Introduction - Ace Your Career: Activities for Portfolio Building
College times are considered one of the best times to build their professional portfolio to increase their employability and look more desirable to potential employers. In the present given situation of a highly volatile and competitive job market, students need to build up their portfolio in such a way that sets them apart from the thousands of other candidates who are possibly applying for the same job and the same position they are applying for. Business management or business administration terms, which are often used interchangeably, are considered to be one of the most lucrative courses of the present given times. Business management offers guidelines and expertise through its course that allows people to coordinate and supervise business operations within a company. With the establishment of the purpose of drafting this report and the course which is opted by the student, this portfolio report will now focus on 10 different activities that the student has undertaken during the course of their college studies to build up their professional career portfolio.
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Internship: An internship of six months was performed by a student at The Japanese multinational technology and communication company Fujitsu. The name of the rule was an alliance management intern. The role Included analysis and establishment of communication between teams. The internship program also provided an Eight-week development course that Root January deep insights about aspects such as leadership, management, and communication and establish their importance. In a practical approach within the business context. The student received a certificate as well as a recommendation letter post the completion of six months of internship.
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Seminars/Webinars: Attending seminars and webinars is a great opportunity for learning as well as developing a network. The student had got the opportunity of attending various seminars during their college tenure. Some of the most touching and inspiring seminars included 'Women in Business' by Addy Loudiadis and ‘Business, the philanthropic way’ by Duncan Bannatyne. This seminar and webinar Allow the student to get a deeper insight into the business world and hence learn from the people who have been in business for a long time and are considered to be ably successful in their respective fields(Davidson, C.N., 2017).
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Additional courses: Along with the broader approach of the Primary course of business management that was taking place at the university. The student also undertook 2 additional vocational-certified courses regarding micro-organizational behavior and entrepreneurial management. Additional knowledge and information, along with a prudent understanding of these courses allow the student to expand their arena of understanding of business. This associative learning contributed majorly towards the development of the portfolio of the student along with giving a range of new perspectives and insights regarding prudent trajectories of the broader concept of business management that might help the student to understand certain situations in a much better way and deeply in pertinent situations.
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Updating skills: Apart from educational courses, it is also important for the student to develop the skills that will allow their portfolio to shine more vibrantly and set them apart in the eyes of the employer. For the sake of the same, the student regularly updated their communication skills and computer applications such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft access. The student did not undertake any additional course for the development of these skills, rather they were already aware of them. The student took time to gradually develop and involve themselves in self-learning for the enhancement of the skills they already possessed. This also allowed the student to reflect on the same regarding the gaps it has in their knowledge of the skill.
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Create profiles on appropriate social sites: Most often mistaken as a leisure activity, creating profiles on appropriate social sites is important for the sake of networking as well as developing a professional portfolio that will be visible to potential employers. Such sites include LinkedIn and Glassdoor. The profiles need to be updated regularly with the latest achievement of the student, such as any award, mention, or reward they received in the college, any seminar or webinar they attended, and potential internships they have applied for, all completed along with a screenshot or picture of the certificate and letter of recommendation. Such activities allow the student to build up their professional profile in front of potential employers. This is a very able way in which students can use social media to develop their professional profile and reach the correct employers who will be able to provide them with jobs that suit their respective skill base and interest(Chamorro, T., and Frankiewicz, B., 2019).
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Work-Study programs : A work-study program is different from an internship. Most work-study programs do not offer letters of recommendation or certificates as they are not affiliated with any major firms, these programs are primarily designed for students who need financial help. Work-study programs are generally accredited by the university and they provide part-time jobs in places such as hardware stores, zoos, newspaper delivery, grocery stores, customer care executives, and so on. Although these programs might not directly be of interest to the type of profession that the student wishes for, however, these programs provide lessons on teamwork, communication, taking and fulfilling orders, coordinating, and so on.
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Extra-curricular: No efficient or intelligent employer will ever look for an employee who is constantly grinding towards the development of skills and acquiring internships and degrees. Such credits often portray the image of an employee who is extremely hard working but is not consistent because continuous work often leads to situations of burnout. Hence, it is important to create a profile that shows That the potential employee is dynamic and can strike a good balance between their professional and personal life. The best way of doing this is by attaching achievements or activities that are extracurricular to the portfolio. These might not be certificates. They can be pictures of a particular activity such as the student with a guitar in a band or solo, performing in a college festival, or sports, creative writing, blogging, and so on.
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Networking: The aspect of networking is, however, extremely subjective. The primary reason behind it is that different students take the meaning of networking in different senses. For some students, networking mostly means acquaintances with professionals in the field in which they wish to work. However, some students wish to network with college professors as well as recent graduates or pass outs of the college for a more personalized approach. These people are often excellent career guides and coaches who help the students to create their folios in a way that would be compatible with the present market trend. The best thing about these people is that they prevent the students from making the same mistakes that they did in their time due to their experience. They are more knowledgeable regarding the current market trends and what would make the student deem desirable for the employer(Heyward, G., 2020).
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Seek opportunities: This might seem a little weak or a soft skill even, but actively seeking opportunities throughout the college tenure is as important as applying for internships and upgrading work skills. These opportunities can come in the form of voluntary work, recommendations, or even a trajectory to the job field chosen by the student. No matter what the opportunity comes as it is always a good part that will lead the student to enhance their skill or presence in the job market. College tenure is a time to explore and hence activities like participating in intra as well as inter-college activities, fests, and even national and international competitions are a very able way of seeking good opportunities that will help the student in their career.
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Reflect: Again, consider to be a soft skill, but it is recognized to be one of the most important skills required to develop a professional portfolio. A reflection activity or exercise is extremely important to post every prudent achievement of the student. This achievement might be an internship or an upgradation of skill, but prudent reflective activities Allow the student to understand what enrichment the achievement or opportunity or even failure has brought to the career and self-development of the student(Hirsch, B.J., 2017).
Conclusion: To conclude, the above-given portfolio has identified 10 prudent artifacts that have been used by the student in their college tenure to develop their aspect of employability in their professional portfolio for enhancement in their careers.
Internship: The internship was the ever first professional experience for me. The best part about the internship was apart from understanding my roles and responsibilities and developing a sense of coordination by working within a professional environment, the company also provided me with the offer of a developmental course that would be certified and would help me enhance my skills. This certificate would also bring more weight to my Portfolio along with the letter of recommendation and the overall certificate which I would receive at the end of the six-month internship.
Seminars/Webinars: Learning has no end and it becomes especially enriching when it comes from people who have been in business situations for a very long time. These people have first-hand experience in drafting, creating, and organizing something from scratch. The seminar and webinar attended by me during my college tenure were completely compatible with the additional courses that I had undertaken on entrepreneurial management.
Additional courses: Micro organizational behavior and entrepreneurial management were the additional courses that I undertook during my college tenure. The advantage of these courses was they allowed me to look beyond the conventional curriculum and syllabus of the course that I was. Undertaking in college, these arenas are extended trajectories of business management. However, they are subjects on their own and provided me with a different perspective of these arenas for the development of a practical approach to these skills.
Updating skills: I did it by myself. However, I did take the help of some online YouTube tutorials to upgrade my skills in Microsoft Excel well as Microsoft Access I believe that this upgradation will actively contribute towards the successful completion of my tasks in my work environment. furthermore, these skills are in demand in the present times and hence will provide me with a sharp edge in my resume
Profiles on social sites: It took me time to understand their drafting or profile on Facebook, and drafting a profile on LinkedIn is not the same thing. My LinkedIn profile needs to appear professional and this skill was attained with the help of a college senior who had a thriving Linkedin profile that had helped him to land a good job(Rymes, B., 2015).
Work-study programs: Although I was Confused regarding the approach toward work-study programs as it did not match the career path which I wished to pursue. However, working as a customer care executive allowed me to learn skills such as maintaining calm, convincing, and active listening.
Extra-curricular: I have been a huge fan of doodling ever since I was a child. I am also interested in drawing cartoons, for a very long time I regarded these skills to be useless in the arena of employment, However, a successful HR manager during a seminar pointed out that these skills are as important as internships and look extremely attractive on the resume.
Networking: For my networking approach, I choose the college faculty who had experience in the professional field of business management(Cottrell, S., 2017). They helped me thoroughly in drafting My Portfolio as well as constantly guiding me regarding what potential steps would help me look more desirable to an employer in my field of expertise.
Seeking opportunities: I volunteered in a rally that vouched for the safety of people who participate in the pride march. Although it did not land me a career opportunity, it moved me emotionally to see people fighting for the right to be who they are. This allowed me to be more empathetic.
Reflection: I make it a point to maintain a journal in which I write about my day. This includes the minutest of experiences that I had in the day, the things that affect me, and the things that can potentially turn me into a good professional as well as a good individual. This process has helped me thoroughly to understand myself, my shortcomings as well as the areas in which I can improve myself.
