Creating an Interview Portfolio

Your portfolio shows proof of who you are and what you can do!

Images include: photos, graphs, videotapes, DVD, CD, pictures, logos, web designs, sketches, designs, flyers, prototypes, marketing work, sales materials, graphics of your ideas, listing of projects completed, summary charts, past job designs/graphs, models, diagrams, artwork, patent sketches, et cetera.

Text includes: anything requiring a written plan, schedule of events, reports, proposals, articles, journal publications, business plans, co-op/internship accomplishments, school and/or newsletter articles, performance reports, letters of recommendation, highlights of projects- include personal and business text. Your portfolio will set you apart from other applicants.

Know your work! Be proud of it.

Portfolio Guidelines • Give the portfolio a personal, original title. • Use a new binder with clear plastic sleeves that allow your work to be seen. A 10”x 13” tri-fold presentation binder or traditional flat book style is impressive. • Keep it neat, simple, interesting, unique, and professional. • Your portfolio should be highly visual. • Images should be clear, uncluttered, and easy to read. • Text reports should only be used in support of images. • Do not include any text reports longer than two pages. Interviewers have no time to read and would rather look at images instead. • Prototypes and inventions- if you have a small one, bring it. • If you have done presentations, simply display a listing of them by topic or title, date, and location. • Video (CD/DVD/Tape) should be captivating and no longer than three minutes.

Additional Portfolio Information for Students

Portfolios are fast becoming the cleverest way to make you stand out from the crowd in the interviewing process. Whatever industry you're in, they provide potential employers with a tangible record of your successes and a much deeper idea of the kind of projects you've been involved with.
A well-prepared portfolio • shows your achievements, • Documents the scope and quality of your experience and training, and • Shows your skills and abilities.
Organizing Your Portfolio • Determine the skills necessary for the job you will be interviewing for. • Choose items that will document how you have used those skills for the employer. • Use a loose-leaf portfolio notebook. • Use plastic page covers to protect your materials and to make rearranging your portfolio easy. • Arrange your portfolio to show how your abilities relate to the employer's needs. • Label the different sections for ease of finding information in the portfolio.
What to Include • A copy of your résumé • An official copy of your transcript • A fact sheet, in list form, that displays your skills and what you like to do • A list of experiences that do not fit into your résumé • Certificates of awards and honors; special certifications for special training • A program from an event you planned or in which you participated as part of a class project or campus organization • A list of conferences and workshops you have attended and a description of each • Samples of your writing • Documentation of technical or computer skills • Letters of commendation or thanks • Letters of nomination to honors and academic organizations • Newspaper articles that address some achievement • Internship or co-op summary report
If you are seeking a teaching position you may want to add • Student teaching evaluation materials • Sample lesson plans • A videotape of your teaching • Sample syllabi • Pictures of bulletin boards you designed • Teaching tools you have created • Information about a field trip or other event you organized • Pictures of yourself working with students
Using Your Portfolio
You may want to mention in your résumé as well as in your cover letter that your portfolio is available upon request.
Always bring your portfolio to interviews. When the employer begins to ask questions about your résumé, you can use your portfolio to support your responses.
For example, the employer might say, "I see that you have worked at your school newspaper. What were your favorite writing assignments?" You might reply, "My favorite assignments included this health article (show article in portfolio) that required a lot of research and this creative writing piece (show article) that I wrote for a special edition."
Never leave your original materials with an employer. Offer to let the employer make copies before you leave or offer to send copies of the materials as a follow-up to the interview.
You need to continue to update and add information to your portfolio. Every day (or at least once a week), make notes in an achievement diary about projects or ideas you have worked on since the last diary entry. Save copies of materials you have written as well as notes about decisions you have made that had positive results. Include anything that you think might help you in a future job search.