will support and make tangible the things you say about yourself in your cover letter, resume, and interview.

What is it?

Collection of documents that presents your personal and professional achievements in a concrete way.
Helps you market yourself in an interview by providing links that connect you to an opportunity.
Builds credibility by demonstrating your achievements and providing evidence of your accomplishments and abilities.
Distinguishes you from other candidates by illustrating your unique qualities.
Helps you organize your skills in a format that will highlight your attributes to potential employers.

Where do I start?

Think about your experiences, skills, abilities, strengths and accomplishments.
Decide which ones will be of interest to potential employers.
Select and include examples that best demonstrate these abilities and achievements.

How do I put my portfolio together?

Present your materials in a professional manner.
Use a loose-leaf portfolio notebook or a presentation folder.
Use plastic page covers to display and protect the materials.
Organize your materials and place all similar items together.
Consider creating one master portfolio, but customizing a special version for each type of position you’re seeking.
Create a table of contents and label each section so you can locate the material easily.
Ensure that the material you include complies with any confidentiality agreement you may have signed with a previous employer.

EMPLOYMENT PORTFOLIOS

What can I include in my portfolio?
Include documents that show your skills, knowledge and experience. Examples:

Personal Information Resume and a list of references
Accomplishments Newspaper articles about your achievements Favourable evaluations showing your contributions at work
Learning skills Professional development certificates Copies of scholarships and awards
Interpersonal Skills Evidence of leadership activities Testimonials from parents whose children you’ve coached Letters of recommendation from employers
Electronic Portfolios Audio or video clips, websites, and PowerPoint presentations

How do I present my portfolio to the employer?

Read the job description and decide what is relevant from your portfolio. If possible, prepare a separate portfolio for the specific interview.
Refer to your portfolio in the cover letter, if you write one.
Take your portfolio with you to interviews, and respond to the interviewer’s questions with examples, when appropriate, to demonstrate your abilities.
Be selective about what you show. Present only what is relevant to the employer, and show things that demonstrate your highest level of achievement.

Electronic Portfolios

In addition to your traditional portfolio, you may want to create an electronic portfolio. It may be on the Internet, a CD-ROM, or a zip disk. You may set it up as a PowerPoint presentation, or include a slideshow as part of your electronic portfolio. Most employers will prefer a traditional portfolio for in-person interviews but consider an electronic portfolio for telephone interview situations.

Additional Resources

Portfolios for Employment	http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/resumes/a/portfolio.htm
Professional Employment Portfolios, Ball State University	www.bsu.edu/students/careers/documents/portfoli/

If you have any questions about portfolios, please contact your co-op co-ordinator.