Portfolio

A portfolio contains evidence of the accomplishments of a student or professional practitioner. Portfolios are especially valuable during a job interview because they offer evidence of the job candidate's proficiency in the practice. The evidence contained in a portfolio consists of samples of the person's work that reveal his or her knowledge, work ethic, skill, and creative talent.

Students who are studying public relations need to carefully develop a portfolio. Thus, they might write for their campus newspaper or get stories aired on the campus radio or television stations. Students should include in their portfolios all of the materials they produce as class projects; such projects can help demonstrate the skills they are honing to become an intern or entry-level employee. They are therefore wise to carefully participate in class projects and extracurricular activities with the intent of producing work that can augment their portfolios. They might write stories for the newsletter of their Public Relations Student Society of America chapter. They might create its Web site or otherwise contribute in some meaningful and identifiable way to that site. They might plan and help execute a fundraiser event. Or they can submit their work for various contests. PRSSA chapters often set aside days when students can meet with professionals to discuss materials that should be in portfolios or are in them already. Professionals can [Page 629]offer advice on how to augment the portfolio with materials they find most useful when they make hiring and promotion decisions.

Much like students, professionals should develop and carefully groom a portfolio. In contrast to a student's portfolio, a professional's portfolio contains some of the more important samples of that person's work. It can, for instance, include samples that earned awards. Organizations such as the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators hold annual contests in which a wide array of public relations campaign strategies and tools are judged.

Internships are a vital part of a student's academic and professional preparation. They not only help the student learn the ropes of the profession by seeing what professionals do, but they also offer the student many opportunities to produce work that can be added to her or his portfolio. Any student who takes an internship is wise to negotiate the opportunities to do work that could be added to the portfolio.

A good portfolio fleshes out the student's or practitioner's professional life story. It tells what the person can do and demonstrates the skills the person possesses. At a crucial point in a career, it can mean the difference between getting a job or merely being a candidate.