One Important Word

Graduation is supposed to be a celebration. You survived 4 years of college lectures with professors that are often hard to understand, assignments that seemed to go on forever, and tests you studied hours for in hopes it will all pay off. What an accomplishment! You should feel proud. However, reality can quickly hit after graduation. College is like its own little world. You get comfortable in your habits and are shut off from the rest of the world's schedule. That nice little Spring Break you see every year in March does not happen after graduation, nor will your boss give you a whole month off for a winter break just because you need it. 

But life goes on. I know, graduation isn't around the corner and typically occurs in December or May. I still have 2 semester left myself, but I am doing all I can this precious last year to prepare for the future so when it comes time to landing my first job, I will be fully equipped and ready to take on the world. Or something like that. 

When preparing for anything, research is always key. I am constantly researching new things. Whether it's career or blog related, I always learn something new and find something more I should be doing to better myself. As my high school social studies teacher said, "Preparation is the key to success." The more we are prepared the better chances of avoiding the dreaded post-college syndrome.

During one of my research escapades, I came across an interesting word: portfolio. I know design majors put all of their work in a professional portfolio for employees to look at,  but it never occurred to me that maybe I should have one even without a design major. I typed "marketing student portfolio" in Google and sure enough, I found loads of information explaining why you need one, what should be included, etc. 

Without much convincing, I am now in the process of creating my portfolio. Maybe I was just naive and the rest of the world already knew a portfolio was a must?  Whatever the case, resumes are no longer sufficient when your competing against the best competition for one job opening. 

I'm wondering...do you have a portfolio? Do you have a favorite resource when creating your portfolio? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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