The Personal Portfolio

1. D R A F T The Personal Portfolio

2. To reflect on your experiences • To identify the skills you possess • To identify the qualities you possess • To draw attention to you so that the potential employer remembers you • Reflecting on your experiences allows you to identify your skills, qualities & interests so that you can use them to seek employment • You must be able to put them in writing (Letter of Application, Resume, Portfolio) & talk about them (Interview) D R A F T Why?

3. Business Representatives want students who have: Academic skills (written, verbal, math, problem-solving, etc.) Soft skills (function in a group, be a leader & follower, listen to other’s views, etc. Personal skills (punctuality, meet time lines, have career goals, etc.) Portfolios document skills acquired! f D R A F T Student’s Employability Skills

4. A collection of student-selected documentation of in-school & out-of-school accomplishments; shows the student’s employability skills • A visual resume of the important things • Themes, pictures, drawings, transcripts, technology-related pregrams/documents, etc. • A motivational tool – if you don’t have entries, join a club, get involved, volunteer, etc. • Students develop & manage the portfolio • Start with a career plan D R A F T What is a PortfoliO?

5. Organize based on: Employability skills (academic, soft & personal) – see slide 4 Career choice requirements College/university requirements High school IGP (Individual Graduation Plan) Core curriculum Scholarship requirements D R A F T Organization

6. Cover • Generates the first impression • Name of student • Picture of the student • Resume – the portfolio will support skills listed on the resume • Documentation – evidence of achievements in each skills area (academic, soft, personal) • Use a divider page for each skills area D R A F T What You Will include

7. D R A F T Academic SKills • Transcript • Report card • Photos • List of computer software used & examples of application • Test scores (ACT, SAT, other) • Checkbook reconciliation • Academic certificates, medals, ribbons • Awards ceremony programs • Acceptance letters from colleges/universities • Newspaper clippings • Articles written for school newspaper • Drawings & artwork • Projects • Etc. • Summaries – describe each entry; only a few sentences; box them in, add color, change the font, etc. to make them stand out • Pictures of awards, etc. • Certificates - evidence of membership, awards, recognitions • The portfolio represents the skills you have • How is your spelling? • What about your grammar? • Continuously update your portfolio

8. D R A F T Soft/TRansferrable skills • Sports • Newspaper articles • Programs from sporting events • Certificates • Team or individual pictures • Ribbons, medals (color copies) or picture of varsity jacket • Written performance evaluation from the coach • Band • Choir • Student council • Team class projects • Group activities (example: homecoming) • Clubs • Yearbook • Scouts • Debate team • Participation in political campaigns • Student leadership organizations (FBLA, DECA, HOSA, etc.) • Provide BRIEF summaries of entries

9. D R A F T Personal skills • Entries that show that you are reliable, self-disciplined, dependable, flexible, organized & have a career plan • Transcript with absences/tardies noted • Chart of chores performed at home • Timeline developed for completing a project including pictures of various stages of progress • Letters from coaches indicating the student agreed to play sports & be drug, alcohol & cigarette free and fulfilled that pledge • Spreadsheet showing how a personal budget was created & implemented • Ledger showing payments made toward a debt (senior trip, cheerleading uniform, etc.) • Pages from a personal calendar with practice times documented to show organizational skills • Copy of Individual Graduation Plan (IGP), Career Plan, etc.

10. Demonstrates work readiness skills Paid & unpaid work experience Activities such as ushering at church, volunteering at the library, child care, lawn work cleaning a park or sports field, housework tutoring, gardening or farm work, splitting wood, pet or livestock care, etc. Summaries: list job duties & skills gained from the experience Collage of business cards of places worked Pictures on the job Co-op or internship training agreement & evaluation forms Letters of experience from employers List of duties & skills gained List of references – people who can verify employment or volunteer work D R A F T Work Experience

11. Out-of-school activities Church functions Community fund raisers Volunteer activities Participation in political campaigns Travel Hobbies Collections (stamps, coins, sports cards, etc.) Anything that tells about you D R A F T Other interests

12. Special poems Letters of recommendation from teachers, counselors, pastors, etc. Pictures of helping at family functions D R A F T Miscellaneous

13. Cover • Dividers • Documentation with summaries • Of academic skills • Of soft skills • Of personal skills • Of other information D R A F T Grading

14. Job interviews • Serves a tool for communicating your abilities • Serves an an icebreaker for employers • 1/3 of resumes are inaccurate – information omitted or embellished • Allows the employer to see documentation of the skills listed on the resume • When asked a question, you can “show” evidence of skills • 1 in every 1,470 jobs gained from a resume; Stand out above the others • Colleges & scholarships often request portfolios • Membership into organizations • Applying for apprenticeship programs D R A F T How portfolios are used

15. Artists have portfolios of their art work • Why not SHOW what you are capable of • Definition: • Digital or Web-based document that allows you to gather & organize your experiences & accomplishments, reflect on these experiences, & market yourself to colleges & employers in a multimedia format (Orndorff, p. 162) • Displays your skills, qualities & interests D R A F T E-Portfolios

16. Research projects • Reflection papers on jobs & activities • Summarize • Your role • Your responsibilities • A profile of the company/organization • Outcomes & accomplishments • Reflect on: • the skills & qualities developed • What you like & did not like • Include a hyperlink to the company/organization’s Web page D R A F T Contents of E-Portfolios

17. Courses taken • Summarize: • What you learned • What you enjoyed & did not enjoy • Include: • Names of teachers & textbooks (for references) • Links to Web sites you like (football – football section) D R A F T Contents of E-Portfolios

18. Resume • Add links from the first page to second-level pages • Example: football – link to the school’s Web site football page that has your pictures on it • Provides information on the team you played for • Samples of work • Images, videos, etc. • Animoto, Glogster, Prezi& all programs used in this course D R A F T Contents of E-Portfolios

19. www.career.fsu.edu/portfolio • From the Home page, click on History • Click on Prototype of a Completed Career Portfolio • Click on each tab & links within the tabs to view a sample Career Portfolio • Click on PowerPoint under Career Portfolio Slideshow to view a presentation that tells about portfolios D R A F T Sample E-Portfolios

20. http://www.newtechhigh.org/ Click on Student Portfolios on the left View numerous portfolios D R A F T New Technology High SchoolNapa, California

21. School resources & Web space Blogs E-Portfolios are ongoing documents Continue to develop them beyond this course D R A F T Resources for E-Portfolios

22. Gather documents, etc. • Items placed on your portfolio MUST be of high quality • Formatted professionally • Correct spelling & grammar • Have others review items • Describe each item • Give each item a title • Categorize items D R A F T Step 1

23. www.blogger.com www.wordpress.com www.visualcv.com D R A F T Step 2

24. Orndorff, Bob. Becoming the Best Me. Indianapolis: JIST Works, 2009. Hodges, Ph.D., Diane. Portfolio A Self-Learning Guide. D R A F T SourceS