Moving from Digital Portals to the Career

Portfolio1. Why Create an Online Career Portfolio?2. What Does a Career Portfolio Contain?

Why Create an Online Career Portfolio?

Stand Out from the Crowd

“According to Workfolio, a newly launched company that develops applications for professional visibility, 56% of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s personal website than any other personal branding tool—however, only 7% of job seekers actually have a personal website.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/

Package Your Professional Identity

“A website gives you creative freedom to express your personality in ways that are not be possible through your resume. Everything from the bio paragraph you write to the design options you choose for your website says something about you, and gives recruiters more chances to decide if they want to bring you in for an interview.”—Charles Pooley, Workfolio

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/

Manage Your Digital Presence

“Having your own website allows you to control what people will find when they search for you. More and more, we hear that employers are Googling candidates to learn more about them. When you have your own website, you have an opportunity to demonstrate a portfolio of information about you and to provide further information (via links) so employers can learn more about you.”—Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/

What Does a Career Portfolio Contain?

Digital Portal: 1.3

1. Profile photograph

2. Professional biography

3. Contact information (email, Twitter, LinkedIn)

4. Vanity URL

5. Consistent display name

What the Professionals Recommend

• Focus• Contact• Headline• Bio• Resume• Objective

• Samples• Results• Links• Blog• Videos• Testimonials

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/

Portfolio Content Ideas

• Digital Resume (with links)

• Expanded Resume

• Examples of your work• Posters, presentations• Reports, evaluations• Photographs, awards• Products, design elements

Portfolio Content (Education)

• Course Descriptions (highlight only the most relevant and interesting courses; write your own descriptions and summaries)

• Internships, special projects, presentation videos or slides, lab reports

• Awards, GPAs / Transcripts

• Workshops, conferences

Portfolio Content (Service)

Begin gathering photographs to highlight this activity!

• Leadership positions

• Clubs and organizations

• Volunteer work

• Team sports

Portfolio Content (Work)

• Resume

• Awards

• Work samples (if not proprietary)

• Major projects

• Accomplishments

• Training

Avoid Sloppiness, Shoddiness

“Typos, errors, missing content, and lack of attention to detail can all be potential derailers for employers. Think of the personal website as an extension of your resume and review it with the same level of scrutiny before submitting.”—Ryan Kahn, The Hired Group

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/

About Page / Temporary Disclaimer

• “This website was created to fulfill requirements for a technical and professional writing course taken at Washington State University in 2014.”

• Delete the disclaimer when you have taken charge of your website and continue to update it on your own.