Standing Out – Post 6
This is the sixth in a series of posts from the current draft of a book I’m working on, Standing Out: A Short Guide for Proving Your Value to Employers.
For an extensive explanation of this post’s content, check out the first in this series of posts. I suggest you read that before diving into this post, but my hope is that each post will also stand alone on its own and can be read out of order too.
Consider everything in these posts copyrighted by me: Copyright © 2024 Race Bannon. Also, like much nonfiction content, this is entirely my perspective. Other professionals might have different perspective, and I suggest you listen to them all. No one person has all the right answers, including me. What this book contains is my opinion about how to stand out among potential and current employers. If you agree or disagree with what you read, I hope it will prompt deeper thinking about the topic. I will never position myself as the ultimate expert on anything, including this topic.
Related posts:
Standing Out – Post 1
Standing Out – Post 2
Standing Out – Post 3
Standing Out – Post 4
Standing Out – Post 5
The employment portfolio
In a previous book I wrote about self-education, I discussed creating an “education portfolio.” I’m reframing it for the purposes of this book as an “employment portfolio.” Conceptually they’re similar.
The education portfolio I’m suggesting you create is documentation presented in a concise and easy-to-view form of your job and life experience, learning, skills, competencies, accomplishments, and any other content that when taken together comprise your unique set of knowledge and experience to illustrate your readiness for a certain job or career path.
My stance is that even if you have a college degree, certifications, and a well-crafted resume, a robust employment portfolio will give you added credibility when interviewing for a job. With the ever-increasing desire of employers to see proof of a candidate's abilities, employment portfolios of some form may eventually become the norm rather than the exception.
While previously I’d refer to this as an education portfolio, my thinking about this has changed somewhat. Now, I prefer the name employment portfolio since the usual main purpose of such a portfolio is to prove one’s value to a prospective employer. It will continue to contain elements that prove your education, but it will also contain other elements the serve to demonstrate your suitability for a job and help you stand out.
Also, consider my use of the word employment in the broadest sense of the world. Perhaps you want to volunteer for a nonprofit organization. Or maybe you want to prove to a potential business investor that you know what you know and can do what you claim you can do? I’m considering all of that employment in the broadest sense of the term.
What goes into an employment portfolio? That can vary by individual and job target. Much of the remainder of this book will dive deeper into the details of what that portfolio might contain. I’ll try to address these portfolio elements in what I consider a priority order, but the truth is that it’s going to vary a lot based on your needs.