doing so, you do not in any way ignore or treat disrespectfully the ju-
nior members of the interview team. You can bet that at the end of an
interview, the top person will turn to a trusted junior person and ask,
“So what do you think?”If you offended this person during the inter-
view, it’s unlikely that a glowing recommendation will be forthcoming!
And this less-than-glowing opinion can be devastating to a candidate.
Managers are unlikely to hire someone whom they feel would have dif-
ficulty getting along with peers and subordinates in their organiza-
tion.
Offer a copy of your resume to interviewers who do not appear to
have it in front of them. You can say,“I’ve brought along a copy of my
resume,”(an “extra copy,”if you already sent one) and hand it to the in-
terviewer. If your resume is in a P.E.A.K.S. format and the interviewer
uses it to review your qualifications, you are likely to get a number of
questions that will give you opportunities to show key documents from
your portfolio.
If asked to describe your background, you can introduce your port-
folio. If you are asked to give a synopsis of your career, you can give the
two- to three-minute self-description you have prepared that features
your key P.E.A.K.S. At the conclusion, you have a good opportunity to
hold up your Can-Do Portfolio and say something like:“I have brought
along my career portfolio. It has materials in it that document some of
the things I’ve just talked about.”
Hold on to your portfolio.As noted earlier, if the interviewer asks
to see the portfolio, instead of just handing it over, and thereby losing
control of it, turn to relevant entries and show her these items, while
holding on to the portfolio. This enables you to direct the interviewer’s
attention to the key documents in the order you want to present them.
Hand individual items to your interviewer.The best way to show
an item from your portfolio is to take it out of your portfolio case (but
not out of its translucent sheet protector) and hand it to your inter-
viewer. This focuses the interviewer’s attention on the particular item
you want him to see.
Err on the side of showing too few entries from your portfolio.Yo u
are trying to use your portfolio to do the following:- Support a few points you’ve made about yourself
- Demonstrate that you have initiative and are well organized
- Leave the impression that your portfolio is full of impressive infor-
mation
Of course, if the interviewer insists on grabbing the portfolio from you,
you can’t really say,“Hands off, Buster!”But your goal is to retain con-
trol of your portfolio, so that you can use it selectively to emphasize
points you want to make throughout the interview.
If the interviewer reaches for the portfolio, you can respond by ask-
ing,“May I show this to you?”and, without waiting for a response, start
opening your portfolio to a relevant entry.Chapter 6: Using Your Portfolio to Get That Job 87