How can you select impactful artifacts for your career development portfolio?

2 Select diverse and relevant artifacts

Artifacts are any pieces of work or evidence that demonstrate your skills, knowledge, or achievements. They can include resumes, cover letters, certificates, diplomas, transcripts, awards, testimonials, references, work samples, projects, presentations, publications, videos, podcasts, blogs, websites, portfolios, or anything else that showcases your work. You should select artifacts that are diverse and relevant to your purpose. Diverse means that they represent different aspects of your skills, such as technical, creative, interpersonal, or leadership skills. Relevant means that they match the requirements, expectations, or interests of your target audience or opportunity.

4 Organize your artifacts logically and visually

Once you have selected your artifacts, you need to organize them in a way that makes sense and appeals to your audience. You can use different methods to organize your artifacts, such as chronological, thematic, or skill-based. Chronological means that you arrange your artifacts in order of time, from the most recent to the oldest or vice versa. Thematic means that you group your artifacts by topics, such as education, work experience, or personal interests. Skill-based means that you categorize your artifacts by skills, such as communication, problem-solving, or teamwork. You should also use visual elements, such as headings, labels, colors, or icons, to make your portfolio easy to navigate and attractive.

5 Provide context and reflection for your artifacts

Your artifacts are not enough to tell your story and convey your value. You need to provide context and reflection for each artifact to explain what it is, why it is important, how it relates to your purpose, and what you learned from it. Context means that you provide basic information, such as the title, date, source, and role of the artifact. Reflection means that you describe the skills, knowledge, or achievements that the artifact demonstrates, the challenges or opportunities that it involved, and the feedback or results that it generated. You can use a simple format, such as STAR (situation, task, action, result), to structure your context and reflection.

6 Update and refine your portfolio regularly

Your portfolio is not a static document, but a dynamic and evolving tool for your career development. You should update and refine your portfolio regularly to keep it current, relevant, and effective. Updating means that you add new artifacts, remove outdated or irrelevant ones, and adjust your purpose or audience as needed. Refining means that you improve the quality, impact, organization, and presentation of your portfolio. You can use feedback, self-assessment, or peer review to identify areas for improvement and make changes accordingly.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?