4 Steps to Create Your Professional Portfolio
I used to work at a web development company. Graphic design is significant in the success of a site, and we used various graphic designers to fill that need. We were looking for someone new to mix things up a bit. One morning, a graphic designer showed up with a HUGE portfolio of what she had done over the years. Huge, as in 2 feet by 3 feet huge. She dragged it into the conference room, dropped it on the table and started flipping through larger-than-life pages of her work.
Each page had a story. She talked about all her pieces of work as if they were her children. She was proud of what she had done and loved talking about the success each piece had generated for that client. She then let us know that the empty pages in back were where she would love to highlight our work. She walked out that day with her next gig and a professional relationship that lasted for years.
She was a graphic artist whose portfolio told a story. I was a project manager who had nothing that told my story.
That was the day I started building my project management portfolio.
What do you suppose I did when I interviewed for my next position? I lugged in a huge, inch-and-a-half thick portfolio, dropped it on the desk of my potential new employer, and started flipping through the pages and telling stories. A few days later, I had my next gig–which lasted for years.
Below are four steps to put your Professional Portfolio together.
Step 1: Define What You Do
View yourself as a company. What are the services you offer and in what areas do you excel? Are you amazing at process improvement, communications, scheduling, design, sales, operations, risk management, etc.? Pick 5 -7 areas that you really shine in, bring value to, and enjoy doing.
Step 2: Find Work Samples for Each
Provide 3-5 examples of Deliverables you have created that support each area you wish to highlight. For example, you could include a Project Plan, Resource Plan, and Escalation plan for the Scheduling category. NOTE: Do not include anything proprietary or confidential to your company. If need be, create a generic example that still tells the story of what you have done.
Step 3: Create Your Stories
A simple model for telling the story is 1) stating the problem 2) offering the solution and 3) providing the results from each of the above Deliverables. Let’s say you implemented a time management solution for your company. You could include the following brief text on the Deliverable example:
The Problem – Employee and contractor productivity was unknown and it was unclear which services the company sold were the most profitable.
The Solution – Implemented a time tracking system and a new level of visibility into the Company’s activity emerged.
The Results – Tangible metrics were produced that allowed management to increase employee and contractor productivity by 39% in a six-month period.
Below is an example of how a Workflow and Approval Process could be mapped out using the problem/solution/results idea.
Step 4: Compile into a Portfolio
Use Avery's Ready Index tabs and label each section that is identified in Step 1. Print color versions of your Deliverables identified in Step 2. Use the best premium quality bond paper you can find. Then, get the nicest binding with a heavy-duty front and back and you are ready. Don’t skimp on the portfolio. Spend some time at your office supply store and get the best of everything.
Now, I ask myself if a book version is still necessary when it would be so easy to do an online version. I still say yes. I think an online version is an excellent complement, but in the next article you’ll see why it needs to be something to flip through.
Everyone’s professional portfolio will be different. Get creative on your Deliverables and how to showcase them. The next article will show you How to Use a Professional Portfolio During an Interview.
