Your Success is Our Business.

701 East 5th Street

(corner of 5th & Jarvis)

Greenville, NC 27858

252-328-6050

www.ecu.edu/career

Your Success Is Our Business

Developing a Portfolio for

Your Job Search

What is a Portfolio?

Documents the scope and quality of your experience and training

Marketing tool that provides evidence of your accomplishments, skills and abilities

A Portfolio serves as an organized collection of material that presents your personal and professional skills in a concrete way.

Format Options: Hard Copy Disk CD-ROM Web

An Effective Portfolio Can:

Demonstrate your work, provide samples, back up claim to be a producer

Demonstrate learning, collect assessment and reflection information

Provide a competitive edge

Purpose of a Portfolio Identifies skill or experience gaps Review achievements and enhance career self-efficacy Provides a framework for career development

Helps you focus on your accomplishments

Can enhance self-knowledge and reflection

Tracks and documents career progress and readiness

For Job Search Purposes

Pre-interview:

Networking

Application materials

Interview:

Present and highlight qualifications and experience

Post-interview:

Send on a CD as a follow-up

Developing Your Portfolio

Start a “Me” file and collect copies of your work, including:

Resumes

Job Descriptions

Appraisals

Transcripts

Course Descriptions

Projects

Honors

Certificates

Reference Letters

Demonstrate that you have the required qualifications.

Identify gaps in education and skills; establish an action plan of response.

Evaluate Items in Accordance With Your Career and Educational Goals

Enhances your credibility

Projects your capabilities

Enables feedback

Identifies you as an Individual

Make Sure Your Assembled Portfolio Achieves the Following:

Check for interest during presentation and seek opportunities to use your portfolio

Develop Your Presentation and Practice How You Plan to Deliver It

Hard Copy Components

Table of contents

Career summary and goals

Resumes

Official transcripts

Awards and honors

Samples of work selected to demonstrate required qualifications

Letters of recommendation & references

Conferences and workshops

Additional Possible Portfolio Items

Writing samples

Certificate/Licenses

Publications

Audio or Video clips

Letters from clients, customers, faculty

News clippings

Photographs

Assembly of Your Hard Copy Portfolio

Pick a binder style based on the largest item to be included

If you use a black 3 ring binder, pick one with a insert-able cover and spine

Make a cover and spine label

Get divider tabs for organization

Use clear plastic sleeves for documents

Don’t permanently mount originals

Use acid free/lignin free papers

Provide color copies of your originals

Electronic Format Components

Profile

Resume

Capabilities/Skills

Transcripts

Project Samples

References

Electronic Portfolios

Use Optimal Resume to create your own Online Portfolio!

Upload professional documents into an attractive portfolio that can be viewed as part of the professional website you create with the Website Builder

File Cabinet vs. Slide Show

Advantages to Electronic Portfolios

Clusters related areas and ideas.

Searchable/scan-able.

Facilitates Multi-media presentations.

Easy access from any computer.

Can provide more information in multiple languages.

Demonstrates computer literacy.

Easily accessible by multiple viewers.

Easily stored.

Advantages to Hard Copy

Better for interviews.

Does not require computer skills to produce.

More personalized.

More conducive for face-to-face presentation.

Not everyone can access computers.

Changes are usually easier

Our team of career coaches are here to help you achieve success in all aspects

of your career!

Call Us! The Career Center

252-328-6050 or

1-800-391-0506 www.ecu.edu/career Corner of 5th & Jarvis

Feel free to call us for more information or to set up an appointment with a Career Coach!