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Week by week start to create your UNIQUE Personal Portfolio
Your Personal Portfolio will be created as a website and must include the following elements:
1. Personal Biography (300 words)
2. Professional CV. (600 words)
3. Creative CV. (500 words)
4. Linkedin and Social Media profiles.
5. Appropriate examples of work/experiences that you have completed that will enhance your portfolio
(maximum of six examples)
6. Supporting visual and auditory content, where appropriate.

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Week by week start to create your UNIQUE Visual Career Plan
Stage 1 – Reflective practice skills of education, skills, interests, and values.
Stage 2 – Identify core knowledge, talent, strengths, and skills.
Stage 3 - Compare results and findings to core industry requirements, key industry trends and themes
and different career and education options.
Stage 4 – Find “best-fit” (something you love and something you are good at).
Stage 5 – Create your UNIQUE Visual Career Plan strategy to turn your proposals into actions.
The Plan must be created in the form of a timeline covering following periods 0-6 months, 6 – 12
months, 12 – 18 months, 18 months – 2 year and finally year 3 to Year 5
The career plan must include a range of both Professional and Personal goals and objectives.
The plan should include supporting visual and auditory content, where appropriate

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Professional skills for Business (such as flexibility, adaptability, influence, and negotiation).
• Communication theories and practice.
• Social and communication style – using psychometric tool for practical analysis of skills and
style (such as MBTI and Social styles).
• Leadership and Management style and practice.
• Building collaborative relationships Teamwork and motivation theory.
• Continued Professional Development and professional membership in the changing face of
the working landscape.
• How to apply for graduate jobs and post graduate education.
• CVs, LinkedIn, Professional and Continued Development as well as Professional
Membership.
• Starting a small business and becoming self-employed.
• Project Management Strategy and tools.
• Business Policy and Strategy – analysis of business policy and strategy in relation to a
changing environment and the impact of these on leading and managing.

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Professional strategies are techniques for achieving
personal and professional goals.

The aim of the strategies are to improve your chances of
being either selected for a role and building a rewarding
career or successfully moving on to Post Graduate
education.

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Career industry talks and workshops
Industry knowledge, standards and experience.

Self-reflective practice skills
Core competencies, knowledge, skills and
behaviours.

Core learning resources
FRA and Falmouth Library and databases
FRA Careers Platform
Linkedin Learning
Independent Study topics
Current and future industry trends
Key industry reports
Research and self-directed study

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Professional goals
Professional goals are anything you hope to
achieve during your career, including skills,
milestones, career changes, salaries etc.

Personal goals
Personal goals can be short or longer-term goals
that can apply to your work, family life, wellbeing
or lifestyle. They're meant to motivate you to achieve what it
is that you want out of life.

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Organized

Communication

Critical thinking

Teamwork

Meeting deadlines

People Skills

Flexibilty

Neogiation

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Customer Care Advisor at Mint Velvet - August 2023-May 2024

Customer Service: Providing customers with excellent service remotely to have a seamless experience.

Managing Enquires: Fast paced work environment with a high volume of calls and emails from customers, delivery schedules and placing orders.

Stock Management: I have daily communication with our warehouse team who process orders and returns.

Teamwork: Working as part of a team and being constantly supportive.

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Customer Service Administrator at Health Hero- April 2022- August 2023

Customer Service: Fast paced work environment and having fast response times to patients.

Communication: Liaising with my team to book appointments, schedule check-ups and provide customers with medical documents.

Administration: Constantly being professional and strict to confidentiality, providing doctors with the correct details.

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Sales Advisor at H&M October 2021- April 2022

Stock Management: Processing deliveries within a time frame to replenish stock on the shop floor and assisting stock takes.

Sales: Analyzing stock to understand the best sellers and worst sellers for visual merchandising techniques.

Team Management: Training sessions on stock and customer service.

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Marketing Assistant at Skinny Dip – June 2022

Brand Expansion: Creating mock advertisements of online and offline marketing to present to the brand to adapt to the brand’s expanding.

Data Analyzing: Researching and closely analyzing the consumer base through databases to ensure that suitable advertisements are produced in a team environment.

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Meeting deadlines

Organized

Communication

Critical thinking

Teamwork

People Skills

Flexibilty

Neogiation

Solving problems

Adaptability

Managing conflict

Commerical awareness

Giving feedback

Networking

Observing

Using technology

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Reflection

Online Courses

Family

Walking

Social Media

Travel

Manifesting the future

Studying

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A picture of myself to be able to create my portfolio to be personal and display myself and what I like doing.

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Aesthetically pleasing and to show my love for travelling. This picture was captured in Amsterdam city!

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VOGUE!

Branded and aesthetically pleasing.

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Aesthetically pleasing and my love for sunset and views!

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A professional online profile or portfolio can help make a positive first impression with prospective employers and bring your career history and skills to life.

Many businesses and employers actively use social media platforms to develop professional relationships, grow business and recruit staff. LinkedIn is the main platform for professionals with millions of members worldwide. A LinkedIn profile enables you to add career examples and evidence, highlight key skills, share your employment history, connect with employers, and receive endorsements to enhance your career progression.

A professional portfolio is a collection of examples and evidence to showcase your experience, capability and potential for employment and professional development. Professions that might require you to present a portfolio at the recruitment stage include designers, product managers, developers, business analysts and journalists but it can help you stand out to employers in other sectors as well.

You can have a link to your profile or portfolio on your CV, include it in a job application or interview, or share it when making contacts.

To get started you need to sign up to LinkedIn and create your profile. Your profile acts like your digital CV and can be seen by a huge audience so it's worth spending some time working on it. Below are some points to consider.

Make your profile as complete as possible. LinkedIn has five levels of profile strength ranging from 'Beginner' to 'All Star'. The strength of your profile will increase as you add more content to it.

Use the profile level meter to improve the discoverability of your profile in search results and increase profile search appearances.

Adding a profile photo will improve your profile views and connection requests. See 10 tips for taking a professional profile photo.

If you're currently working, add your position on your profile. Members with current positions are discovered more in recruiter searches.

When your profile is complete, check your privacy settings and manage your public profile visibility.

For further help getting started with your profile see How Do I Create a Good LinkedIn Profile?

We don't get around to building our brand because we're busy, and because it can sometimes feel selfish or egotistical to invest time in marketing ourselves. However, when we neglect personal branding, we don't just sell ourselves short - we also miss a big opportunity, from a sales perspective.
Jane Deehan - Senior Content Marketing Manager at LinkedIn

As well as building your profile, if you want to achieve 'All-Star' status, you must have fifty or more connections. See our advice on Networking with LinkedIn to help you grow your network, plus LinkedIn has an online guide with a 5-minute video to help you find and add connections.

LinkedIn also offers a huge resource for job hunting and researching opportunities. See our advice on finding a job using LinkedIn.

Create an online portfolio

Your portfolio should contain written and visual overviews of projects and pieces of work that you've managed or been involved with. It should include an insight into skills you have, methods you've used, the impact of your work, along with any relevant outcomes and/or lessons you've learned. Identify relevant examples and evidence that best match the jobs or development opportunities you're seeking. Make sure it's easy for people to view your information, use plain English and check it for spelling and grammar.

What to include on your portfolio

Personal statement - this is an overview of your career journey, inspirations, background knowledge and career goals.

Reports, evaluations, research summaries or visual presentations (charts/tables etc.).

Published articles in which you're mentioned.

Photos of products you helped develop or artwork you've created for customers.

Photos of merchandise displays, if relevant.

Awards and certificates.

Appropriate professional licences.

Contact information for personal and professional references, or written endorsements from them.

Online portfolio tools, websites and templates

Careers and Employability Services do not endorse or support the sites listed but provide them as examples of online portfolio tools. Some websites will charge a subscription fee to create an online portfolio, whilst others may offer a free version.

An individual web page portfolio can be created with sites such as About me or for a multi-page portfolio, Portfolio Box which has a choice of templates for different sectors. You don't need extensive web skills, but you need to manage the website yourself and market and promote your portfolio. Blogs and templated sites such as WordPress provide a website building toolkit and allow you to have more control over your digital portfolio. Other tools for online portfolios include Weebly, Wix and Prezi.

The Prospects website has further advice on Putting together a creative portfolio.

How to make use of your profile or portfolio

You can promote your profile or portfolio on social networking sites including Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, and include it on your CV when making job applications. Many job sites allow you to upload your CV, which will be visible to employers, or you could send your CV to a prospective employer directly. Many sectors are continuously seeking the best candidates for employment opportunities but you may want to check whether an employer welcomes speculative applications or prefers not to receive CVs or portfolios unless a vacancy is advertised.

Many sectors, for example, psychology, have a professional body and website where practitioners can promote their service and provide any relevant specialist areas and contact details.

Remember your career is a work in progress so review and update your profile and/or portfolio at regular intervals with evidence of your continuous professional development (CPD).

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You can create a positive first impression with prospective employers through a profile or portfolio as it can help bring your career history to life. Here we explain how.

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One way to make an amazing first impression in today's tight job market is to create a career portfolio-also known as a work portfolio, professional portfolio, employment portfolio, or job portfolio. This underutilized tool can help you land a job by giving potential employers concrete proof of who you are, what you have accomplished, and what you could potentially bring to their company.

Much more detailed than a resume, a career portfolio is a collection of artifacts that showcase your education, abilities, and skills. During a job interview, a hardcopy of your career portfolio can provide a powerful visual impact and back up your skills and accomplishments with real-life examples. You can also use a career portfolio to demonstrate your achievements during a performance review or when you are seeking a raise or promotion.

To create an attention-grabbing career portfolio, make sure you include the following items.

1. Career summary

To help potential employers get a quick grasp of who you are as a professional, you need to include a career summary -a short description of what you do and what makes you special. This section should be one of the first things you list in your career portfolio.

An ideal career summary does the following:

Uses 5-7 sentences or bullet points

Includes numbers and percentages

Provides specific examples that prove your qualifications for the job

Convinces the reader to read more about the candidate

Here's an example of an effective career summary:
"Accomplished marketing director with a proven ability to create and drive strategies that further financial and overall company goals. Have overseen decisive initiatives that reduced advertising costs by $400,000 while driving a revenue increase of 37%. Industry authority in brand storytelling, content marketing, and customer engagement. Collaborative leader, able to construct and inspire winning management teams that consistently meet KPI goals. Hones skills and stays current with industry changes via continuing professional education (recently earned an MBA in marketing)."
2. Philosophy statement

A philosophy statement, sometimes called a mission statement, describes the things about your profession that matter most to you. By including this statement in your career portfolio, you give recruiters and potential employers insight into your value system and what motivates you.

When creating your philosophy statement, it helps to ask yourself the following questions:

"Why is my profession important?"

"What do I think about my industry?"

"How do I treat other professionals in my industry (and in general?)"

"Which of my skills help me thrive in my work?"

Your philosophy statement should contain three parts, although they don't necessarily need to be spread out into three separate paragraphs:

An introduction-This is where you tell readers about your core beliefs and why you do what you do.

A body-This section goes into greater detail about your values or answers one of the questions listed earlier.

A conclusion-This is where you summarize your values and what you wrote in the body.

For example:
"I trained to be a nutritionist because I enjoy helping others. In fact, the best (and most important) part of my job is when a client's health improves as he or she starts to make healthier food choices. With the number of illnesses caused by poor nutrition on the rise, I'm grateful that I can make a difference in people's lives."
3. Short biography

A brief biography will let you showcase your personality to potential employers. This will help you make a human connection and be more memorable to potential employers.

As a bonus, the process of writing a biography (if you haven't already done so) will also prepare you to answer the infamous "tell us about yourself" question during interviews.

A good biography does these things:

Focuses on what's most important-For your biography to be effective, you need to know who your audience is and what you want your biography to do for you. For example, are you writing a bio to gain credibility, get a job, or attract new clients?

Uses the appropriate voice-Stick to the third-person (he/she/fullname did xxx) for your biography if you are using it as part of a job application process. Save first-person (I did xxx) bios for your personal website.

Uses elements of storytelling-Sharing how you have overcome obstacles will help grab the reader's attention and make him or her want to read more about you.

Includes humor-Making your audience laugh is a great way to get noticed. A good place to use an element of humor is at the end of your biography.

Is current-Don't leave out any recent positions or achievements.

Contains links to examples of your accomplishments-You can use multiple hyperlinks to individual samples of your work.

Showcases your contact information-Including your contact information at the end of your biography can encourage potential employers and others to connect with you. Be sure to include your email address, your personal website, and your social media profiles.

Choose a typeface that's easy to read.

Make sure the margins match.

Use consistent line spacing.

Highlight section headings.

Ensure there is sufficient white space.

Don't use photos or graphics.

Stick to one page.

Is unique-You don't want to use the same biography for every job application or post the same bio on multiple websites. Instead, you should tweak your biography for each new situation, making sure to highlight what each audience will value most.

Here's a good example of a short bio:

"I'm a cross between a computer geek, a teacher and an entrepreneur. (I've been all of them at one time or another.) After years of working in both the corporate and non-profit worlds, I found myself "down-sized" a few years ago. I launched a couple of home-based businesses including one where I went to small businesses and taught people about technology and how to create an online presence. My motto then was "Big Business Solutions for Small Business Budgets". Since then, I've self-published a book, dabbled in website design and marketed Virtual Tour photography."- Sherryl Perry

Note: The contact information and links to Sherryl's work are not in the bio itself but are included elsewhere on the page. If you don't yet have your own personal website to post your biography on, you can hire us to create one for you.

4. Resume

Project management

Critical thinking

Public speaking

Taking initiative

Leadership

Teamwork

Writing

It's important to include your resume here, even though you've already submitted your resume with your application.
Teamwork
Used interpersonal skills to collaborate with other writers to draft and produce Company X's weekly newsletter.
Taking initiative
Taught myself how to use several software programs, including Grammarly and Hemingway Editor, to make my writing more efficient.

Here are some tips to ensure your resume presents you in the best possible light:

You can find resume examples for a variety of professions, as well as smart tips on how to make your resume stand out, in this Ladders article.

5. Marketable skills and abilities
"I won awards for my sales numbers."

"I garnered the Salesperson of the Year award five years running for achieving a 65% average closing rate on new leads."
This is where you get to prove your unique value to potential employers by listing all the things you do well. To help you decide which items to include, you should review all of your skills and choose the things that you're most proud of and that best reflect your personal brand.

Some common marketable skills include:

Be sure to describe exactly how you use your skills:

6. Professional accomplishments

The professional accomplishments section is one of the most important parts of a career portfolio. This is where you prove your value as a potential employee.

When creating your list of accomplishments, separate them into categories and be sure to use lots of details. For example, don't just say

Instead, say

7. Samples of your work

The purpose of this section is to show potential employers the actual papers, reports, articles, brochures, studies, presentations, projects, and so on, that prove you're the best person for the job. When choosing which items to include, be sure to select samples that demonstrate a broad range of skills.

Only include significant awards.

Include the title of the award, its recognition level (if applicable), and the date you received it. For example, "Awarded the 2019 Content Marketing Award for Top Backlink Builder."

Use action-oriented verbs, like "garnered," "achieved," and "earned," when describing how you won your award/honor.

Explain the impact of your achievement.

Quantify your accomplishments. For example, you should emphasize that you were the only one chosen from hundreds of employees for an award.

Depending on what you do and what industry you're in, this section should contain links to lots of different writing samples, reports, or images. For example, if you're in sales, you could include graphs or charts showing your sales figures. If you're an educator, you could use copies of your lesson plans, class projects, and special assignments. Here's an example of a writer showcasing his articles in his online portfolio.

If you don't have much work experience yet, you can use what you've done for schools, clubs, or other organizations.

Make sure to include any feedback you received on your work samples. If you earned a high grade or garnered a promotion after a successful assignment, for example, you can include the review of your work in a short paragraph after the link to the item.

8. Awards and honors

Hiring managers know that past achievements usually predict an applicant's future performance. This is why it's so important to highlight your certificates of awards, scholarships, and other honors, in your career portfolio.

Here are some tips for how to list your accomplishments:

9. Transcripts, degrees, licenses, and certifications

Above all, employers want to see proof of your qualifications for the position. So, just like the Work Samples section of your career profile, this section should contain links to actual documents or photos of them-not just descriptions of these items.

10. Professional development activities

One goal of a career portfolio is to show potential employers that you're a lifelong learner and passionate about your career. A great way to do this is to include a list of professional associations you belong to, as well as any notable conferences, seminars, workshops, or other professional development activities you've attended or participated in.

11. Military records, awards, and badges

Your military honors demonstrate your high standards and commitment to excellence. Therefore, if you've served in the military, you should be sure to note any commendations, awards, badges, your honorable discharge, or other special recognitions in your career portfolio.

12. Volunteering/community service

Employers want well-rounded candidates. So, if you have participated in any volunteering, pro bono work, or community service activities, you need to describe them here-especially as they relate to your career.

13. References/testimonials

Include a list of three to five people who are willing to speak about your strengths, abilities, and experience. Be sure to include their job titles and contact information.

You can also share testimonials from clients, customers, professors, colleagues, or previous employers that highlight your best qualities and skills. This is also the place to showcase copies of positive employer evaluations or reviews.

Next steps

Once you have created a career portfolio, you need to customize it for each new job application and interview. Look for key skills and accomplishments each employer mentions in its job listing and adjust your portfolio to highlight these items.

It's also a good idea to update and improve your career portfolio at least once a year. Regularly reviewing your portfolio will enable you to add new information while it's still fresh in your mind and remove items that have become outdated. It's also a good way to monitor your progress and identify areas you need to work on.

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9pM_e2fMCc]

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If you don't have a personal website yet to host your portfolio, we can help you get started. Our ReputationGrower product builds your professional web presence with a personalized domain name (for example, firstnamelastname.com), optimized business and social profiles, and monitoring of your personal brand.

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13 things you need to include in your career portfolio - ReputationDefender

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One way to make an amazing first impression in today's tight job market is to create a career portfolio-also known as a work portfolio, professional portfolio, employment portfolio, or job portfolio. This underutilized tool can help you land a job by giving potential employers concrete proof of who you are, what you have accomplished, and [...]

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Your "About Me" page is an essential element of your online portfolio website, as it is often the first place that visitors, clients, and readers will go to learn more about you and your work. It's important to strike a balance between sharing personal and professional information, and to avoid coming across as unprofessional or boastful.

But writing about yourself can be challenging, and it can be difficult to distill your work and experience into a short and engaging summary. That's why we've put together a simple 7-step guide to help you create a standout "About Me" page that captures your unique voice and style.

Build your professional portfolio website in minutes. Start your free 14-day trial today, no credit card required. __

Jessica Lehrman 's portfolio

Lenka Selinger 's portfolio

David Uzochukwu 's portfolio

If you'd like your "About Me" page to include a CV, keep it short and simple. Your biography should be descriptive, but not too long. Add job headings, dates, and a quick description of your work and skills. Consider adding commissions or commercial work from recent clients or projects that highlight the skills and experience needed for a job you're coveting.

Sally Wanless' portfolio

But don't get carried away listing all of your accolades. You can leave behind high school photography awards. Recognition for work by a reputable organization, team, or person in the past is certainly noteworthy.

Thomas Dagg 's portfolio

Remember: you want to come across as professional and reliable, but you're also trying to stand out in a sea of many other professionals. Including these brief little details can make a world of a difference.

Caitlin Worthington 's portfolio

Also, balance between personal and professional needs to be maintained. However, having a more intimate picture of you working in your studio is not a problem as long as it is not a picture of you taken in a bar on a Saturday night.

Matt Jacques 's portfolio

Now, you're ready to craft your about me page for your portfolios. Of course, it may take a bit of time at first and several drafts, but you can tweak them along the way and as you have more experience to add.

How To Write a Bio: Summed Up

Do you feel more confident about the idea of writing a biography page now?

To sum it up, writing your about me page is all about striking a balance between personal and professional; conscience and detailed. You don't want to share every detail about your personal life on your about page-not relevant-but you also likely won't keep anyone's attention if you simply list out every job you've ever taken on-boring.

It may take some time and multiple drafts to get it right, but remember that you can always update and refine the page as you gain more experience!

Let's get writing, shall we?

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7 Steps for Writing Your Portfolio's Biography 'About Me' Page

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Our 7-step guide will help you craft a bio that captures your unique voice and style, and that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

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CHARLOTTE TILBURY. 2019. ‘Careers at Charlotte Tilbury | Charlotte Tilbury’. Charlottetilbury.com [online]. Available at: https://www.charlottetilbury.com/uk/jobs-at-charlotte-tilbury [accessed 12 Mar 2024].

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THE WHITE COMPANY. 2021. ‘The White Company’. Thewhitecompany.com [online]. Available at: https://careers.thewhitecompany.com/opportunities [accessed 12 Mar 2024].

YELLOWBRICK. 2023. ‘Beyond the Runway: Essential Skills for a Career in Fashion Marketing’. Yellowbrick [online]. Available at: https://www.yellowbrick.co/blog/fashion-business/fashion-marketing-skills [accessed 12 Mar 2024].