Beyond resumes

Portfolios have been increasing in popularity as a way to provide an organized picture of your skills and experience. The portfolio itself doesn't have to be fancy - a three-ring binder will do fine. It should contain samples and evidence of your work along with a record of career progress. Some suggestions:

· Letters of commendation and recommendation

· Copies of performance reviews

· Excerpts from technical and system proposals

· Sample system and network design documents

· Program listings

· Evidence of awards, bonuses, stock options

· Academic transcripts

· Your list of references

· A current resume

After initially designing and organizing your portfolio, ongoing maintenance will be easy. You will find that periodically adding new material and reviewing its contents helps keep a career perspective in mind. Maintaining an up to date generic resume and custom tailoring your resume for a specific position will be much easier.

Some people take their portfolio with them when they interview. The simple fact that they have taken the initiative to prepare it is a clear selling point and having a well-done portfolio will make the hiring process more efficient. A good analogy is the research you do when making a major purchase -- if the product specs and information are clear and readily available, you naturally feel better about the purchase.

Tom Whitley and the staff of Management Recruiters of Kannapolis, specialize in recruiting information systems, telecommunications, and networking professionals at both the technical and managerial levels. If you are interested in discussing career opportunities, if you need assistance with your recruiting efforts, or if you have comments about the Career Advisor contact Tom at tomwhitley@ctc.net.

Write a resume, not a job description
Network World, 7/20/98

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