Introductory slides from a workshop I held for Rowan students. Audio of the talk is available at: http://njgeo.org/presentations/portfolio-workshop/

1. Portfolio workshop

2. So, What’s Next?

3. So, what’s Next?
• Your diploma alone itself is not enough.
• Unemployment is high, meaning you will
be competing for entry level jobs against
with those with job experience.
• Employers want to know that you are
worth their investment.
• How do you get the interview, and then the
job?

4. Feedback from Professionals
• “If you white out the names, all the
resumes end up looking the same.”
• “I need someone that doesn’t need their
hand held the entire time.”
• “We assume recent college grads are
going to need training anyway.”
• “I need someone with experience.”

5. Where do you stand?
• Have you had an internship recently?
• Have you worked on a project that could
benefit the public?
• Have you attended professional
organizations or other meetings?
• Can you speak for 5 uninterrupted minutes
about your professional passion?

6. What is a portfolio?

7. What is a portfolio?
• A portfolio is your method of proving what
you claim on your resume.
• Shows competency in your specific set of
practical or technical skills.
• Proof of your presentation skills.
• Proof of your writing skills.
• Displays your growth as a professional.

8. What is a portfolio?
• Include materials from your courses here
at Rowan.
• You may need to write up your experience
to include in the portfolio.
• Keep a digital copy as a PDF.
• Develop a web page for yourself.
• Keep it up to date, even after you get the
job.

9. Bringing it together.

10. Bringing it together.
• Consider including major assignments,
final presentations, reports and maps.
• Have at least one strong writing sample.
• Include a narrative statement to go with
each item in your portfolio.
• Include the uncommon; volunteer work,
unpaid or pet projects, etc.

11. Bringing it together.
• Get organized.
• Triage. No one is going to look at all of
your material.
• Keep the hard copy tidy and neat.
• Have a digital copy for distribution and
keep your originals safe.

12. Bringing it together.
• Get your materials into PDF form.
– Acrobat.com, PDF Toolkit, Ghostscript, …
• Video can be posted to YouTube, Vimeo.
• Audio can be posted on SoundCloud.
• Need to share those files? DropBox.
• Plenty of free tools for developing an
online portfolio; just invest the time.

13. Your Presence.

14. Your online presence.

15. Your online presence.
• Is your portfolio the first thing employers
are going to find when searching your
name?
• Keep your social media accounts in order.
Have you changed your privacy settings?
• Use social networking for professionals.
– LinkedIn, About.me, and others.

16. Networking.

17. Networking.
• Attend professional organization meetings.
• Education doesn’t stop here: professional
development.
• Opportunities to learn and to network.
• You cannot afford to be unknown.

18. Networking.
• Find meetings relevant to your field.
• Bring your portfolio and resume.
• Introduce yourself and don’t sit with people
you know.
• Offer to show your resume, but don’t force
it upon people or walk around with it in
hand.

19. you are part of the
package.

20. You are part of the package.
• Dress appropriately.
• Be on time. Arrive early and wait.
• Now is not the time to assert your
individuality.
• Ask a friend to hold a practice interview.
• Have materials in hard copy and digital.
• Remember, employers are looking at you
as an investment. Invest in yourself.

21. For More Info
• These slides and links to other resources
will be available on my web page:
http://njgeo.org/portfolio-workshop/