Portfolio

Portfolios are not just for art-related majors - everyone can use a portfolio to document their accomplishments

A portfolio is a collection of "show and tell" items, which are presented to an employer during an interview to visually demonstrate your skills, experiences, qualifications, and accomplishments. It provides physical evidence of your achievements. Presenting a portfolio will demonstrate that you are prepared and will also refresh your memory about which accomplishments, activities, and skills will be important to the interviewer.

A portfolio may especially be valuable if you are seeking a career in visual arts or writing where samples of your work are often requested. Students majoring in computer-related courses may also find it helpful to prepare a portfolio of programming projects, which can demonstrate a degree of proficiency with different programming languages.

Below is a list of possible items/artifacts, which could be part of your portfolio:

Education/Training

Certificates, brochures, syllabi
describing special training
Instructor evaluations
Transcripts
Licenses
Conferences and workshops attended (name tag, program)

Skill Demonstration

Examples of problem solving (figures
or pictures showing improvements)
Leadership (committees served or
projects initiated)
Evidence of public speaking (speech
outline, brochure for your presentation,
photos of you at the podium)
Writing samples (e.g., an excerpt from a
paper or report)
Documentation of computer skills (screen-shots of websites you've designed, desktop publishing documents, programming print-outs)
Samples of art work

Achievements

Award/Honors
Letters of commendation or thanks
List of professional accomplishments
Newspaper articles in which you were mentioned

Past Work Experience

Job descriptions
Resume
Records showing how your clients did
after receiving your services
Data (graphs, charts) showing your accomplishments/progress/work results
Reports
Performance reviews
Letters of recommendation
Business cards
Photos of you at work or of your work environment

Professional Development

Professional organizations to which you belong
Your goals
Reflection/professional statement of interests and goals

Note: A word of caution - A portfolio should be used as a supplement to your explanations during the interview, and should be used only when appropriate, i.e. when relevant topics arise during the interview.

If you have supporting documents to verify your expertise, then you might want to share this information.

If you have questions about the proper way to use a portfolio, consult a career specialist in the Career Services Center .

For additional information on how and when to utilize portfolios, check out these websites: