skills, experience, accomplishments, and personal characteristics that
add value,the majority of the employers surveyed ranked personal char-
acteristics first. Our research has been quite consistent on this point.
Personal characteristics are ranked highest, whether the groups being
surveyed are recruiters at a collegiate job fair or employers of physi-
cians completing residency programs.
Which personal characteristics are employers thinking of? Are
they looking for workers who are creative, attentive to detail, or people-
oriented? The particular personal characteristics considered most
important will, it turns out, depend upon the nature of the job, the
culture of the organization, and, of course, which person you happen to
ask. We will discuss how you can determine which personal character-
istics to feature in your portfolio in Chapter 3. But for now, the impor-
tant thing to know is this: It is very important to include evidence of
your personal characteristics that add value in your Can-Do Portfolio.
One of the distinct advantages of having a properly targeted port-
folio is you can make key intangibles, such as personal characteristics,
quite tangible. Rather than just saying,“People tell me I have a lot of
initiative,”and leave it at that, with a portfolio you can also show an in-
terviewer an actual document, perhaps a commendation you received,
that gives evidence of your initiative.
But a portfolio can only make these important intangibles come
alive if you include a personal characteristics section. And so we sug-
gest that you use the P.E.A.K.S. format to organize the items in your
targeted portfolio. The rest of this section provides a synopsis of each of
the P.E.A.K.S. categories so that you can begin to get a better idea of
exactly what we mean by each of these entries.What Is Included in Each of the P.E.A.K.S. Categories?Personal Characteristics That Add Value
Your personality traits or characteristic behavior patterns make
you a valued employee or work associate. An example of a document
that indicates a desired trait might be a letter commending you on a
perfect attendance record, which you could present as evidence that
you are highly dependable. Or, you might have a copy of a performance
evaluation that refers to a successful project that you initiated. This
can be presented as evidence that you are a self-starter.
Particularly useful in this category are letters of appreciation that
make explicit reference to your desirable personal qualities. An exam-
ple might be a letter of appreciation for completing a project that makes
reference to your work ethic, commitment, or dedication.Experience
Included in the experience section are items that document your
participation in activities that are similar to the kind of work you
would be doing in the job for which you are interviewing. This experi-
ence does not have to be from the world of paid work. You may have
done something as a volunteer or when you were at school that in an10 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio
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