A Semester in Review: Portfolios

 

It would be strange now to bring a physical portfolio to an interview. I can imagine the heavy weight of the file, the case bought at the local Staples, and carefully put together with the body of one's work. It swing heavily in their briefcase slapping their thigh as they nervously make their way to the meeting. The weight has been lifted, and now we have endless back up copies of our painstaking work uploaded onto the computer. We have upgraded from a portfolio saved to a thumbdrive now available on a cloud that the user can access from pretty much any smart device. This makes it easier to organize our work to display our credentials. It also gives the user more control of the layout and various design aspects that would be limited otherwise. There are multiple platforms that offer either free services to portfolio templates or limited free trials to at least create one version. 

I have found in my academic career that many professors gravitate towards incorporating eportfolios into their curriculum. This creates a space for a student to evaluate the quality of their work over the course of the semester and reflect on how they have improved their knowledge base. This also prepares students for the workforce as a way to advertise their skill set. I think the repetition of reflection throughout the semester helps the younger students to get into the habit of reflection and to do the busy work that they might not want to do, but the majority of our lives are spent doing things we do not want to do. Yet, in the end we feel a sense of accomplishment at having overcome the obstacle of doing something that was undesirable. I think in this sense this is a most important way to prepare inexperienced young adults for their career. We might be passionate about whatever it is that we are studying, and we might feel totally dazzled by working in that particular industry, but sometimes it can still feel like work. The passion gets us there, but the struggle is not over yet. 

A portfolio can help to rekindle our passion for our jobs when we become jaded by our careers. It can gives a sense of accomplishment. It can help guide us to the next step in our journey. A portfolio is for going places and not for remaining stagnant in contentment.