Portfolio vs. Resume

[RNStudy]

Hello, I have an interview coming up and was thinking about putting together a portfolio instead of the traditional resume. I was looking online for info specific to a nurse portfolio but only found limited information.

Have anyone of you ever put together a portfolio to bring to an interview before? If so what kind of infomation did you include? How did it look? Did it work for you?

Thanks

[Spacklehead, MSN, NP]

Wow, I'm quite surprised. Whenever I interviewed for RN positions, the hiring manager and HR rep who were in on the interview (as well as panel interview members) all had copies of my resume (which HR made for them) when I walked in to meet with them. They would ask me questions directly related to some of the info on it that wasn't on my applications (i.e. certain awards, skills, etc.). My last RN position even asked for copies of previous job evals. right after my interview.

Just as a side note - I don't "give" anybody my portfolio, I just go over it with them if they are interested.

As an NP, there is a ton of stuff you need to provide to get credentialed if you decide to work for a hospital and the process can be drawn out, so in order for it to move along quickly, I always bring along my licenses, certs, etc. to interviews because even though they can verify online - they still want copies to show to the credentialing committee if they decide to hire you.

[RNStudy]

From what I understand, once you have a portfolio you continue to build on it throughout your career. So although I may not have much to put in it now, I hope to add more to it in the future :)

Also, I think a well put together portfolio can show the interviewer that you take pride in your work and shows off organizational skills.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I recommend buidling one throughout your career ... and building a "base" resume as you go -- adding things as you do them (committees, projects, etc.)

Then, when you apply for a job (or whatever) you can "pull out" those things that are most relevant to the specific situation to share with an interviewer -- or use that base material to construct a new resume that is tailored to the situation.

When I inteview job applicants, I appreciate seeing a little evidence (or examples if appropriate) of their best work -- but I don't want overwhelmed with everything they have ever done.

[hotflashion, BSN, RN]

Wow, I'm quite surprised. Whenever I interviewed for RN positions, the hiring manager and HR rep who were in on the interview (as well as panel interview members) all had copies of my resume (which HR made for them) when I walked in to meet with them. They would ask me questions directly related to some of the info on it that wasn't on my applications (i.e. certain awards, skills, etc.).

I think you've been lucky in that the hiring entities have been organized and prepared. From what I've heard from friends who are required to interview job candidates, it's not uncommon to be told they've got an interview to do 5 minutes before the interview is to start! Forget about reading the resume. My limited experience has been that my resume has not been read, even when I interviewed for a very competitive position at a teaching hospital, where I would expect them to be organized and prepared.

[Guest 360983]

I have experience putting together portfolios, since I always seem to be the one running to Kinkos late at night to help my fiance pull together his portfolio before interviews. He does creative work in advertising, so his portfolio is like most people's work experience on a resume--it is not sufficient to say "I worked on a campaign for company X." He needs to show what this campaign looked like, what format it took, whether it was all about the words or the pictures, who it was aimed at, etc, before the person hiring him really understands what he did. I'm not an RN yet, but I would think that saying "I worked at hospital XYZ in the ABC department and have G, H and F certifications" gives those hiring you a fairly accurate idea of what you've done. I would only create a portfolio if there were several things I wanted to highlight that were very difficult to express in the standard cover letter/resume format.

[JoMcShane]

Im doing my masters paper on portfolios and am really suprised about the comments I have heard. From the literature I have been reading, I was under the impression that as part of registering in the USA, you had to maintain a portfolio?

Nurses in Austrlia as of this year will need to keep a portfolio to demonstrate their competency in nursing.

Other things you can put in your portfolio include:

evidence of CPD, audit participation, inservices attended, team meetings, reviewing hospital policies, involvement in quality actvities or research, mandatory competencies, workshops attended and finally reflective pieces of writing.

[hotflashion, BSN, RN]

A portfolio is not required for registration in nursing in Massachusetts, USA. Not sure if any other state requires it. I never heard the word mentioned, at my school. Not sure if any schools in Mass. require it for graduation. Sounds like a good idea, actually.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Well, this makes it an easy decision. Always have all you info in a nice business portfolio with clear sleeves. No stickers or cute stuff. All the things mentioned in above posts. Sure, it's a PITA. Thing is if you have it with you, you don't ever have to find after the fact that you should have had one for that position you really wanted. You can either pull things out as asked or hand it over to the NM to flip thru. I bring extra copies of my resume for all who show up (those resumes each have my letters of reference attached to them).

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Lots of antipathy towards portfolios. There are literally dozens of free online portfolio sites. I plan to build one ASAP. I believe they are the wave of the future. The more positive things an employer knows about you before an interview the more you will stand above the crowd. As for those who claim they have nothing to put in there, time to start working on that.

[llg, PhD, RN]

As I just wrote in another thread ... here is a word of caution about online portfolios.

They can hurt you if they are not tailored to the particular job you are applying for. For example, I just read an online portfolio that talked all about how the person wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner and focused on all of her education as a NP. Unfortunately, she was applying for an eduction position. The portfolio made us question whether or not the job we had to offer was one that she really wanted -- or just one that she was settling for -- and that she would leave our facility as soon as she found an NP job.

If you are applying for more than 1 type of job -- you need to present multiple images of yourself -- and may need more than 1 online portfolio if you choose to go that route of presentation.

Also, I like having a paper resume in addition to anything online. That gives me the opportunity to take the resume with me to the interview to help me ask pertinent questions and integrate all the information I have about the applicant. The online version is not practical to "carry around with you" and make notes on.

[clevrn, BSN, RN]

i know this is an old thread, but does anyone recommend bringing a portfolio to a cold approach at the facilities nursing office?

btw this is my first post on AN!

[Argo]

My HR person and I are both intrigued when we see a standout item. The portfolio would begone of those types of things. I like to see what people are all about to see if they will fit in where we are at. Professional extras in the portfolio along with personal tidbits would be great. I even like to look up people on Facebook. Make sure your either private on the social media side or don't have your drunk festivals listed with pictures, these can definitely sway an opinion. It really is all about selling yourself and negotiating for a job that sometimes 100 others want.