Step 1: Specify the Type of Career Opportunity You Are Pursuing
In order to create a portfolio that is targeted for a specific purpose, you
first need to know the particular typeof career situation in which you
intend to use it. Applying for a new job or for a promotion are two typ-
ical reasons for creating a Can-Do Portfolio. But there are other reasons
as well, which include the following:- Having a successful annual performance review
- Getting a raise
- Getting a new work assignment or responsibilities (within the com-
pany) - Getting a different kind of job within your organization
- Making a career transition
- Getting consulting assignments
- Getting into college or graduate school
For further ideas and a more detailed discussion of the types of career
situations in which having a targeted portfolio can prove useful, see
“Why Should You Use a Career Portfolio?”in Chapter 1. Also refer to all
of Chapter 7.
If you still do not have a specific use in mind for your career port-
folio, there is really no point in trying to create a targeted portfolio,
since there is nothing to aim at. If this is the case, we recommend that
you skim the rest of this chapter to get a general idea of how targeted
portfolios are assembled. And if you think being able to create a first-
rate Can-Do Portfolio could prove useful to your career, we suggest that
you learn how to create and develop a Master Portfolio that will give
you a broad selection of readily available documents to choose from in
the future. Chapter 2 and Chapter 8 are particularly useful in this re-
gard.Step 2: Review Examples of Portfolios Targeted for Specific Uses
To get a feel for what a targeted Can-Do Portfolio looks like, look at the
sample portfolios provided in Part 2. Each of these portfolios has been
labeled according to the type of situation for which it has been target-
ed. Do not be concerned if the use you have in mind for your Can-Do
Portfolio is not included in this collection of examples. In the next eight
steps we will show you how to create a portfolio that is suited to your
particular needs.
And do not worry if you do not happen to have many (or, in fact,
any) of the kinds of documents included in these sample portfolios. All
sorts of documents can be used effectively in a portfolio. We will tell you
how to identify and get the documents that will work for you.
Again, the goal in Step 2 is to give you a general idea as to what
Can-Do Portfolios look like. We will explain the actual process of creat-
ing a Can-Do Portfolio in the next eight steps.142 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio