
In this lecture, you will learn:
1. Why a professional portfolio is so necessary
•250 Applicants for Every Professional Level Position
•4 – 6 Applicants Chosen for Phone Interviews
•1 Applicant is Hired
2. The 6 components of a portfolio.
•Introduction
•Professional Background & Work Samples
•STAR Stories
•Awards & Recommendations
•30/60/90 Plan
•Conclusion
The intro should introduce the applicant and her or his skills in an interesting and visual way.
Work samples should be provided to SHOW what you have done and can do again rather than simply telling which we already do on the resume and in the cover letter.
STAR Stories demonstrate past behavior that recruiters use to predict future behavior.
•Situation
•Task
•Action
•Results
Situation: My team was surprised with a new deadline/budget cut/loss of team member…
Task: It was important that we…
Action: I Wrote, Collaborated, Found, Created, or...
Results: We met/exceeded/came in under by two days/12%/$400
In this lecture, you will add your portfolio to Google Docs so that it is easy to share as a link:
on your resume
in your cover letter
in your LinkedIn profile
on other social media
Professionals in the 21st century need to brand themselves and to tell the story of their careers. This is best accomplished with a professional portfolio that SHOWS potential employers your skills, knowledge, and accomplishments while painting a full picture of your career path and goals.
In this course, you will:
create a 6 part portfolio using PowerPoint -- no expensive software or complicated online tools needed
learn to use STAR to show actions taken and positive results achieved
apply the 30/60/90 plan to demonstrate your ability to prioritize short and long term actions
use color palettes and formatting for visual appeal and branding
save the portfolio as a PDF, a folder of JPGs, and a Google Doc for easy to share attachments or links
We created this course for a variety of audiences. If you are a new college graduate or a mid-level employee changing careers this course will help you create a visual of your brand. If you want to stand out among the 300 applicants vying for each professional-level opening, this course will help you make an impression beyond the typical resume. While resumes and cover letters tell, portfolios show. Many hiring managers believe that the best indicator of future behavior and performance is past behavior and performance. A portfolio is an effective and visually appealing way to illustrate past behavior in a variety of workplace scenarios and performance.