Professional Portfolios

1. What is a Professional Employment Portfolio?
2. Organizing Your Portfolio
3. What to Include
4. How to Use Your Portfolio
5. Suggestions on Artifacts to Include in Your Portfolio

WHAT IS A PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT PORTFOLIO?

A portfolio is a place for you to organize information about yourself. It is often assembled as a binder with entries kept in clear plastic paper covers. As you grow professionally, your portfolio will continually change and be updated. You can use it during an interview to help market yourself to potential employers or graduate schools.

ORGANIZING YOUR PORTFOLIO

There are many ways to organize your portfolio. You will likely want to create sections to highlight special skills, training, or experiences. Select a format that will make it easy for others to quickly locate important information.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

The list of what to include in a portfolio is virtually limitless. Items included in your portfolio are referred to as artifacts. An artifact is ideally an object that helps depict skills or attributes visually. Artifacts come in many forms including written text, pictures, and documents. Click here for artifact suggestions.

HOW TO USE YOUR PORTFOLIO

Make the potential employer aware of the fact that you have a portfolio. You may consider mentioning it in the cover letter or during a phone interview. Then, remember to bring an abbreviated copy of your portfolio with you to interviews. It is not necessary to take your entire portfolio with you to an interview. Instead, bring only the sections of your portfolio which include the attributes you want the employer to notice. This can be compiled and presented in a smaller binder than your complete portfolio.

During the interview you can use your portfolio to support your responses to the questions asked, and also to demonstrate the scope of your ability. However, do not rely solely on your portfolio during the interview - it is not necessary or recommended to lead the employer through every page. Keep in mind that in some interview situations, referring to your portfolio may be inappropriate due to time constraints or other factors. Be sensitive and perceptive to the interviewer's style and needs when deciding to utilize this information.

Please feel free to contact the Office of Career Development should you have any questions about assembling your portfolio. We are also happy to review your portfolio for content and share suggestions for improvement at your request!

SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PORTFOLIO:

• Newspaper clippings that address special achievements.
• Certificates, awards, honors, and special training.
• Letters of recommendation and thank you letters from advisors, professors, and employers.
• Copies of college transcripts.
• Evidence of campus involvement (pictures are helpful) and any special projects you completed or leadership positions you held.
• Information to show foreign language proficiency and/or international study/work experience.
• Documentation or results from graduate school or professional testing (GRE or LSAT scores).
• Documentation of activities and achievements that demonstrate you know how to learn, communicate well, are adaptable, work as part of a team, and can take initiative.
• Evidence of technical, communication, and computer skills. Keep a list of special software programs and your level of skill. Include samples created from the various programs.
• Examples of professional research.
• Documentation of volunteer or community service. 
• Evidence of creative projects, writing samples, presentations, technical drawings, artistic pieces.
• Anything to support the scope of your written and verbal communication abilities, including class papers, newsletters, articles, brochures, flyers, published articles, poems, samples of technical writing, and outlines of presentations.
• Future teachers can include sample lesson plans, videotapes of you teaching, learning packets you created for students, statement of teaching philosophy, notes from and pictures of students, evaluations, etc.