Developing a Professional Portfolio

What is it? A portfolio is a collection of your work, ideas and progress. It is also a valuable resource for you to use throughout your professional life. A portfolio tells the story of your professional achievements. A Professional Portfolio consists of a collection of artefacts such as documents, videos and other forms of multimedia related to your professional life and learning. These together with your reviews and reflections over time enable you to develop your professional identity and manage your career. It also allows you to refine the documentation and information you need when you prepare applications for employment throughout your working life. Although an employer does not normally view a portfolio, it is helpful when putting together material for a job application and interview. You will keep much of your portfolio private and only make accessible those artefacts or documents that an employer has asked for and which you have refined for them to view. What’s in it for me? A Professional Portfolio: 1. Provides a portable career management tool Regular review of your goals, strategies and achievements enables you to effectively plan and implement your next step at any stage of your career. 2. Builds your self-awareness and self-confidence as a professional Review and reflection on your learning and practical experiences enables you to objectively track the evidence of your growth and professional development. 3. Links your graduate attributes with your learning and work experiences You will use this understanding and evidence to promote your professional knowledge, skills and capabilities to employers. 4. Provides a central digital location All information and evidence relevant to your learning and professional development is stored in a central location, which is accessible at all times. Your professional portfolio will become a valuable archive of your experiences, achievements and reflections. How do I get started? Portfolios are sometimes in hard copy in files that are organised according to the content. Increasingly portfolios are developed in the electronic environment using tools such as Evernote, Wordpress, Powerpoint or an e-press blog. Choose a format that suits your digital capabilities so that it is easy for you to set up. Try to add to your documents and reflections on a regular basis, both to assist your learning and development and so that your portfolio will be up-to –date for occasions when you apply for employment or plan an application for promotion. Your portfolio is not limited to your achievements in UTS: Law subjects. You can include evidence and reflections on any subjects that you have studied. You should also include your achievements and reflections on extra-curricular or workplace achievements. What you include in your portfolio should create a representation of your unique self rather than a collection of evidence that follows a formula. To help individualise your portfolio, connect with your interests and strengths by regularly asking yourself the following questions: What have been my achievements? How do these relate to my future goals? What extracurricular activities (community or personal involvement) reflect my interests and skills? What else do I need to be doing to build a positive professional profile? Examples of evidence that you could include in your portfolio: A reading log showing the journals and other publications that you read on a regular basis. Case studies with reflections developed as part of your learning experiences. Description of and reflection on a supervision session with a research supervisor, and the impact on your continuing work. Examples of assessment tasks, with your reflection on the outcomes of those tasks and capabilities you have you have demonstrated. Examples of your work or research, with feedback attached. Notes and reflections on research seminars/workshops/courses you have attended. A list of activities/experiences and STAR outcomes (see below) that demonstrate your graduate attributes and professional skills as a lawyer. An up-to-date CV ready to be tailored to a role and workplace. Reflecting on your achievements One method that you may wish to adopt when reflecting on your achievements is the S.T.A.R method, which is used in behaviour-based interviews. Behaviour-based interview questions usually begin with a statement like: ‘think of a time when’ or ‘describe a situation where’. To be successful in interviews you will need to provide employers with specific evidence, rather than just claims, that you have the required skills. The framework for the S.T.A.R method is set out below: S Situation What was the context? When, where, who was involved? T Task What were you or your team required to achieve? A Action What did you do? Take the reader/interviewer through the process including reasons for actions. R Results What was the outcome of your actions? What is reflection? Reflection is a process of reviewing and thinking critically about our activities and the world around us. It goes beyond describing what we do to challenging our assumptions and justifying changes. It is part of the process of researching our own lawyering, and includes thinking about what lawyering means to us, what our intentions are for lawyering. An important part of critical reflection is asking ourselves ‘why’ questions about developing graduate attributes, considering possible reasons why, for example, we think a class or assignment went well, or didn’t, and considering alternatives for how and why we might do things differently. Thinking about why we do things, whether they have gone as intended, why we think they worked well or didn't and how we might do them differently next time. Recording these reflective thoughts can help us to crystallise our understanding of experiences, make connections between different aspects of our work and identify possible improvements. It can also keep us on track with our own personal and professional goals so that we prioritise well and give attention to what matters to us in relation to our goals. Recording personal reflections has the added benefit of documenting learning over time through recognising the changing nature of your reflections. Critical reflection involves reviewing our activities and constantly testing the assumptions and actions related to your learning and the development of your professional identity. Critical reflection involves stepping back from events, exploring alternative explanations and challenging assumptions.