If you would like to see some specific examples of targeted portfo-
lios before learning how to create one, take a quick look at some of the
examples we have provided of Can-Do Portfolios in Part 2 of this book.WHAT IS A TARGETED PORTFOLIO?
A targeted portfoliois a collection of career-relevant documents that
have been chosen because of their intended appeal to a specific audi-
ence. Simply put, these are the items from your Master Portfolio that
you would bring to a meeting, hoping to impress the person or people
with whom you are meeting.
As noted earlier, we call a targeted career portfolio that is designed
to appeal to a particular audience a Can-Do Portfolio. It’s called can-do
because it gives evidence that you can do whatever is considered most
important in the job or promotion under consideration. A strong Can-
Do Portfolio enables you to make a convincing case that you are ready,
willing, and able to get the job done. It helps you differentiate yourself
from other candidates along important, job-relevant dimensions.
In addition to giving evidence that you can do whatever is consid-
ered most important in the job or promotion under consideration, a
Can-Do Portfolio that has been properly targeted has the following two
important features:- It is targeted at a particular audience.A properly targeted Can-Do
Portfolio is not an all-inclusive scrapbook that captures everything
you have done so far in your career. A chronological sequence of doc-
uments accompanied by a seemingly endless recitation of “and then
I did this, and then I did that”is unlikely to hold the interest of any-
one other than possibly your mother. The key is to select documents
that will have a particular appeal to the person or people with whom
you will be meeting. - It is very selective.In most situations where you might show items
from your portfolio, you will have very little time to do so. You must
be very efficient and show only those items that will have the great-
est impact. When collecting items for your Master Portfolio, you
should err on the side of collecting too much. But with Can-Do Port-
folios the very opposite is true. If in doubt, leave it out, is a good rule
to follow.
In the later sections of this chapter we will review techniques for
identifying the specific kinds of items you should include in your tar-
geted, Can-Do Portfolio, but first let’s take a look at whenyou should
target your portfolio.WHEN SHOULD YOU TARGET YOUR CAN-DO PORTFOLIO?
You will want to have a targeted portfolio ready whenever you are
about to go to a meeting during which you would like to show some of30 Part I: Building, Using, and Maintaining Your Career Portfolio
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