Career Portfolios Building Your Own Personal Career Portfolio 3\1\98 Career Portfolios Building Your Own Personal Career Portfolio Today I would like to talk with you about career portfolios. It is my goal to not only introduce the idea of career portfolios to you, but to encourage you to build your own personalized career portfolio. Gayla Stanaland

What Is a Career Portfolio? Career Portfolios 3\1\98 What Is a Career Portfolio? Shows your employability skills Shows your talents Shows your personality What is a career portfolio? A portfolio is simply a way to organize a group of documents and keep them in one designated area. A career portfolio focuses on your employability skills, talents and personality characteristics. First ask yourself what skills do I possess that an employer would find desirable in an employee? Then answer the question, how do I show a potential employer in “black and white” that I possess these skills? Ask yourself what talents you have that would help you on the job or in a career? Again answer the question, how do prove that I have these talents? What personality characteristics do I have that would be beneficial on the job? As you find the answers to these questions, decide what documentation you can provide to prove yourself. The presentation of these documents will create a personal career portfolio. Gayla Stanaland

What Employers Want Employability Skills People and Teamwork Skills Career Portfolios 3\1\98 What Employers Want Employability Skills People and Teamwork Skills Employability skills include computer skills, math and reasoning skills, different machine skills, cash counting skills, etc. People and teamwork skills, can you get along with others (this comes from references). You can work with a team and be a leader or a follower. Gayla Stanaland

Employability Skills Academic Skills People and Teamwork Skills Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Employability Skills Academic Skills People and Teamwork Skills Personal Management Skills What exactly are employability skills? They are basic skills needed to get and keep a job. Your ability to get along with and work alongside people, as well as your knowledge of the specific job. Academic skills are those which provide the abilities necessary for a person to get, keep and progress on a job and provide a basic educational foundation such as communications, comprehension, critical thinking, quantitative, and technology skills. Examples of academic skills include being able to read and understand written materials, charts and graphs, basic math, the ability to solve problems, use research and library skills, specialized knowledge to get a job done, use tools and equipment, speak in the “business language” and write in the “business language.” Teamwork skills are those needed to work with others on a job and contribute to a group or organization’s growth and development. Examples of teamwork skills include participation in a group, knowing abiding by the group’s rules and values, listening to other group members, sensitivity to group member’s ideas and views, willingness to compromise to accomplish a goal, being a leader or follower depending on the situation and working in changing settings with people of different backgrounds. Personal management skills are those attitudes, behaviors and decision making processes related to responsibility and dependability, including setting goals and working to achieve them, developing and demonstrating values and ethics to work, exercising self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. Personal management skills include attending work daily and on time, meeting work deadlines, development of career plans, knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses, demonstration of self-control and self-discipline, paying attention to details, following written instructions and directions, working without supervision, learning new skills and the ability to identify problems and suggest new ways to get the job done. Gayla Stanaland

People and Teamwork Skills Career Portfolios 3\1\98 People and Teamwork Skills Participation in competitions Membership in clubs Volunteer work Completion of a group project Think of all competitions that you have been involved in. If you will compete and work hard to place in a competition, then you will compete and work hard to make a company successful. Membership in clubs show you have a desire to be a part of a team. It shows that you liked to be involved with outside activities that enhance and make you grow as a person. Clubs give you a common goal of a team. A good trait to have as an employee to help network for the company. Volunteer work. Shows you will spend your time helping others. You are not selfish with your time and look outside yourself to improve the quality of life for someone else. Completion of a group project. Show that you were involved in projects that involved others and how successful it was for your team. Gayla Stanaland

Showing Completion of a Group Project Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Showing Completion of a Group Project Yearbook Photography Newspaper Web site Above are some of the groups that you may have been involved with that required a team. Gayla Stanaland

Documentation for Participation In Competitions Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Documentation for Participation In Competitions Awards Programs Newspaper Articles Photographs Etc. How do you prove you have people and teamwork skills? Show documentation that you have participated in some sort of competition. An award, program where your name appears, newspaper article and/or picture, certificates and ribbons are just a few ways to provide documentation. Have you competed in sports at school, competed in student group organizations such as DECA, band, choir, FHA, FFA or any agricultural activities, competed with a class project such as a science fair, competed in any activity with any group within the community or church? Gayla Stanaland

Aptitudes & Abilities Aptitude Abilities Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Aptitudes & Abilities Aptitude Natural physical and mental talent for learning Abilities Physical and mental power to perform a task well learned through training and practice What are your talents? People possess two categories of talents; natural and learned. Natural talents are those you do not have to work hard at, yet you are good. An example of a natural talent would be the ability to draw or paint a picture well. Learned talents are those you have to work hard at to achieve. An example of a learned talent would be playing a sport such as baseball where you have to practice and work hard to be good. Gayla Stanaland

Why Organize a Career Portfolio? Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Why Organize a Career Portfolio? Shows your skills and abilities Shows you are organized and professional Tells who you are Tells what you want Tells where you are going It is important to organize a career portfolio because an employer wants to know what kind of an employee you will be before he/she hires you. With a career portfolio you can show a potential employer your skills and abilities. It shows you are organized and professional. If you have a portfolio and the next guy does not the employer will hire you because your career portfolio will show you are more organized and professional than your competition. They may be just as qualified as you, but you can prove it! A career portfolio tells who you are, what you want and where you are going. An employer wants a person with vision. If you can show the employer who you are, what you want and where you are going you have just opened the door to great communication. He/she will be very impressed. Gayla Stanaland

How To Organize A Portfolio Career Portfolios 3\1\98 How To Organize A Portfolio Set a career goal Communicate who you are Communicate what you can do Put yourself in the employer’s shoes ? How do you go about organizing a career portfolio? First you need to decide where you are going. Set a career goal. What do you want to do? What do you enjoy doing? What are you good at? Investigate the possibilities then reach for your dream. Decide how you want to present yourself. How do you want the potential employer to see you? Communicate who you are. Communicate what you can do and what you can be! Think about who you audience will be. The potential employers that’s who!!! Put yourself in the shoes of the employer. What qualities do you want in an employee? Who would you hire? Plan your portfolio to impress the employer. Your will be impressed with yourself too!! Gayla Stanaland

Career Portfolio Content Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Career Portfolio Content Resume Letter of Application Job Application Thank You Letter Letter of Resignation References What actual documents do you put in the career portfolio? Documents that show you have job search survival skills, people and teamwork skills, technical proficiency and literacy indicators, general employment efforts and hobbies and interests. Gayla Stanaland

Career Portfolio Content Specific documents Computer skills CPR card First aid card Safety test

Career Portfolio Content Performance Awards School Work

Career Portfolio Content Performance Evaluations School Work

Career Portfolio Content Technical samples Photos Yearbook Newspaper Computer displays Graphic/web design Projects

Career Portfolio Content Evidence of successful work experiences Employer Evaluations Letters of Reference Reports of hours and wages

Career Portfolios Tell me who you are! Career Portfolios 3\1\98 Use your career portfolio to tell who you are! Gayla Stanaland