As I have continued to work with some really fun personalities over the past few years…one thing we talked about is building a personal/professional PORTFOLIO! No, this is not an idea to replace your resume as you look at and consider your fit in different jobs.  Rather Building YOUR PORTFOLIO should be a collection of work and hobby examples that reflect the extent of your life skill-set.  And as you can guess I stressed that it should be ever changing, growing, historical yet up-to-date to accurately display how your career, business, hobby, achievements and interests have evolved.

What does GOOGLE say about PORTFOLIOS:

“Essentially, it’s a comprehensive showcase demonstrating capabilities, achievements, and holdings, adaptable for creative fields (art, writing, design), finance, or career development.”

Reflectively when pressed to discuss what I would put into my PORTFOLIO… I was quick to recall the binder of innovations I had dreamed-up in my Director days that my good friend and co-worker D.S. had put together for me. And like so many others considering PORTFOLIO building, I had to admit: “I’m not sure where I put all that cool stuff!” So remember this statement from Clark University:

“Save everything you create and decide later what you want to include in your portfolio. Some items may be more relevant to the work you’ll do in one position than another, so it helps to have a variety of samples. You can present your materials in your own creative style.”

Bottomline: Remember always that primarily the PORTFOLIO you build is for YOU!  Next, try to include your entire history of creations, professional awards, formal and informal education achievements and job experiences. I believe you will find that your always semi-completed PORTFOLIO document will be a valuable asset as you continue forward.

Finally… TAKE YOUR TIME!  You didn’t build your PORTFOLIO entries in a day… so it doesn’t have to be completed in a day.