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How to Create an Employment Portfolio
Employment Portfolios are folders with supplemental information about you and your skills and abilities, which are offered to an employer during an interview. When the employer begins to ask questions about your résumé, you can use your portfolio to support your responses.
For example, the employer might say, “I see that you have worked at your school newspaper. What were your favorite writing assignments?” You might reply, “My favorite assignments included this health article (show article in portfolio) that required a lot of research and this creative writing piece (show article) that I wrote for a special edition.”
You would not leave the portfolio with the employer, but offer copies of documents or files if the employer wants them.
A well-prepared portfolio:
- shows your achievements,
- documents the scope and quality of your experience and training, and
- shows your skills and abilities.
Organizing Your Portfolio
- Determine the skills necessary for the job you will be interviewing for.
- Choose items that will document how you have used those skills for the employer.
- A black or blue 3-ring binder or folder works well for a portfolio.
- Use plastic page covers to protect your materials and to make rearranging your portfolio easy.
- Arrange your portfolio to show how your abilities relate to the employer's needs.
- Label the different sections for ease of finding information in the portfolio.
What to Include
- A copy of your résumé
- An official copy of your college transcript
- A fact sheet, in list form, that displays your skills and what you like to do
- A list of experiences that do not fit into your résumé
- Certificates of awards and honors, or special training
- A program from an event you planned or in which you participated as part of a class project or campus organization
- A list of conferences and workshops you have attended and a description of each
- Samples of your writing
- Documentation of technical or computer skills
- Letters of commendation or thanks
- Letters of nomination to honors and academic organizations
- Newspaper articles that address some achievement
- Co-operative education or internship summary reports
If teaching or training are in your future, add:
- Student teaching evaluation materials
- Sample lesson plans
- A videotape of your teaching
- Sample syllabi
- Pictures of bulletin boards you designed
- Teaching tools you have created
- Information about a field trip or other event you organized
Electronic Portfolios
In addition to your traditional portfolio, you may want to create an electronic portfolio which you can leave with the employer. It can be on a Web site, a CD-ROM, floppy disk, or zip disk. You can set it up as a PowerPoint presentation or include a PowerPoint slideshow as part of your electronic portfolio.
Electronic portfolios are easy for employers to access and use, especially if they're on the Web. By including a "mail to" link in your portfolio, employers can contact you easily simply by clicking on the link and typing in a message for you. Another benefit of having an electronic portfolio is that it shows employers that you are familiar with various types of computer technology and programs.
Before creating your electronic portfolio, create your traditional version. Include electronic versions of items from your traditional portfolio. For example, include the word processing files for your writing samples and your résumé, scans of appropriate photos and certificates, and Adobe Acrobat (pdf) files of graphics such as brochures that you have designed.
In addition to the kinds of materials in your traditional portfolio, you might include an expanded version of your résumé, audio and video clips, an e-mail link, a link to Lakeland ’s Web site as well as one to your major department's pages, a link to the curriculum for your major, and other appropriate links. Avoid personal information and inappropriate links anywhere on your web site.Updated 05/14/07
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