This post was updated on August 14, 2017.
When it comes to putting the spotlight on your administrative career, are you hiding in the corner or taking center stage?
If you want to be considered for a promotion, raise, or exciting company projects, then you can’t hide. To be successful, it’s imperative that your administrative skills, abilities, and accomplishments get noticed. This means you have to put the spotlight on your administrative career in a way that will get you noticed and have an impact on the people you need to reach.
One of the best ways to do that is by adopting a comprehensive professional portfolio strategy.
I talk a lot about the importance of having a professional portfolio — it’s an extremely valuable resource that can help you get the recognition you deserve, and can act as reference for your work during performance reviews and raise or promotion requests. It’s also a great succession-planning tool that allows you to follow your career thus far and chart the path ahead.
However, you actually need to take a three-pronged approach to creating this tool to gain the maximum benefit.
Tackling just one of the following three approaches for your professional portfolio is better than nothing. Likewise, doing two — or better yet, all three — will do even more to boost your professional visibility.
1. A Print Portfolio. Whether you want to boost your visibility at the office during performance review season or at a job interview, a print portfolio is a great resource. It can help differentiate you from the crowd in an interview, and act as a visual reinforcement for the skills and experience you have on your resume. When it comes time for your annual review, your portfolio can also provide your management team with a comprehensive picture of your accomplishments, skills, and capabilities. It will even demonstrate your value to your employer if you want to take on bigger challenges or build your case for a promotion.
2. A Social Portfolio. Whether you want to boost your visibility inside or outside of the office, a social portfolio will get the job done. LinkedIn is the most popular professional social network, and it conveniently serves as a social portfolio site … if you know how to leverage it properly.
Your social portfolio is a fantastic tool for helping you stay in front of current and prospective employers. It’s also useful for helping you share accomplishments, successes, tips, resources, and expertise. And you can develop your professional network globally while you’re at it! (Click here to learn how to create a polished LinkedIn profile.)
3. A Digital Portfolio. If you’re really serious about advancing your administrative career, you need a digital portfolio. Your digital portfolio is a combination of your print and social portfolio that will take your visibility to a whole new level.
Job recruiters receive a lot of resumes, so you need yours to stand out from the pile. A website URL on your resume might be just the attention-grabber you need. The recruiter can type it in and immediately see your information and work samples … before setting up the interview. A digital professional portfolio makes the person start to fall in love with you before they ever meet you!
Digital portfolios aren’t just for job seekers either. Established professionals can use them to build their brand, share their expertise, and stay visible in their profession.
To view a sample digital portfolio, visit www.JuliePerrine.wordpress.com.
If you want to stand out from the crowd when it comes to being considered for a new job, promotion, or special project, you need to showcase your skills in an innovative way. By developing your professional portfolio across these three mediums, you’ll maximize your professional visibility and ensure you don’t get passed by for important professional opportunities.
To learn more about developing your professional portfolio strategy, check out our e-books and courses to help you create a powerful professional portfolio today!
You may also find these training on demand courses useful:
© 2014 Julie Perrine International, LLC
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Julie Perrine, CAP-OM, is the founder and CEO of All Things Admin, providing training, mentoring and resources for administrative professionals worldwide. Julie applies her administrative expertise and passion for lifelong learning to serving as an enthusiastic mentor, speaker and author who educates admins around the world on how to be more effective every day. Learn more about Julie’s books — The Innovative Admin: Unleash the Power of Innovation in Your Administrative Career and The Organized Admin: Leverage Your Unique Organizing Style to Create Systems, Reduce Overwhelm, and Increase Productivity. And request your free copy of our special report “From Reactive to Proactive: Creating Your Strategic Administrative Career Plan” at www.AllThingsAdmin.com.
