Career Portfolio
Written by Dr. Frank B. Flanders and Katherine Hudson
Revised June 2010
What is a Career Portfolio?







Easy way to display your best work and accomplishments
Employers and college admissions staff may use it to judge a
person’s academic ability, maturity, and motivation
May help determine a person’s future employment or
acceptance into a two- or four-year college
Includes an account and evidence of a person’s
accomplishments, experiences, and activities
Should be used throughout a person’s working career
Should be added to and updated regularly as career-relevant
experiences occur and new skills are mastered
The finished product will provide others with a
comprehensive profile of the person and their abilities.
Using a Career Portfolio in
an Interview






Having a career portfolio in an interview will never hurt you,
but it may give you a great advantage!
Politely let the interviewer know you have brought your
portfolio to the interview
The interviewer will let you know if they want to see your
portfolio
Never make the interviewer feel pressured to look your
portfolio
Do not be offended if the interviewer chooses not to view your
portfolio
Allow the interviewer to view the portfolio facing them – you
should be familiar enough with your portfolio that you can talk
about it without needing to look at or read from it
Other Uses For a Career
Portfolio




Demonstrate your abilities in a
performance review
Evidence when trying to obtain
a promotion
Proof you deserve a pay
increase
Review of your qualifications
when preparing for an
interview
The Electronic Portfolio







A personalized, career oriented website
Shows you are technology-savvy
Contains the same information as a
hard-copy portfolio
Electronic portfolios have become more
popular as technology becomes increasingly
important
Include the web address to your electronic portfolio on your
resume
Best to start with a hard-copy portfolio, but you may want to
consider having both formats
The benefit of a hard-copy portfolio is that it is something tangible
you can bring into an interview
Career Portfolio Tips




Never put original work in your portfolio
– use high quality copies
Don’t be too humble; the portfolio helps
you talk about yourself and your
accomplishments
Use pictures of yourself in action shots
Be familiar with the contents of your
portfolio so that you are prepared
whenever you are asked about your
qualifications
Components of a Career
Portfolio

Cover Letter

Resume

References

Awards and


Leadership
Experience

Extracurricular
Activities
Achievements

Special Skills
Work Experience

Examples of Work

Follow-up Letter
Cover Letter


Way of introducing yourself to
prospective employers, show
interest in a position, and highlight
your qualifications
A cover letter should address:
 Why you are interested in this
position, business, or college
 Your career aspirations and goals
 The skills and abilities that
would make you successful in a
particular career or at a
particular college
 Why this business or college
should select you
Resume





Summary of a person’s qualifications
Uses short statements to inform potential
interviewers about important facts about the
applicant
A resume should include:

Who you are

Contact information

Your experiences, skills, and abilities for
the position
When creating a resume, ask yourself:

What skills do I have?

What should a potential interviewer
know about me?

What achievements could I highlight to
help get the interview?
Should not exceed one page in length
Letters of Recommendation
and References







Include at least 3 letters of recommendation, one of each kind:
 Employment-related: A letter from a past employer evaluating your work
performance.
 Character-related: A letter from a person who has known you for more
than one year and can testify to your personal and/or academic attributes
If you have not been employed in any way you may use 3 character-related
letters
When asking for a letter of recommendation, explain your time frame and ask
each writer to complete the letter by a specific date
Some people give their resume to letter writer to help the writer draft a more
detailed and personalized letter
Thank the writer by writing a thank-you note
The portfolio should also include a list of at least 3 references, made up of past
employers, co-workers, teachers, and close family friends
Each reference should give the person’s name, phone number, address, and
email address
Awards and Achievements





Shows employers all of your accomplishments
Possible awards and achievements could be:

Making the honor roll

Winning a scholarship

Being recognized for community service

Awarded MVP on a sports team

Obtaining a certification

An example of a particularly outstanding performance
Include any certificates or documents that prove your achievement or receipt of
award and take pictures of any medals or trophies that will not fit in your notebook
For each award, explain what it was for, why it was given to you, and what work was
involved in attaining it
For each achievement, explain what your goal was, the steps you took to accomplish
it, and any obstacles you encountered along the way
Work Experience






Shows an employer you are mature enough to handle job responsibilities and have had the
opportunity to practice your skills and training in real-world situations
Proves you have prepared for full-time employment and have learned to work with others in
ways that are successful and rewarding
Could be a summer or after-school job, an internship, helping with a family business, or a
neighborhood babysitting gig
Can be organized two ways.

Experience related to your desired career appears first

Chronological order
Each work experience entry should tell the reader:

The employer

Your title

Dates you worked there

Job responsibilities

Description of day-to-day tasks

Any projects you worked on, including your role on the project, the contributions you
made, and how you helped reach project completion
Include evidence of your work experience, such as certificates or other documents of
employer recognition, business cards from past employers, copies of performance reviews,
and pictures of you on the job
Leadership Experience





Shows you:

Can use your intellect, experience, and job-relevant skills to lead and motivate others

Have been trusted enough to have been put in a leadership role

Can work well with others

Can communicate effectively
One of the most important factors in hiring and promotion decisions
Examples could be:

Holding an officer position in a club

Being captain of a sports team

Being the leader of a group assignment

Any time you showed leadership skills during an activity
or project
For each leadership experience:

Describe the situation

What your responsibilities were

How you accomplished your goals

The skills you used or acquired

How your leadership affected others
Include proof, such as recognition of your leadership or relevant pictures
Extracurricular Activities





Shows the reader:
 You have made a meaningful contribution to something
 What your non-academic interests are
 That you can maintain a long-term commitment
 That you can manage your time and priorities
 What unique perspectives you can bring to a group
Could be a school club, volunteer activity, religious affiliation, sports team,
or personal hobby
For each organization, explain what its purpose was, what you gained by
being part of it, and how you contributed to it
For each personal activity or hobby, explain how you stay active in it and
what you gain or learn from it
Include pictures and other documentation of your extracurricular activities
Special Skills


Examples of skills would be:

Computer proficiencies and technical abilities: fluent in Java, proficient in Excel,
certified in farm safety

Office procedures: answering multi-lined phone systems, taking dictation,
greeting clients

Linguistic capabilities: fluency in a foreign language, ability to translate

General skills: leadership, communication, time management, organization,
reasoning, decision making

Personal Qualities: team player, self-motivator, values oriented, self-confident

Any skill that is industry-specific for the job you’re seeking
Show proof of each skill by including past work, describing a situation in which you
used the skill, or including pictures. For example:

If you are fluent in Java, provide a screen shot of a website you created

If you say you have teamwork skills, describe a time when you used your skills
to make a group run more efficiently or achieve a goal
Examples of Work






Demonstrates what you can do and how well you can do it
Choose samples that display skills appropriate to your desired career
Examples should be work that you are proud of and shows care and planning
Include a picture of any samples of work that are three-dimensional or won’t fit in the notebook
Each sample of work should be accompanied by a note that tells an employer:

When, why, and for whom a project was completed

What obstacles you were faced with

The processes used to overcome those obstacles

If you were responsible for only part of the project, explain your contribution
Possible examples of work could be:

Research papers, book reports, essays

Math projects or science projects

Exams that show achievement

Computer projects

Mechanical/technical drawings

Published articles

Pictures, projects, or descriptions of activities relating to:
 Personal interests and hobbies (photography, poetry, cooking, woodworking)
 Community involvement outside of school (Scouts, religious organizations, 4-H)
Follow-Up Letter

Send a thank-you letter to the employer
or admissions officer after every interview

The letter gives you the opportunity to:

Thank the person for taking time to
speak with you

Restate how your skills and
qualifications are a good fit for the
position

Reinforce that you want the job and
why

Describe how you might make
significant contributions

Discuss anything important your
interviewer neglected to ask or that
you neglected to answer as well as
you would have liked