something that grabs your interest. And if you are not going to enjoy
this activity, will you really enjoy the job or career that requires it?Consider creating a Will-Do Portfolio. Your Will-Do Portfolio is
your Can-Do Portfolio of the future. This is the targeted portfolio you
hope to be able to assemble when it comes time to apply for whatever
it is you are seeking in the future. A Will-Do Portfolio is, in effect, your
P.E.A.K.S. vision statement. It states the P.E.A.K.S. you intend to have
at a specific time in the future and it lists the specific documents that
you intend to have to verify these P.E.A.K.S.
The following are steps you need to create a Will-Do Portfolio:- List all of the P.E.A.K.S. you need to be able to achieve a future ca-
reer goal. - List the documents you presently have, or could get, that demon-
strate one or more of the above P.E.A.K.S. you have already devel-
oped. - List your missing P.E.A.K.S. These are the underdeveloped
P.E.A.K.S. for which you do not have documents. - List the activities you intend to pursue to develop your missing
P.E.A.K.S. and the documents you intend to earn to demonstrate
these P.E.A.K.S. The protocol for filling out the aspiration worksheet
that is included in the appendix will help you define these future ac-
tivities and documents.
It takes extra effort to actually create these lists, but consider the ben-
efits. A Will-Do Portfolio can help you maintain a proper focus on the
things you must do to get where you want to go. And it can also help
you identify the things you must notdo—like pursuing superficially ap-
pealing career “opportunities”that sound nice but won’t actually help
you develop the P.E.A.K.S. you need to achieve your future career goal.
You don’t need to write a fancy essay to create a Will-Do Portfolio.
Just make a few lists you can look at every now and then.
Make sure it’s fun. If developing your missing P.E.A.K.S. sounds
like too much work, then you could very well be in the wrong field right
now or targeting the wrong future for your career. If that is the case,
doing further self-assessments and informational interviews could help
you identify what’s right for you.
Make it happen. All this planning is great, but it doesn’t mean a
thing if you don’t actually go out and do it. Once you have identified a
step you know you should take, today’s probably a good day to start.FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s a danger here that we’ve made so many suggestions of ways
you can continue to develop your Master Portfolio that you will say,
“Sounds good, but I can’t possibly do all this stuff!”Fair enough. Nei-
ther of the authors does allof these things allthe time. And we don’t
expect you to, either.122 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio