• A collection of documents or works demonstrating your capabilities to others.
• It is a marketing tool you can use to set yourself apart from other candidates.
• It serves as an evaluation tool for identifying candidates who are prepared and can show a long term interest in the field.

• To provide physical proof that you have the skills and experiences to do an effective job.
• A portfolio can illustrate your points during the interview.
• Employers are concerned about competencies and outcomes, a good portfolio can help distinguish a highly effective candidate.

• Consider the position and what requirements, skills are important. What does the interviewer want or need to know?
• Critically select your samples. Choose what best highlights or demonstrates your professional competencies.
• Practice how you will convey the portfolio's contents and the best order. Use captions or labels to identify and explain the significance of an item.
• Keep it current. Review your activities each semester, and continually upgrade to the materials with the highest level of achievements.
• Check (and re-check) your portfolio for accuracy and neatness. An error free portfolio shows competence and professionalism.
• Ask your academic advisor or a Career Counselor to critique your portfolio for content and presentation.

• The least amount possible, but still allowing you to demonstrate your abilities.
• Focus on tailoring your portfolio to the requirements of the position.

• While most items will be in writing, non-written items such as a video, photographs, or items on a CD can also be included.

All Students

• Table of Contents, tabbed for easy reference.
• Application documents: resume, transcripts, list of references, and reference letters.
• Performance assessment materials: internship or student teaching evaluations; former employers' evaluations.
• Letters of nomination (for honors, academic organizations, and awards) and certificates representing academic awards/honors.
• Letters of commendation or thank you notes from advisors, professors, and employers.
• Certificates for special training or professional development workshops.
• Test results (e.g., GRE, Praxis, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT).
• Professional certificates or licenses (e.g., professional teaching certificate).
• Significant projects showing skills that are applicable to the job for which you are interviewing (e.g., research, creative projects, writing samples, presentations, technical drawings, etc.).
• Evidence of written and oral communication skills (e.g., class papers, newsletters, articles, brochures, flyers, poems, outline of presentations).

Education Majors

• Philosophy of Education statement.
• Unsolicited letters from students, parents, fellow teachers, and administrators.
• Planning Strategies: unit plans; monthly, weekly, and daily lesson plans; cooperative learning strategies.
• Publications: learning activity packet, sample letters or newsletters to parents, letters to students, creative handouts, teaching tools, or educational resources.
• Photographs of: bulletin boards; learning centers; children involved in classroom activities; special school activities or events that you coordinated or planned (e.g., field trips); you working with students.

• We suggest using a three-ring binder with plastic sleeves and pockets to protect important materials.
• Arrange items by the most relevant information first.
• Organize your materials into sections, with similar materials grouped together in one section (e.g., application documents in one section, photographs in another section, written materials in a third section) with index tabs for ease of use.