Does Your Career Portfolio Match Your Shoes?

Now that fall semester and campus recruiting are in full swing, I thought we'd continue our conversation on career portfolios. OK, I was KIDDING with the title for this post. In our last post, we confirmed that we're NOT talking about fashion accessories! (just checking to see if you're paying attention)

A career portfolio is:

• a reflection of your professional self
• a record of your professional (or academic) development
• tangible evidence of your "on-the-job" (or "in-the-classroom") performance

With that said, what do you think you should include in your career portfolio? Many career portfolios include:

• Resume or CV
• Licenses or Certifications
• Letters of reference
• Transcripts or diplomas
• Professional affiliation documentation
• Work samples (e.g., reports, presentations, etc.) With samples, it is important that you eliminate information that could be considered confidential.

The exercise of creating your career portfolio can help you to critically examine your life experiences and accomplishments. If you are preparing for an interview (or a performance appraisal meeting with your manager), the process enables you to highlight specific accomplishments and identify valuable workplace skills.

As usual, tell me about your experiences and thoughts. Soon, we'll discuss tips for organizing your career portfolio.

Top 5 Skills Gained from Volunteer Work

In preparation for today's teleclass with the Downtown Women's Club on Volunteering & Leadership Development, we created an online survey to learn about your volunteer experiences. So, I thought I'd share some initial results from the survey.

Here are the TOP 5 Career Skills you have developed or acquired by getting involved in your community: {online drumroll, please}

1. Communication (72%)
2. Leadership (69%)
3. Teamwork (59%)
4. Fundraising (47%)
5. Problem solving AND Public Speaking (tie at 44%)

In today's session, we talked about how important it is to be clear about your goals for a volunteer experience -- whether they are purely charitable/philanthropic or include a professional component. Either perspective is OK; just be sure you (and the organization) are clear from the beginning about what you hope to achieve.

When both parties are on the same page, it can be a win-win experience for all. This became obvious to me as I read your comments on the recognition and support you've received from organizations for whom you volunteer, including:

• Introductions to executives/senior leaders
• References for work
• Invitations to networking and special events

All are important for taking your career to the next level. There's still time to tell us about your volunteer experiences. Take our brief survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=263272577354. I look forward to hearing from you!

InStep Consulting Founder to Teach BizAcademy for NYC Youth

Beginning Monday July 31, I'll be teaching BizAcademy to high school students from Opening Doors and Building Bridges Youth Development & After School Program. Sponsored by salesforce.com/foundation, BizAcademy offers offers students from underserved urban school districts an opportunity they might not otherwise receive – the chance to run their own business.

In this ten-day entrepreneurial workshop, high school students will gain hands-on experience while learning business basics. Teams will be responsible for managing all phases of their businesses including prototyping ideas, pitching to investors, manufacturing, marketing and selling office-related products. Participants will use salesforce.com’s on-demand CRM solution to track revenues and expenses and to manage contacts.

I'm excited to help these youth gain fundamental business skills and discover their competent advantageTM!

Stay tuned for more posts about their accomplishments -- including a “Sales Bazaar” at the West Side YMCA on Thursday, August 10th.

Meet Komal Gulzar -- Intern with InStep Consulting

As I mentioned in my last post, InStep Consulting has an intern from Brooklyn College. I asked Komal to share some initial thoughts on her internship experience. Read on ... I think we ALL can gain some career tips from Komal!

CE: Why did you decide to do an internship this summer?
KG: I wanted to explore a new field in business management and learn about what this industry has to offer me once I graduate with a bachelor’s degree. I had the opportunity to get insight into the accounting and finance fields last year. So, I chose Business Consulting this summer. I was curious about what role a consultant plays and how he/she helps businesses. So far, I have learned that a consultant helps the employer and the employees bond to improve communication and effectiveness on both sides.

CE: What do you hope to gain from your internship?
KG: In the end, it’s all about the experience. Experience helps us make better choices and decide which career to pick. Why would we choose one career and not the other? It all depends on the quality of experience we have.
In my opinion, there are two types of internship experiences: one where we just "kill time" to fulfill the program requirements. We play a passive role and just expect the internship to be a good experience.
The second type makes all the difference. This is when we really put a lot of effort into it. We’re curious and ask a lot of questions. We want to know every little detail about every thing at the host site. We not only ask how something is done, but also why not do it some other way. Even if we’re not really interested in this field, we take it as a challenge and try to meet our goals.

CE: What advice would you give your fellow JFEW interns? (Jewish Foundation for the Education of Women)
KG: In short, we should treat our internships as if they were our first jobs. We should clarify that what we do in an internship is not for the supervisor or somebody else, but for ourselves.
Yes, we do help the company in the process; but the goal is to learn. And, if we don’t put our hearts into it, we’re not helping anybody, but wasting everybody’s time. Think of it as if it were for your own business or company. Wear what you do.

CE: Tell us what YOU think!
KG: Your answers to these questions might be different – maybe you want to explore a new field or to discover something new about an industry you’re already interested in. Don't take my word for it; experience it for yourself and then share your thoughts with the rest of us. We would love to hear from you!

Looking Back on 2005

As you look back on 2005, how would you rate your professional accomplishments?

• What were the highlights? As strange as it may seem, it’s important to take note of things that you did well. Don’t be shy – write them down! Why? Because these descriptions can come in handy later (at your year-end performance review with your manager, or on your next interview with a recruiter). Besides if you don’t write it down, you’ll probably forget subtle details that could make your story that much more compelling.
• What were the low-lights? It’s just as important to keep track of the things that didn’t go quite as well as you would’ve hoped. Why? Having a clear sense of what areas you’d to like improve can help you focus and channel your energies. It also will help you identify the resources you’ll need to make the changes become a reality.

Based on your reflection, what professional goals will you set for 2006?

And, what resources and experiences will you seek to help you accomplish those goals? How about ...

• Classes or training
• Mentors
• New opportunities
• Professional associations
• Trusted advisors

On a personal note, I’d rate my 2005 professional accomplishments a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I was able to achieve some of the goals I set (e.g., developing the InStep Consulting website) and embark on new endeavors I hadn’t even considered, such as launching this blog!

In 2006, I plan to continue expanding the Competent Advantage TM program through the KIP Learning Center, and find new partners to bring more career development resources to this network.

I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas with you in 2006.

Until then, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!