Help students get feedback on their portfolios before they use them
in job interviews.Alumni and others who are already in the fields that
students aspire to enter can be recruited to evaluate student portfolios
before the students present their portfolios in actual job interviews. The
feedback from this evaluation process is of tremendous value, not only
to the students whose portfolios are being critiqued but also to those in
charge of developing university curricula. Those responsible for fund-
raising at the school are likely to be supportive of the idea of getting
alumni involved in the process of advising students, as it is a nice way
of keeping alma mater alive in the hearts and minds of alumni.
Use student portfolios for assessing student progress and quality of
curricula.Periodically assessing the quality of the portfolios that stu-
dents create within a particular academic program is a useful way of
evaluating not only the progress of individual students but also the ef-
fectiveness of the curriculum.FINAL THOUGHTS
We’ve been reminded in this chapter that there are many good uses for
career portfolios. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that a port-
folio is only as good as the documents in it. And, if you only concern
yourself with your portfolio at the times when you might need it, you
are not likely to be able to come up with all of your best material. Not
on short notice.
In the next chapter we will explore ways you can continue to de-
velop your Master Portfolio, so that you will have on tap the very docu-
ments you need, when you need them.Chapter 7: Getting That Raise and Other Important Uses for Portfolios 113