When entering the rapidly evolving world of work, students need a greater and more diverse skill set than ever if they want to succeed. In a competitive field of applicants, a traditional resume might not be enough to impress an employer and stand out from the crowd. Instead, a career portfolio can be an effective way for students to showcase their skills and achievements in a way that catches the attention of employers. In this article, we’ll discuss how to encourage and support students to create a career portfolio they can use in their graduate job applications.
What is a career portfolio?
A career portfolio is distinct from a resume and can be used instead of one or in addition to one. It can provide extra evidence for employers to consider as part of a job application. The key difference between a career portfolio and a resume is that while a resume tells the reader about a candidate’s skills, experience, and achievements, a portfolio shows them. Career portfolios include examples of an applicant’s work to showcase their accomplishments relevant to the job.
A student career portfolio may look quite different from the portfolio of an experienced professional. While some students may have built up relevant work experience via internships, part-time jobs, or a previous career, the content of a student career portfolio is much more likely to focus on academic projects and achievements.
Students can create a physical portfolio of their work in a folder or binder. However, a more common and practical approach is to create an ePortfolio, with links to work examples or documents uploaded for prospective employers to review. This is a far more accessible and flexible approach since much of the recruitment process is now managed primarily online.
Why should your students create a career portfolio?
A career portfolio can be an effective way for a student to showcase their skills and academic success when they lack the necessary experience to create a strong resume. While resumes typically focus on work experience and achievements, career portfolios offer far more flexibility to showcase work students have completed while studying, which can contribute to their employability.
Evidence suggests it’s becoming more challenging for graduates to find suitable jobs. With growing numbers of graduates, the job market is becoming increasingly competitive, and one study found that less than half of all college graduates in the U.S. are confident about their employment prospects after graduating.
In this uncertain and challenging landscape, anything students can do to differentiate themselves from other candidates is a bonus. A career portfolio offers concrete examples of a student’s work so employers can see for themselves whether they have the right skills and qualities necessary for a given job.
What makes an effective career portfolio?
An effective career portfolio builds on a candidate’s resume by offering real evidence and examples of their work and the impact they’ve made in their career. For students, it can show how relevant a degree course has been to the job they’re applying for.
It’s essential to constantly review, amend, and update a career portfolio for maximum impact. The content and tone of the portfolio may differ significantly depending on the role the student is pursuing. As such, it’s important for students to consider the relevance of every item in their portfolio before they submit it in a job application.
What should you include in a student career portfolio?
As mentioned, the contents of a student career portfolio will vary considerably depending on the type of job the student is applying for. It will also differ according to whether the portfolio is sent in place of or in addition to a resume. Generally, these are the key sections to consider adding to a career portfolio:
- Contact details: Include first and last name, email address, phone number, and location.
- Personal summary or biography: Write a short summary or biography that gives the reader an impression of the candidate’s personal strengths and qualities, and an insight into their experience to date.
- Resume: It’s often useful to attach a resume to a career portfolio, especially if the candidate isn’t sending their resume as part of the application process. If they’re not attaching their resume, they may want to consider adding separate sections to their portfolio for work experience, education, and skills.
- Proof of qualifications and certifications: A portfolio offers the opportunity to add copies of certificates, licenses, and other professional certifications as evidence of eligibility and suitability for a role.
- Examples of work: This section traditionally includes examples of projects, campaigns, and other activities completed in work. However, for students, it’s valid to include examples of work from other places. University coursework; presentations or other projects; extracurricular activities such as volunteer work, personal projects, and hobbies; and internships, including Simternships®; are all valuable examples to include in this section.
- Awards or recognition: If the candidate has won any awards or received special recognition in their career or during their studies, it can be useful to include them here.
- References: While it’s not typically necessary to include references in a resume, if the candidate has them already prepared, they can add them to their career portfolio. These could include referees from previous employment, college professors, or supervisors. Provide the contact details of the referees or include specific testimonials and letters of recommendation in their entirety.
Teaching students how to build a career portfolio
If you want to encourage students to create their own career portfolio to help with their job search, take a look at these simple tips.
Emphasize the potential impact of a portfolio
When discussing students’ future careers and job search activities, it’s important to emphasize the impact a career portfolio can have on their chances of success. Outline the potential benefits of a career portfolio and promote it as a positive exercise that encourages students to think about the ways their college education has prepared them for the workplace.
Find a suitable portfolio platform
There are various online portfolio platforms to choose from, including website-building software and specific platforms designed to showcase certain types of work. These include Behance for designers and Clippings.me for writers. Students might also consider using LinkedIn to create a portfolio, along with its tools for building a comprehensive professional profile.
Gather appropriate work examples
Encourage students to think about their education and careers to date and create a list of their work and wider experiences that showcase valuable transferable skills or technical knowledge and abilities. Students can include their academic studies, previous work experience, and internships and training, such as Simternships. If they need more direction on what to include in their portfolio, Jobseeker’s internship resume example is a useful guide.
Tailor the portfolio to the application
Once students have gathered a body of work examples to add to their portfolio, it’s important that they select only the most suitable examples to match the jobs they’re applying for. The best approach to matching their career portfolio with the requirements of employers is to review job descriptions and identify the required skills and experience. From there, they can make sure the examples included in their portfolio match these experiences and showcase these skills.
For more career preparation and teaching tips, see the Stukent career prep blog posts.
