Thursday, August 18, 2011

How to build your success portfolio


Need a quick ego boost? Want to impress interviewers? Creating a success portfolio will not only give you encouragement and motivation, but you will impress interviewers when you present them with a portfolio of your accomplishments at the time of the job interview.

Examples of what goes into the portfolio:

  • Positive feedback correspondence
  • Certificates and degrees
  • Resume and references
  • Past performance reviews
  • Personal mission statement

Your portfolio should be organized. Use a 2" binder (to start) and create tabs for each section. Here are some suggestions for possible sections:

  • Education

    Certificates and degrees are stored in this section.

  • Kudos

    Positive feedback from clients, customers, and co-workers are stored here. Any other honorable mentions are placed in the 'kudos' section.

  • Work/Career

    Performance reviews, your updated resume, and references are stored in this section.

The first page of the portfolio is your personal mission statement. Do you have one? A personal mission statement depicts who you are and where you are going on the journey of life. Stephen Covey says, "If you don't set your goals based upon your Mission Statement, you may be climbing the ladder of success only to realize, when you get to the top, you're on the WRONG BUILDING." If you don't want to end up on the wrong building, define your mission. Here is a great tutorial on how to identify your purpose.

Uses for the portfolio:

  • Job interview

    Of course, if you are going to use the portfolio during an interview, it should be condensed. You may want to purchase a smaller, professional report portfolio and include your resume, references, and any samples of work you have done that relate to the job in question.

  • Performance Reviews or Promotions

    The portfolio serves as a gentle reminder to your boss of what you have accomplished in the past year. Use it to your advantage, there could be a promotion on the horizon.

  • Motivational Tool

    Do you ever feel inadequate or as if you are not the right person for the job? Your portfolio will help you get your mind back in the game and encourage you to keep pressing on because of previous accomplishments.

So whether you need motivation or want to impress a potential supervisor, creating a success portfolio will benefit you in more ways than one. You are the product of your own success.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Impressive stuff!
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Kathy Riley said...

What an awesome idea. It had never occurred to me to put all of this material in a binder. I do however keep a copy of everything in a file folder. I am going to put this together and will use it for my 2011 Evaluation. I think I will be surprised as to my accomplishments when I see them in this format. Thanks for the great article.

Kathy Riley, CAP

Dewoun Hayes said...

Thanks! You are on the road to success!

nanturtle said...

Thank you for these tips! I will use this for my contract services job 2011 evaluation and review for a raise. Very helpful!!