Incorporating Career Portfolios Into Career Development

Move over, resumes. Career portfolios may be taking your place.

What exactly is a career portfolio? It's a collection of information that highlights a student's interests, abilities and achievements, says the Business Coalition for Education Reform. In that sense, it's a lot like a resume.

Career portfolios can vary in their content. For example, one education department suggests displaying examples of your work. These can include writing samples or completed projects.

You could also throw in transcripts, reference letters and awards.

Martin Kimeldorf is the author of several books on portfolios. He recommends creating one that contains more than just the results of one class.

"It needs to be meaningful for its intended audience," he says. "Students should consider why a potential employer would want to see it."

A career portfolio can be in either print or electronic format.

Computer-based portfolios are also called digital portfolios or e-folios. They allow for a dynamic product that can include text, graphics, sound and video. They can be Web-based or placed on CD-ROMs.

But Kimeldorf says that for most jobs, applicants should have a paper portfolio that can be given at the interview. "They also may want to have an online or disk-based one," he adds. "But paper provides the advantage of being able to leave it with the interviewer."

Students must assess, analyze and reflect on themselves before creating a portfolio, says an article on the Educational Resources Information Center site. They need to show how everything in the portfolio demonstrates a specific skill.

Florida State University has developed an interactive portfolio tool for its students. It suggests nine skills students should address during their four years at the school. These range from communication to teamwork.

The online tool then lets them show mastery of a skill through courses, jobs or other experiences. It also provides room for resumes, transcripts and work samples.

Another school paving the way in portfolio opportunities is Dalhousie University. Dalhousie offers classes in career portfolios as well as a self-assessment guide to help students create their own.

Patty Shaw is the coordinator of the Dalhousie program. She says that portfolios help students "relate their skills to competencies required for the job."

Students also "discover a greater understanding of what they have to offer employers [and can] describe their skills using language that employers value."

Todd Bergman is an administrator at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska. He says that his school's program allows students to bring together many different skills. "They also can integrate into one product capabilities developed in various subject areas."

Students begin creating their portfolios during sophomore year. The first year is devoted to the basics. The second year concentrates on more complex projects.

Bergman notes that his students use portfolios to apply for internships and scholarships. However, he says, they are currently not very useful in applying to universities. Most schools don't have processes in place to handle them. But as they gradually get them, he believes that portfolios will become more essential.

Sara Coyne is a career planning teacher at a high school. She says that portfolios empower the kids. "They aren't walking into interviews with empty resumes."

But the main reason teachers have students create portfolios in high school is to get them thinking about their careers. It also allows them to practice a skill they will need to get a job in the future.

Career portfolios can supplement resumes. At some point, portfolios may even replace them.

But Bergman says that time has not yet come. "Portfolios will become more important in the near term for students applying in technology fields," he says. For example, portfolios can contain demos of computer programs written by a student.

"They may be a natural vehicle for those in tech," Bergman says. "But I think their use as an application tool will be slower in more traditional careers, like health care."

Shaw says that portfolios allow students to improve their resume-writing skills. They learn to tailor their message to different employers.

"These abilities help students become more effective in the job search process. [They can] increase their potential to obtain meaningful employment where their skills and career goals are well matched to the position."

Kimeldorf believes that resumes are last century's way of giving information. "If one really gets an interview by networking and contacts, not a resume, then the portfolio is the showstopper at the interview," he says.

"If you pull out a well-designed and concise portfolio, then you have something visual that will set you apart from other candidates."

The Business Coalition for Education Reform says portfolios aid in career development and make career options clear. They provide evidence of strengths and abilities. Portfolios can also give a sense of accomplishment.

Bergman agrees. "Our electronic portfolio program motivates students. They have a lot of pride and sense of ownership because their portfolios are so intimate."

Are portfolios successful? That question is just starting to be answered.

Coyne says that her school's portfolio program is based on one that has met with much success. Students start portfolios in Grade 8 and are required to present them in their last year of high school. They present to a teacher and a businessperson, both of whom give a grade.

The presentation is set up as a mock interview, giving them the chance to practice this critical career skill. "Portfolios are a great talking point," she says.

All in all, portfolios seem to be here to stay as a career development tool. They may even surpass resumes in importance. They also seem to be a part of the general learning process for many students.

"It's never too early to begin thinking about your life as an ongoing evaluation of your talents and experiences," says Shaw. "A career portfolio is a useful framework for career development throughout life."

Net Sites

American Association for Higher Education

Provides resources on electronic portfolios

http://american2.eduk.biz/

Dalhousie Career Portfolio Project

Learn more about portfolio development

http://writingcentre.dal.ca/writec_6241.html

Florida State University Portfolio

Investigate this comprehensive online tool

http://www.career-recruit.fsu.edu/careerportfolio/
enter/intro/step1.html

Career Portfolio Resources

Lists websites and other resources available about how and why to develop a career portfolio

http://depts.washington.edu/geogjobs/Careers/pfolr
esources.html

Portfolio Library

See what a sample portfolio looks like

http://www.amby.com/kimeldorf/sampler/

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