Portfolio Thinking

My initial knowledge of portfolios was as the traditional, physical, collection of the work of a visual artist. These might be used to help a photographer get a job at a magazine or to help an actor get his or her next role. I never considered that portfolios might of us to someone in a more “traditional” work setting like an office environment.

My time at UC Blue Ash in the AIS program with it’s emphasis on building and maintaining an electronic portfolio (eportfolio) has shown me that portfolios can be used by everyone to market their skills and abilities. Maintaining an eportfolio is essentially like having a living resume but instead of a shingle sheet of bullet points that list prior accomplishments you have a shareable journal that documents your process through completing your projects. This shows future employers and collaborators how your mind works as well as what you can accomplish.

My thoughts on portfolios were expanded even further after I read the article Portfolio Thinking by Patricia McLagan. In the article the author discusses how portfolios can be used by employees to document their work which can then be used by management as part of the employees performance evaluation. I really like this idea because I think it offers a better way to document and appraise work performance. Has it stands now most performance evaluation methods require the employee or their manager to reflect at certain periods in time, usually yearly. In this reflection the person filling out the appraisal must try to remember what work took place and how the person being appraised performed. With a portfolio to aid the appraiser, they would have a scrapbook of the work that took place and the thought process that the employee used to accomplish that work. This would an invaluable tool that could help to streamline the performance evaluation process.

McLagan, P. A. (2000, February). Portfolio Thinking. Training & Development, 54(2)