A portfolio is a collection of all that describes you as a professional including your accomplishments, trainings and samples of your work along with your resume.
Portfolios are wonderful to have when opportunities present themselves to express your skills. It's your personal and professional brag book. A portfolio is great to carry with you during an interview, at a seminar or ready to be handed to your boss for a promotion.
If you have a variety of different work experiences, putting together your professional scrap book will help you discover where your true and repeated talents really exist if you are a jack of all trades but sometimes feel like a master of nothing. You may discover through your collection of awards, letters, class certificates, recommendation letters and blue ribbons that you should be pursuing a field in publishing rather than your last job which was in sales.
Artists would include samples of their art while writers would include samples of articles, short stories and poems. Office assistants could include samples of projects they created in the form of graphs and training classes they took at the company. They may also provide their positive performance reviews. Teachers may include their teaching license, college transcripts, teaching philosopy and even a sample lesson plan.
As you build your portfolio, organize your materials in a format that clearly defines who you are and your professional story. Paper portfolios can come in all shapes and sizes. Many people purchase a leather three ring binder with dividers for unique sections and transparent sleeves that protect your documents.
Many binders can be quite large when containing artwork that may be mounted on blackboard and are not a traditional size. A paper portfolio can be difficult to transport and subject to injury such as being exposed to dirt and drink.
The new trend in portfolios that can be sent in an e-mail and protected for a lifetime is the digital creation. By adding multimedia graphics, sound, impressive font and color, your digital creation can make your career or school experience stand as a brilliant exception among the rest.
For more information on portfolios, read the book review examiner article on Create Your Digital Portfolio. Columbia College and The University of Chicago in Chicago has offered workshops and articles concerning digital portfolios.
Comments
Karla,
Thanks for this article on portfolios. I guess if you're not an artist, you wouldn't really think about doing this. I am an author and always carry samples of my books for "show and tell". It has always helped me break the ice.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!