Show, Don't Just Tell: Building Your Career Portfolio

When you hear the word “portfolio”, you probably think about a thin (or thick) black leather folder, crammed with business documents. If you’re like me, that picture would also include a harried-looking professional, with tie askew, clutching said folder under his arm.

It is actually a collection of a professional’s work and accomplishments in either a physical or digital format; a way to document his or her professional journey and demonstrate their skills and abilities. (https://www.thebalancecareers.com/)

We find this is used a lot in fields where audio or visual impact is important, such as graphic design, architecture, photography, web design, broadcast media, and performing arts. It can and does support the resume in applying for jobs in these fields.

The interesting thing is that this “portfolio principle” can be used in applying for any job.

I’ll tell you what I mean.

In your CV or resume, there is a portion called achievements or accomplishments. They are the results of your activities on the job that made a positive impact on the business.

These are the makings of your professional portfolio.

They are your opportunity not just to tell but show your prospective employer not only why you are a great candidate, but also that you are a talented and results-focused one.

Now, a lot of candidates visualize achievements as earth-shattering events that might involve saving the business from the brink of disaster, bringing in monumental sums of money, or creating something avant-garde that revolutionized their industry…and yes, I’m being slightly dramatic!

While it may certainly involve those things sometimes, one, we are not all going to do that, and two, not all businesses need that all the time.

Your achievements, things that you created, built, designed, sold, or initiated, just need to make a positive, impact on your company or client. It's even better when the impact is profitable.

The challenge most people have is that they are uncertain about how to express their achievements as opposed to their responsibilities.

So, how do you structure your achievements?

An achievement consists of three components:

• Using a particular skill.
• Carrying out a particular activity.
• Getting a measurable / quantifiable result / benefit.

?A simple way of doing this is to use a “What? So what?” formula. It is a 2-step process that asks:

What? What did I do?

So what? What was the quantifiable result? (https://ecs.ihu.edu.gr/)

For example, rather than state that you ‘organized and filed documents’, you could, instead, say that you ‘created a filing system that allowed easy access to archived data that supported the knowledge management goals of the organization’.

What did I do? ?Created a filing system.

So what? It…?????

1.??????Allowed easy access to archived data

2.??????Supported the knowledge management goals of the organization.

See the difference?

Other examples of achievement statements:

• Developed a new employee orientation program that 100% of the company locations adopted.
• Responded to over 85 customer calls daily and solved 90% of their concerns.
• Served customers in a positive way, receiving two customer service awards in the past year.

Achievements do not have to be complicated. They simply have to meet a business need or solve a business problem. So, you could:

1. Re-organize something to make it work better
2. Come up with a new idea that improved things
3. Work on special projects.
4. Have received commendations from your supervisor or customer.
5. Increase revenue or save money for the company.
6. Contribute to good customer service.

These are things the individuals involved could be willing to endorse you for on your LinkedIn profile.

Begin to build your own portfolio today by…

• Identifying opportunities to solve a problem or meet a need in your workplace or environment.
• Recording your achievements: using a journal, keeping a physical folder, using LinkedIn, trying an app. (WorkSmart, for example), tweeting, Facebooking, and blogging or starting an online portfolio. Services like flavors.me and about.me let you easily create a digital scrapbook of your accomplishments that can be endlessly updated and shared. (https://www.idealist.org/

They will enrich your CV and give you material to ace your interview!

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Check out my blog, https://toyintalkstalent.wordpress.com/ for more career tips and lessons.

Connect with me on Instagram @toyintalkstalent, Twitter @toyintalktalent, and Facebook @Oluwatoyin Puddicombe