Transcript Portfolio Development Workshop

Essential Questions
•
•
•
•
What is a career portfolio?
How is a career portfolio beneficial?
What should go into a career portfolio?
How can a career portfolio assist in
career development and employment?
• What do employers want to see in a
candidate’s career portfolio?
What is a Career portfolio?
• Easy and visual 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 careerrelevant experiences occur and new skills are mastered
• The finished product will provide others with a
comprehensive profile of the person and their abilities.
Components of a Career Portfolio
• Cover Letter
• Leadership Experience
• Resume
• Extracurricular
• References
• Awards and
Achievements
Activities
• Special Skills
• Examples of Work
• Work Experience • 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/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
– How you may be contacted (mail, telephone, e-mail)
– 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 achievement(s) could I highlight to help get the
interview?
• Should not exceed 1 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 characterrelated 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. You should choose the way that best fits your work
experience and your desired career:
–
–
•
Each work experience entry should tell the reader:
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Experience related to your desired career appears first
Chronological order
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:
–
–
–
–
•
For each leadership experience:
–
–
–
–
–
•
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
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
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
Using a Career Portfolio in an Interview
• 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
• Having a career portfolio in an interview will never hurt
you, but it may give you a great advantage!
Other Uses
for a Career Portfolio
• Demonstrate your abilities in a
performance review
• Evidence when trying to obtain
a promotion
• Proof that you deserve a pay
increase
• Review of your qualifications
when preparing for an
interview
The Electronic Portfolio
• A personalized, career oriented website
• Shows that 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
Additional Components for
Business Essentials
•
•
•
•
•
5 Careers Research
My DREAM JOB
Dress for Success 5 Outfits
My Apartment
Monthly Budget (based off of Net Pay)