Today’s job seekers are facing one of the most discouraging job markets in recent history. The increased competition for jobs requires candidates to find ways to stand out from their competition. How can you make yourself stand out when you go in for that coveted interview? One surefire way is to market your skills in the form of a professional portfolio.

The concept of a portfolio is not new. For years, people in career fields such as art and photography have used portfolios to illustrate their talents to potential employers. However, only recently have job candidates in other major fields started to utilize this tool to market their talents and skills. It is a marketing tool that is catching on among job seekers in all career fields.

When employers conduct interviews, they often seek specific examples of what the candidate has accomplished, how the candidate has taken initiative in previous experience, and how the candidate has demonstrated his or her greatest strengths. Their interview questions will ask for specifics as opposed to generalities. By knowing what kinds of specific examples employers look for, you will be able to determine what to include in your portfolio.

The first thing that needs to be included in your portfolio is a copy of your resume, which must be polished and completely error-free. It is recommended that you have someone critique or proofread your resume to ensure that it is letter perfect. Since employers want to know specific examples of your skills, it is important to include in your portfolio writing samples from previous work assignments. Also, you can demonstrate your computer skills by including sample spreadsheets and desktop publications that you can share from past jobs or ones you’ve done in your participation in professional associations. Print outs of web pages you’ve designed are also great to add to your portfolio. Employers will ask you in an interview how others would describe you. Including in your portfolio letters of recommendation, letters of recognition, and certificates of merit will help you answer this common interview question.

Other suggested items include presentation materials to demonstrate your public speaking skills, group projects to demonstrate your teamwork skills, academic transcripts, certifications of training, a list of conferences and workshops you have attended, etc. The list can go on and on. Your chosen field/industry and your personal style will determine how your portfolio will look. You want to include anything that will illustrate your ability to achieve, but make sure the items you include are relevant to the job duties or the necessary qualifications of the job. I recommend that you have a master portfolio that includes items you’ve done in all your previous jobs, and then pick and choose from that the few that will really stand out for the specific job for which you are applying. This smaller collection will be what you take with you to the interview. Remember that your portfolio should be of great quality and not great quantity.

Once you have compiled your portfolio, you need to first promote it and second present it. First, promote your portfolio and pique the employer’s interest in you from the start by replacing the unnecessary line at the bottom of your resume “References available upon request” with the phrase “Professional portfolio available for review.” Next, learn how to use it in the interview. Do not just let it sit on your lap during the interview. Refer to it when answering questions such as the ones stated above. For example, if an interviewer asks you what kind of computer skills you possess, you can respond by opening your portfolio to a publication you have designed and begin with, “As you can see, I am proficient in a variety of desktop publishing programs.” Presenting your portfolio in an interview will show the employer that you take pride in your work. In addition to having a hard copy of your portfolio, you will want to have some samples of your work digitally available so that potential employers can refer back to your work. You can provide a slide show of your work on your LinkedIn profile or you can put some samples of your work on a flash drive or CD to leave with the employer when you leave the interview.

While preparing a portfolio may seem like a lot of time and effort, it is definitely worth it for today’s job seeker. A portfolio will demonstrate your organizational skills and your focused efforts, which in turn will make you stand out above the rest of the competition!

NB: This is not advice on wrapping awkward presents.

At Christmas, giving a great gift is very important to some people. A great gift is something which is useful, will mean something to the person you are giving it to, looks nice and shows that you have put real thought into it. A painting is an excellent present, as if you get the picture right you will achieve all of these points with your gift. Painting make a room look nice, require a lot of thought and is a very impressive gift. Here is some advice on choosing the right painting.

Genre

The first thing you need to think about is what type of painting you want to give. You need to think about what type of person you are giving it to and work out what they will appreciate. They may like modern are with all its minimalism and bold images. They could prefer classic impressionist art or maybe you think they would like something abstract. If they are a good friend then you probably know the answer to this already, but if you are not sure, going to their house and seeing what other pictures they have on their walls will help you immensely. If they have no pictures or you can’t go to their house, think about what their interests are and what they wear and this should give you an idea of the sort of genre they will like.

Image

Next thing to do is to choose an actual image. You need to decide whether you are going to get them a classic image such as a print of a famous painting or an image of something they know like a landscape or a person or whether you think they would appreciate something more emotional and not of any discernible subject. You also need to choose what type of art supplies you would like it to be created from. This could be oil or acrylic paint for example.

Size

The final practical thing you need to consider is how big a painting should you get. If they have a large house with big walls then you can get something massive, but if they have more limited space you will need to get something more standard size or maybe something much smaller. One final thing to think about is how you are going to get it to them. If you need to go on the bus, this may stop you from taking a huge life size horse painting to your grandmother’s flat.

So you have been going out with a girl for a while, or maybe even a year or two. The two of you have reached a state of deep matter and you evidently recognize that she is the one for you, and at the same time she understands you are intended for her. Love is a fantastic incident and nothing tells a woman you love her except by giving her the perfect present. However, a diamond heart pendant or a flower bracelet isn’t going to help anymore, and women understand that those gifts do not require many thinking because, lets be truthful, many guys have purchased a lady a diamond heart pendant or some form of a tasteless bracelet before without considering twice.

Imagine taking her out to dinner and having the most wonderful time and subsequently being able to reel her in with a present that would impress her with your sense of fashion and also take her into your arms forever. What present am I speaking about? Recently, I bought my girl a David Yurman Ring for our anniversary and she completely crumbled in joy.

I know I had made such an amazing decision about what to get her for this special occasion because, lets face it, most of our girlfriends or women we’re meeting don’t expect to get something designer, let alone from one of the most pristine designers in the world. You can say that David Yurman is the heart of fashion in the whole world and his designs have been adored by woman all around the world. Your Girl will surely melt if you put this on her finger. That is a reality!

As a jewelry enthusiast, however, it is critical to confirm the value of the jewelry you are buying. Top brands like Chrome Hearts has competitors who produce Best grade alternatives & close replicas by real jewelers to mass-producing bootleggers mass manufactured low grade bootlegs made from low-grade raw materials such as steel & copper. Caveat Emptor!

To deliver an excellent, as well as efficient learning experience to students, it is necessary that the school has the perfect presentation tool in the class room.

The latest research states that using an interactive whiteboard in the classrooms has gradually increased students learning capability.

Interactive whiteboard or smart board is nothing but a large, white, digitized screen that is connected to a PC or laptop. It actually displays the contents that are in the PC onto the screen using a projector. You can do anything like opening files, closing applications, running or installing software, texting, drawing, making printouts etc. Whatever is possible with a computer is possible with interactive resource.

You can also browse the Net. If you want to teach your students using smart board, collect the information about the topic that you are teaching and create a Word or Power Point presentation document. Save it on the system and you can explain it anytime, anywhere to any student in the IWB implemented class rooms.

Teaching with the smartboard is very easy for tutors and the understanding of lessons is also very easy for students. You can add images, audio, drawings, etc. that are related to the topic, you are explaining. Since it is touch sensitive, your finger is the controller here. You can tap your finger on the screen to operate the smart board.

Generally, it is very important that the teacher’s presentation skill be excellent in order to deliver the concepts quickly and easily to the student. So, the teacher should have enough knowledge about how to use IWB in the class room to facilitate enjoyable learning experience in the class rooms.