Career Advancement Portfolio

Regardless of your career or job choice, an up to date career advancement portfolio is the best way to display and provide proof and samples of your talents, experience, accomplishments and education. You should maintain and develop a career advancement portfolio using all the career history documentation you have available showing career proof, which helps you verify your work history and overcome any problems requiring proof of education or other work aspects.

If you have a computer, an online career advancement portfolio is an easy way to package your credentials and employment history, letters of recommendation, including a resume, diplomas, letters, work certifications, reports, awards, transcripts, career advancement goals, and any other career history. Using a top quality three ring binder with plastic page protectors also works well. At one time, usually only people in the arts, writing, and creative fields used portfolios or a career advancement portfolio when seeking a job promotion, advancement or freelance work. This is no longer the case and people in most careers now recognize the importance of a portfolio. It is best to have a master career advancement portfolio with complete documentation and a scaled down sample portfolio used for job interviews or other specific purposes.

A professional portfolio serves many important purposes such as giving students coursework clarity by articulating their values and beliefs. A career advancement portfolio is a useful tool for interviewers or management because it requires the career advancement candidate to articulate and summarize their strengths, skills and beliefs, which helps them stand out from other candidates. It also helps match the candidate to the advancement position by allowing management or the interview teams to understand the candidate’s skills, personality, and beliefs.

Some other content that you might consider putting into a career advancement portfolio or a job-hunting portfolio include:

• A resume copy
• Educational diplomas, certificates or degrees
• Volunteer work or community service you have performed
• Transcripts
• Career mission or career goals statement
• Academic awards
• Letters of recommendation or reference from volunteer work, previous employers, internships
• Achievement awards

In your career advancement portfolio, be sure to include any documentation about your job history that is important in your hunt for a job or career advancement. Use good quality binders and paper and keep your portfolio organized, neat and titled. If possible, keep your resume to one page in length, printed on good quality white resume paper, as the form, look and layout of your resume is as important as the content. Use an easy to read, clear font and be sure to include your name, address, and any other contact information. Never send out a wrinkled or smudged resume.