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CAREER CORNER : PORTFOLIO
Text : Marc Ramos Garzon
# strategic
As I mentioned last time , being a student is time-consuming . There ’ s all the school work and parties to attend , and now some douche ( not me ) recommended you join some volunteer organization for fun , experience and improving your resumé ( see issue # 2 ). You know what else can improve your resumé ? More experience !
The joke is , though , that you already have it , you just don ’ t know it . Or you will . It is everything you create in your spare time , the projects you work on during your education and your passions . So how do you tap into it for a killer job after graduation ?
# early
Set your goals from the start . You chose a study programme at university for a reason . Why ? Where do you want to be ? What do you want to work as ? In a company ? Which ? When you have answered these questions , check what you need to get there . Don ’ t do it later , do it now . “ Later ” is too late .
Now that you know where you want to go , work towards it . Don ’ t pick project topics to pass the subject . Think how they can affect your goal . Do you want to work in Company X ? Write a project related to what they do , using the skills they look for in their job offers , or in their area . Are you working on a hobby in your spare time ? Could it be used to reach your goal ? Of course you should have hobbies unrelated to your career , but some of them might be useful . An engineer creating robots in his spare time who blogs about it will have more chances to get into a job than his peers .
# portfolio
And that ’ s not just for artists , think of the engineer I just described . Point is , in this day and age you need to show others what you can do . The better you can show it , the more chances they want to hire you . And yes , there are some careers that will have a harder time doing this , but starting a blog takes 5 minutes , and you can write all about supply chain management advancements or your views on famous branding failures .