Step 1: Preparing to look for work
What is it?
A career portfolio is a collection of information about you, which will help demonstrate your skills, abilities and experiences to prospective employers.
A career portfolio is a personal collection of materials that documents your:
- work history
- professional development
- achievements
- employability skills
- career plans
- job applications and related information.
Building a career portfolio involves reflection and analysis. Through the process of putting together a career portfolio you will develop a greater awareness of your life, learning and work competencies, and produce a product that communicates your achievements and capabilities to others.
Your career portfolio can support you in your transition through and beyond school to further learning and work. It will change as your life changes, so keep your portfolio current even when you are working.
What is in it?
The types of things that you can put in your portfolio include résumés, cover letters, certificates, reference letters and referee lists, educational achievement records, awards, previous applications,
personal and career plans, and job descriptions. More specific items can be added depending on your particular field of interest.
TIP
Anything you save and organise now will help you prepare for a future job search or career transition.
What are employers looking for?
In addition to qualifications and technical skills, employers are often interested in what they describe as ‘employability skills’ when deciding who to employ and who to promote within their organisations.Australian employers have identified eight groups of skills that they consider to be essential to successful workplace performance regardless of where you work or what work you do. These include:
- Communication that contributes to productive and harmonious relations with employees and customers
- Teamwork that contributes to productive working relationships and outcomes
- Problem solving that contributes to productive outcomes
- Initiative and enterprise that contribute to innovative outcomes
- Planning and organising that contribute to long and short-term strategic planning
- Self-management that contributes to employee satisfaction and growth
- Learning that contributes to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes
- Technology that contributes to the effective carrying out of tasks.
Through your portfolio you can demonstrate how you have developed and used these employability skills. Be mindful of them in your phone calls, cover letters, job applications and interviews.