- Task accomplishments.Evidence of specific things you have accom-
plished in response to a problem or perceived need. These items
could range from creative products (such as a paper you wrote or a
logo you created) to things you have accomplished in an organization
(like finding new sources of revenue or implementing a new com-
puter system). - Community service.Evidence of volunteer activities that are of ser-
vice to your community.
In the accompanying table we give some examples of documents that
would fit into one or more of the above categories. This is not meant to
give you a complete list of all the items that might be included under
each category. The goal is to help you brainstorm useful items you
might have gotten or might be able to get easily.Table: Examples of Portfolio Documents
18 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio
- Bio Stats
- Resume: on paper, disk, or other format
- Personal history
- Hobbies
- Extracurricular activities
- Passport, work permits, and visa enabling
you to travel/work and/or study in coun-
tries other than your own - Foreign travel and languages
- Your e-mail address
- Web site address and home page printout
- Business cards, past and present
- Evidence of good health: for example, a
record showing you’ve accumulated credit
for not taking sick days - Attendance record or letter commending
you for excellent attendance record - Letters of introduction/recommendation
from faculty or past employers/bosses - Professional photo (the kind used in press
releases) - Military service, honors
- Sports affiliations, honors
- Security clearance
- Letters from police showing clean record, if
applying for a high-security position - List of references (make sure you’ve first
asked these people to be your reference)
2. Learning Skills- Degrees
- Transcripts from schools you have attend-
ed and/or reports on academic progress - GPA (Grade Point Average)
- High grades in individual courses
- Academic awards: dean’s list, honors,
prizes - Scholarship award letters
- Certificates
- Licenses you hold
- Experiential learning (self-directed)
- Professional development activities: semi-
nars; workshops; conferences; professional
networking; professional organizations - Letters from faculty noting your accom-
plishments - Favorable faculty evaluations
- Examples of academic work: papers, pro-
jects, etc.
3. Targeted Task Skills
- Evidence of communications skills: writ-
ten, oral
- Writing sample with highly favorable
handwritten comments; samples of arti-
cles you have published
- Still photographs from a video of a presen-
tation you have made